Probing Gas Kinematics and PDR Structure around O-type Stars in the Sh 2-305 H ii Region

We report an observational study of the Galactic H ii region Sh 2-305/S305 using the [C ii] 158 μm line data, which are used to examine the gas dynamics and structure of photodissociation regions. The integrated [C ii] emission map at [39.4, 49.5] km s−1 spatially traces two shell-like structures (i.e., inner and outer neutral shells) having a total mass of ∼565 M ⊙. The inner neutral shell encompasses an O9.5V star at its center and has a compact ring-like appearance. However, the outer shell is seen with more extended and diffuse [C ii] emission, hosting an O8.5V star at its center, and surrounds the inner neutral shell. The velocity channel maps and position–velocity diagrams confirm the presence of a compact [C ii] shell embedded in the diffuse outer shell, and both the shells seem to expand with v exp ∼ 1.3 km s−1. The outer shell appears to be older than the inner shell, hinting that these shells are formed sequentially. The [C ii] profiles are examined toward S305, which are either double peaked or blue skewed and have the brighter redshifted component. The redshifted and blueshifted components spatially trace the inner and outer neutral shell geometry, respectively. The ionized, neutral, and molecular zones in S305 are seen adjacent to one another around the O-type stars. The regularly spaced dense molecular and dust clumps (mass ∼10–103 M ⊙) are investigated around the neutral shells, which might have originated as a result of gravitational instability in the shell of collected materials.

Impact of PAH photodissociation on the formation of small hydrocarbons in the Orion Bar and the horsehead PDRs

ABSTRACT We study whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be a weighty source of small hydrocarbons in photodissociation regions (PDRs). We modelled the evolution of 20 specific PAH molecules in terms of dehydrogenation and destruction of the carbon skeleton under the physical conditions of two well-studied PDRs, the Orion Bar, and the Horsehead nebula that represent prototypical examples of PDRs irradiated by ‘high’ and ‘low’ ultraviolet radiation field. PAHs are described as microcanonical systems. The acetylene molecule is considered as the main carbonaceous fragment of the PAH dissociation, as it follows from laboratory experiments and theory. We estimated the rates of acetylene production in gas phase chemical reactions and compared them with the rates of the acetylene production through the PAH dissociation. It is found that the latter rates can be higher than the former rates in the Orion Bar at AV < 1 and also at AV > 3.5. In the Horsehead nebula, the chemical reactions provide more acetylene than the PAH dissociation. The produced acetylene participate in the reactions of the formation of small hydrocarbons (C2H, C3H, C3H+, C3H2, C4H). Acetylene production via the PAH destruction may increase the abundances of small hydrocarbons produced in gas phase chemical reactions in the Orion Bar only at AV > 3.5. In the Horsehead nebula, the contribution of PAHs to the abundances of the small hydrocarbons is negligible. We conclude that the PAHs are not a major source of small hydrocarbons in both PDRs except some locations in the Orion Bar.

ALMA uncovers the [C ii] emission and warm dust continuum in a z = 8.31 Lyman break galaxy

ABSTRACT We report on the detection of the [C ii] 157.7 μm emission from the Lyman break galaxy (LBG) MACS0416_Y1 at z = 8.3113, by using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The luminosity ratio of [O iii] 88 μm (from previous campaigns) to [C ii] is 9.3 ± 2.6, indicative of hard interstellar radiation fields and/or a low covering fraction of photodissociation regions. The emission of [C ii] is cospatial to the 850 μm dust emission (90 μm rest frame, from previous campaigns), however the peak [C ii] emission does not agree with the peak [O iii] emission, suggesting that the lines originate from different conditions in the interstellar medium. We fail to detect continuum emission at 1.5 mm (160 μm rest frame) down to 18 μJy (3σ). This non-detection places a strong limits on the dust spectrum, considering the 137 ± 26 μJy continuum emission at 850 μm. This suggests an unusually warm dust component (T > 80 K, 90 per cent confidence limit), and/or a steep dust-emissivity index (βdust > 2), compared to galaxy-wide dust emission found at lower redshifts (typically T ∼ 30–50 K, βdust ∼ 1–2). If such temperatures are common, this would reduce the required dust mass and relax the dust production problem at the highest redshifts. We therefore warn against the use of only single-wavelength information to derive physical properties, recommend a more thorough examination of dust temperatures in the early Universe, and stress the need for instrumentation that probes the peak of warm dust in the Epoch of Reionization.

The effect of heteroatoms in carbonaceous surfaces: computational analysis of H chemisorption on to a PANH and Si-doped PAH

ABSTRACT In this work, we studied the effect of a heteroatom (nitrogen and silicon) inside the main skeleton of the carbonaceous surface in the H chemisorption reaction. The process taking place on to an N-doped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), known as PANHs, shows differences in the energetic parameters only when the process is carried out on to the N atom. When N is located in an external site of the surface, the process is barrierless, whereas if N is in an internal position of the surface the activation energy drastically increases. The aromaticity of these N-doped systems does not change much concerning pristine coronene. In a Si-doped PAHs, the chemisorption on to the Si atom takes place in the absence of activation energy, regardless the position of Si on the surface. Moreover, the adsorption on to their neighbour carbon atoms is carried out with lower activation energies than those found in the reaction on to pristine PAH, indicating that the presence of silicon atoms in the surface favours H chemisorption. This might be due to a loss of aromaticity on the surface. In both cases, the reactions become significantly more exoenergetic. Finally, the presence of heteroatoms favours kinetically the reaction, where the rate coefficient of H2 formation process, calculated considering all of the sites of every PAH studied in this work, reaches a close value to the reported for diffuse interstellar medium and photodissociation regions ($R_{_{\mathrm{ H}\mathrm{ }_2}} = 1 \times 10^{-17}$ cm3 s−1 at 40 K).

Formation of interstellar SH+from vibrationally excited H2: Quantum study of S++ H2⇄ SH++ H reaction and inelastic collision

The rate constants for the formation, destruction, and collisional excitation of SH+are calculated from quantum mechanical approaches using two new SH+2potential energy surfaces (PESs) of4A″ and2A″ electronic symmetry. The PESs were developed to describe all adiabatic states correlating to the SH+(3Σ−) + H(2S) channel. The formation of SH+through the S++ H2reaction is endothermic by ≈9860 K, and requires at least two vibrational quanta on the H2molecule to yield significant reactivity. Quasi-classical calculations of the total formation rate constant for H2(v = 2) are in very good agreement with the quantum results above 100 K. Further quasi-classical calculations are then performed forv = 3, 4, and 5 to cover all vibrationally excited H2levels significantly populated in dense photodissociation regions (PDR). The new calculated formation and destruction rate constants are two to six times larger than the previous ones and have been introduced in the Meudon PDR code to simulate the physical and illuminating conditions in the Orion bar prototypical PDR. New astrochemical models based on the new molecular data produce four times larger SH+column densities, in agreement with those inferred from recent ALMA observations of the Orion bar.