First measurements of 15N fractionation in N2H+ toward high-mass star forming cores

We report on the first measurements of the isotopic ratio 14N/15N in N2H+ toward a statistically significant sample of high-mass star forming cores. The sources belong to the three main evolutionary categories of the high-mass star formation process: high-mass starless cores, high-mass protostellar objects, and ultracompact HII regions. Simultaneous measurements of 14N/15N in CN have been made. The 14N/15N ratios derived from N2H+ show a large spread (from ~180 up to ~1300), while those derived from CN are in between the value measured in the terrestrial atmosphere (~270) and that of the proto-Solar nebula (~440) for the large majority of the sources within the errors. However, this different spread might be due to the fact that the sources detected in the N2H+ isotopologues are more than those detected in the CN ones. The 14N/15N ratio does not change significantly with the source evolutionary stage, which indicates that time seems to be irrelevant for the fractionation of nitrogen. We also find a possible anticorrelation between the 14N/15N (as derived from N2H+) and the H/D isotopic ratios. This suggests that 15N enrichment could not be linked to the parameters that cause D enrichment, in agreement with the prediction by recent chemical models. These models, however, are not able to reproduce the observed large spread in 14N/15N, pointing out that some important routes of nitrogen fractionation could be still missing in the models.Comment: 2 Figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The observed chemical structure of L1544

Prior to star formation, pre-stellar cores accumulate matter towards the centre. As a consequence, their central density increases while the temperature decreases. Understanding the evolution of the chemistry and physics in this early phase is crucial to study the processes governing the formation of a star. We aim at studying the chemical differentiation of a prototypical pre-stellar core, L1544, by detailed molecular maps. In contrast with single pointing observations, we performed a deep study on the dependencies of chemistry on physical and external conditions. We present the emission maps of 39 different molecular transitions belonging to 22 different molecules in the central 6.25 arcmin$^2$ of L1544. We classified our sample in five families, depending on the location of their emission peaks within the core. Furthermore, to systematically study the correlations among different molecules, we have performed the principal component analysis (PCA) on the integrated emission maps. The PCA allows us to reduce the amount of variables in our dataset. Finally, we compare the maps of the first three principal components with the H$_2$ column density map, and the T$_{dust}$ map of the core. The results of our qualitative analysis is the classification of the molecules in our dataset in the following groups: (i) the $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ family (carbon chain molecules), (ii) the dust peak family (nitrogen-bearing species), (iii) the methanol peak family (oxygen-bearing molecules), (iv) the HNCO peak family (HNCO, propyne and its deuterated isotopologues). Only HC$^{18}$O$^+$ and $^{13}$CS do not belong to any of the above mentioned groups. The principal component maps allow us to confirm the (anti-)correlations among different families that were described in a first qualitative analysis, but also points out the correlation that could not be inferred before.Comment: 29 pages, 19 figures, 2 appendices, accepted for publication in A&A, arXiv abstract has been slightly modifie

Editorial: Exploring the Chemical Universe

Editorial on the Research Topi

O2 signature in thin and thick O2-H2O ices

Aims. In this paper we investigate the detectability of the molecular oxygen in icy dust grain mantles towards astronomical objects. Methods. We present a systematic set of experiments with O2-H2O ice mixtures designed to disentangle how the molecular ratio affects the O2 signature in the mid- and near-infrared spectral regions. All the experiments were conducted in a closed-cycle helium cryostat coupled to a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The ice mixtures comprise varying thicknesses from 8 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ to 3 $\mu$m. The absorption spectra of the O2-H2O mixtures are also compared to the one of pure water. In addition, the possibility to detect the O2 in icy bodies and in the interstellar medium is discussed. Results. We are able to see the O2 feature at 1551 cm$^{-1}$ even for the most diluted mixture of H2O : O2 = 9 : 1, comparable to a ratio of O2/H2O = 10 % which has already been detected in situ in the coma of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We provide an estimate for the detection of O2 with the future mission of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, article in press, to appear in A&A 201

First sample of N2H+\rm N_2H^+ nitrogen isotopic ratio measurements in low-mass protostars

Context. The nitrogen isotopic ratio is considered an important diagnostic tool of the star formation process, and $N_2H^+$ is particularly important because it is directly linked to molecular nitrogen $N_2$. However, theoretical models still lack to provide an exhaustive explanation for the observed $^{14}N/^{15}N$ values. Aims. Recent theoretical works suggest that the $^{14}N/^{15}N$ behaviour is dominated by two competing reactions that destroy $N_2H^+$: dissociative recombination and reaction with CO. When CO is depleted from the gas phase, if $N_2H^+$ recombination rate is lower with respect to the $N^{15}NH^+$ one, the rarer isotopologue is destroyed faster. This implies that the $N_2H^+$ isotopic ratio in protostars should be lower than the one in prestellar cores, and consistent with the elemental value of ~440. We aim to test this hypothesis, producing the first sample of $N_2H^+ / N^{15}NH^+$ measurements in low mass protostars. Methods. We observe the $N_2H^+$ and $N^{15}NH^+$ lowest rotational transition towards six young stellar objects in Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds. We model the spectra with a custom python code using a constant $T_{ex}$ approach to fit the observations. We discuss in appendix the validity of this hypothesis. The derived column densities are used to compute the nitrogen isotopic ratio. Results. Our analysis yields an average of $\rm ^{14}N/^{15}N|_{pro} = 420 \pm 15$ in the protostellar sample. This is consistent with the protosolar value of 440, and significantly lower than the average value previously obtained in a sample of prestellar objects. Conclusions. Our results are in agreement with the hypothesis that, when CO is depleted from the gas-phase, dissociative recombinations with free electrons destroy $N^{15}NH^+$ faster than $N_2H^+$, leading to high isotopic ratios in prestellar cores, where CO is frozen on dust grains.Comment: Accepted on A&A on 09 Oct 202

Kinematics of dense gas in the L1495 filament

We study the kinematics of the dense gas of starless and protostellar cores traced by the N2D+(2-1), N2H+(1-0), DCO+(2-1), and H13CO+(1-0) transitions along the L1495 filament and the kinematic links between the cores and the surrounding molecular cloud. We measure velocity dispersions, local and total velocity gradients and estimate the specific angular momenta of 13 dense cores in the four transitions using the on-the-fly observations with the IRAM 30 m antenna. To study a possible connection to the filament gas, we use the fit results of the C18O(1-0) survey performed by Hacar et al. (2013). All cores show similar properties along the 10 pc-long filament. N2D+(2-1) shows the most centrally concentrated structure, followed by N2H+(1-0) and DCO+(2-1), which show similar spatial extent, and H13CO+(1-0). The non-thermal contribution to the velocity dispersion increases from higher to lower density tracers. The change of magnitude and direction of the total velocity gradients depending on the tracer used indicates that internal motions change at different depths within the cloud. N2D+ and N2H+ show smaller gradients than the lower density tracers DCO+ and H13CO+, implying a loss of specific angular momentum at small scales. At the level of cloud-core transition, the core's external envelope traced by DCO+ and H13CO+ is spinning up, consistent with conservation of angular momentum during core contraction. C18O traces the more extended cloud material whose kinematics is not affected by the presence of dense cores. The decrease in specific angular momentum towards the centres of the cores shows the importance of local magnetic fields to the small scale dynamics of the cores. The random distributions of angles between the total velocity gradient and large scale magnetic field suggests that the magnetic fields may become important only in the high density gas within dense cores.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. The abstract is shortene

The chemical structure of the very young starless core L1521E

L1521E is a dense starless core in Taurus that was found to have relatively low molecular depletion by earlier studies, thus suggesting a recent formation. We aim to characterize the chemical structure of L1521E and compare it to the more evolved L1544 pre-stellar core. We have obtained $\sim$2.5$\times$2.5 arcminute maps toward L1521E using the IRAM-30m telescope in transitions of various species. We derived abundances for the species and compared them to those obtained toward L1544. We estimated CO depletion factors. Similarly to L1544, $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ and CH$_3$OH peak at different positions. Most species peak toward the $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ peak. The CO depletion factor derived toward the $Herschel$ dust peak is 4.3$\pm$1.6, which is about a factor of three lower than that toward L1544. The abundances of sulfur-bearing molecules are higher toward L1521E than toward L1544 by factors of $\sim$2-20. The abundance of methanol is similar toward the two cores. The higher abundances of sulfur-bearing species toward L1521E than toward L1544 suggest that significant sulfur depletion takes place during the dynamical evolution of dense cores, from the starless to pre-stellar stage. The CO depletion factor measured toward L1521E suggests that CO is more depleted than previously found. Similar CH$_3$OH abundances between L1521E and L1544 hint that methanol is forming at specific physical conditions in Taurus, characterized by densities of a few $\times$10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$ and $N$(H$_2$)$\gtrsim$10$^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$, when CO starts to catastrophically freeze-out, while water can still be significantly photodissociated, so that the surfaces of dust grains become rich in solid CO and CH$_3$OH, as already found toward L1544. Methanol can thus provide selective crucial information about the transition region between dense cores and the surrounding parent cloud.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, abstract abridge

A study of the cc-C3HD\mathrm{C_{3}HD}/cc-C3H2\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}} ratio in low-mass star forming regions

We use the deuteration of $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$ to probe the physical parameters of starless and protostellar cores, related to their evolutionary states, and compare it to the $\mathrm{N_{2}H^{+}}$-deuteration in order to study possible differences between the deuteration of C- and N-bearing species. We observed the main species $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$, the singly and doubly deuterated species $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}HD}$ and $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}D_{2}}$, as well as the isotopologue $c$-$\mathrm{{H^{13}CC_{2}H}}$ toward 10 starless cores and 5 protostars in the Taurus and Perseus Complexes. We examined the correlation between the $N$($c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}HD}$)/$N$($c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$) ratio and the dust temperature along with the $\mathrm{H_2}$ column density and the CO depletion factor. The resulting $N$($c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}HD}$)/$N$($c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$) ratio is within the error bars consistent with $10\%$ in all starless cores with detected $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}HD}$. This also accounts for the protostars except for the source HH211, where we measure a high deuteration level of $23\%$. The deuteration of $\mathrm{N_{2}H^{+}}$ follows the same trend but is considerably higher in the dynamically evolved core L1544. Toward the protostellar cores the coolest objects show the largest deuterium fraction in $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$. We show that the deuteration of $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$ can trace the early phases of star formation and is comparable to that of $\mathrm{N_{2}H^{+}}$. However, the largest $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$ deuteration level is found toward protostellar cores, suggesting that while $c$-$\mathrm{C_{3}H_{2}}$ is mainly frozen onto dust grains in the central regions of starless cores, active deuteration is taking place on ice

Rotational spectroscopy of the HCCO and DCCO radicals in the millimeter and submillimeter range

The ketenyl radical, HCCO, has recently been detected in the ISM for the first time. Further astronomical detections of HCCO will help us understand its gas-grain chemistry, and subsequently revise the oxygen-bearing chemistry towards dark clouds. Moreover, its deuterated counterpart, DCCO, has never been observed in the ISM. HCCO and DCCO still lack a broad spectroscopic investigation, although they exhibit a significant astrophysical relevance. In this work we aim to measure the pure rotational spectra of the ground state of HCCO and DCCO in the millimeter and submillimeter region, considerably extending the frequency range covered by previous studies. The spectral acquisition was performed using a frequency-modulation absorption spectrometer between 170 and 650 GHz. The radicals were produced in a low-density plasma generated from a select mixture of gaseous precursors. For each isotopologue we were able to detect and assign more than 100 rotational lines. The new lines have significantly enhanced the previous data set allowing the determination of highly precise rotational and centrifugal distortion parameters. In our analysis we have taken into account the interaction between the ground electronic state and a low-lying excited state (Renner-Teller pair) which enables the prediction and assignment of rotational transitions with $K_a$ up to 4. The present set of spectroscopic parameters provides highly accurate, millimeter and submillimeter rest-frequencies of HCCO and DCCO for future astronomical observations. We also show that towards the pre-stellar core L1544, ketenyl peaks in the region where $c$-$\mathrm{C_3H_2}$ peaks, suggesting that HCCO follows a predominant hydrocarbon chemistry, as already proposed by recent gas-grain chemical models

Nitrogen fractionation towards a pre-stellar core traces isotope-selective photodissociation

Context. Isotopologue abundance ratios are important to understand the evolution of astrophysical objects and ultimately the origins of a planetary system such as our own. With nitrogen being a fundamental ingredient of pre-biotic material, understanding its chemistry and inheritance is of fundamental importance to understand the formation of the building blocks of life. Aims. We aim to study the 14N/15N ratio in HCN, HNC, and CN across the prototypical pre-stellar core L1544. This study allows us to test the proposed fractionation mechanisms for nitrogen. Methods. We present here single-dish observations of the ground state rotational transitions of the 13C and 15N isotopologues of HCN, HNC, and CN with the IRAM 30 m telescope. We analyse their column densities and compute the 14N/15N ratio map across the core for HCN. The 15N fractionation of CN and HNC is computed towards different offsets across L1544. Results. The 15 N-fractionation map of HCN towards a pre-stellar core is presented here for the first time. Our map shows a very clear decrease in the 14N/15N ratio towards the southern edge of L1544, where carbon chain molecules present a peak, strongly suggesting that isotope-selective photodissociation has a strong effect on the fractionation of nitrogen across pre-stellar cores. The 14N/15N ratio in CN measured towards four positions across the core also shows a decrease towards the south-east of the core, while HNC shows the opposite behaviour. We also measured the 12CN/13CN ratio towards four positions across the core. Conclusions. The uneven illumination of the pre-stellar core L1544 provides clear evidence that 15 N fractionation of HCN and CN is enhanced towards the region more exposed to the interstellar radiation field. Isotope-selective photodissociation of N2 is then a crucial process to understand 15N fractionation, as already found in protoplanetary disks. Therefore, the 15N fractionation in prestellar material is expected to change depending on the environment within which pre-stellar cores are embedded. The 12CN/13CN ratio also varies across the core, but its variation does not affect our conclusions as to the effect of the environment on the fractionation of nitrogen. Nevertheless, the interplay between the carbon and nitrogen fractionation across the core warrants follow-up studies