HCO, c-C3H and CF+ : three new molecules in diffuse, translucent and "spiral-arm'' clouds

%methods {We used the EMIR receiver and FTS spectrometer at the IRAM 30m to construct absorption spectra toward bright extra-galactic background sources at 195 kHz spectral resolution ($\approx$ 0.6 \kms). We used the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer to synthesize absorption spectra of \hthcop\ and HCO toward the galactic HII region W49.} %results {HCO, \cc3h\ and CF\p\ were detected toward the blazars \bll\ and 3C111 having \EBV\ = 0.32 and 1.65 mag. HCO was observed in absorption from ``spiral-arm'' clouds in the galactic plane occulting W49. The complement of detectable molecular species in the 85 - 110 GHz absorption spectrum of diffuse/translucent gas is now fully determined at rms noise level $\delta_\tau \approx 0.002$ at \EBV\ = 0.32 mag (\AV\ = 1 mag) and $\delta_\tau$/\EBV\ $\approx\ 0.003$ mag$^{-1}$ overall.} %conclusions {As with OH, \hcop\ and \cch, the relative abundance of \cc3h\ varies little between diffuse and dense molecular gas, with N(\cc3h)/N({\it o-c}-\c3h2) $\approx$ 0.1. We find N(CF\p)/N(H$^{13}$CO\p) $\approx 5$, N(CF\p)/N(\cch) $\approx$ 0.005-0.01 and because N(CF\p) increases with \EBV\ and with the column densities of other molecules we infer that fluorine remains in the gas phase as HF well beyond \AV\ = 1 mag. We find N(HCO)/N(H$^{13}$CO\p) = 16 toward \bll, 3C111 and the 40 km/s spiral arm cloud toward W49, implying X(HCO) $\approx 10^{-9}$, about 10 times higher than in dark clouds. The behaviour of HCO is consistent with previous suggestions that it forms from C\p\ and \HH, even when \AV\ is well above 1 mag. The survey can be used to place useful upper limits on some species, for instance N(\hhco)/N(\HH CS) $>$ 32 toward 3C111, compared to 7 toward TMC-1, confirming the possibility of a gas phase formation route to \hhco.}Comment: A\%A in pres

The Shape of Cas A

Based on optical, IR and X-ray studies of Cas A, we propose a geometry for the remnant based on a "jet-induced" scenario with significant systematic departures from axial symmetry. In this model, the main jet axis is oriented in the direction of strong blue-shifted motion at an angle of 110 - 120 degrees East of North and about 40 - 50 degrees to the East of the line of sight. Normal to this axis would be an expanding torus as predicted by jet-induced models. In the proposed geometry, iron-peak elements in the main jet-like flow could appear "beyond" the portions of the remnant rich in silicon by projection effects, not the effect of mixing. In the context of the proposed geometry, the displacement of the compact object from the kinematic center of the remnant at a position angle of ~169 degrees can be accommodated if the motion of the compact object is near to, but slightly off from, the direction of the main "jet" axis by of order 30 degrees. In this model, the classical NE "jet," the SW "counter-jet" and other protrusions, particularly the "hole" in the North, are non-asymmetric flows approximately in the equatorial plane, e.g., out through the perimeter of the expanding torus, rather than being associated with the main jet. We explore the spoke-like flow in the equatorial plane in terms of Rayleigh-Taylor, Richtmyer-Meshkov and Kelvin-Helmholz instabilities and illustrate these instabilities with a jet-induced simulation.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Carbon isotope fractionation and depletion in TMC1

12C/13C isotopologue abundance anomalies have long been predicted for gas-phase chemistry in molecules other than CO and have recently been observed in the Taurus molecular cloud in several species hosting more than one carbon atom, i.e. CCH, CCS, CCCS and HC$_3$N. Here we work to ascertain whether these isotopologic anomalies actually result from the predicted depletion of the 13C+ ion in an oxygen-rich optically-shielded dense gas, or from some other more particular mechanism or mechanisms. We observed $\lambda$3mm emission from carbon, sulfur and nitrogen-bearing isotopologues of HNC, CS and \HH CS at three positions in Taurus(TMC1, L1527 and the ammonia peak) using the ARO 12m telescope. We saw no evidence of 12C/13C anomalies in our observations. Although the pool of C+ is likely to be depleted in 13C 13C is not depleted in the general pool of carbon outside CO, which probably exists mostly in the form of C^0. The observed isotopologic abundance anomalies are peculiar to those species in which they are found.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (mail journal

Reanalysis of Copernicus Measurements on Interstellar Carbon Monoxide

We used archival data acquired with the Copernicus satellite to reexamine CO column densities because self-consistent oscillator strengths are now available. Our focus is on lines of sight containing modest amounts of molecular species. Our resulting column densities are small enough that self-shielding from photodissociation is not occurring in the clouds probed by the observations. While our sample shows that the column densities of CO and H2 are related, no correspondence with the CH column density is evident. The case for the CH+ column density is less clear. Recent chemical models for these sight lines suggest that CH is mainly a by-product of CH+ synthesis in low density gas. The models are most successful in reproducing the amounts of CO in the densest sight lines. Thus, much of the CO absorption must arise from denser clumps along the line of sight to account for the trend with H2.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

A High-Resolution Survey of HI Absorption toward the Central 200 pc of the Galactic Center

We present an HI absorption survey of the central 250 pc of the Galaxy. Very Large Array (VLA) observations were made at 21 cm in the DnC and CnB configurations and have a resolution of ~15"(0.6 pc at the Galactic Center (GC) distance) and a velocity resolution of ~2.5 km/s. This study provides HI data with high spatial resolution, comparable with the many high resolution observations which have been made of GC sources over the past ten years. Here we present an overview of the HI absorption toward ~40 well-known continuum sources and a detailed comparison of the ionized, atomic and molecular components of the interstellar medium for the Sgr B, Radio Arc and Sgr C regions. In these well-known regions, the atomic gas appears to be closely correlated in both velocity and distribution to the ionized and molecular gas, indicating that it resides in photo-dissociation regions related to the HII regions in the GC. Toward the majority of the radio continuum sources, HI absorption by the 3-kpc arm is detected, constraining these sources to lie beyond a 5 kpc distance in the Galaxy.Comment: 59 pages, including 41 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series in December 201

Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL. I - Classification of bright mid-IR sources in a test field

Context: The stellar populations in the central region of the Galaxy are poorly known because of the high visual extinction and very great source density in this direction. Aims: To use recent infrared surveys for studying the dusty stellar objects in this region. Methods: We analyse the content of a 20x20 arcmin^2 field centred at (l,b)=(-0.27,-0.06) observed at 7 and 15 microns as part of the ISOGAL survey. These ISO observations are more than an order of magnitude better in sensitivity and spatial resolution than the IRAS observations. The sources are cross-associated with other catalogues to identify various types of objects. We then derive criteria to distinguish young objects from post-main sequence stars. Results: We find that a sample of about 50 young stellar objects and ultra-compact HII regions emerges, out of a population of evolved AGB stars. We demonstrate that the sources colours and spatial extents, as they appear in the ISOGAL catalogue, possibly complemented with MSX photometry at 21 microns, can be used to determine whether the ISOGAL sources brighter than 300 mJy at 15 microns (or [15] < 4.5 mag) are young objects or late-type evolved stars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Molecular absorption lines toward star-forming regions : a comparative study of HCO+, HNC, HCN, and CN

Aims. The comparative study of several molecular species at the origin of the gas phase chemistry in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) is a key input in unraveling the coupled chemical and dynamical evolution of the ISM. Methods. The lowest rotational lines of HCO+, HCN, HNC, and CN were observed at the IRAM-30m telescope in absorption against the \lambda 3 mm and \lambda 1.3 mm continuum emission of massive star-forming regions in the Galactic plane. The absorption lines probe the gas over kiloparsecs along these lines of sight. The excitation temperatures of HCO+ are inferred from the comparison of the absorptions in the two lowest transitions. The spectra of all molecular species on the same line of sight are decomposed into Gaussian velocity components. Most appear in all the spectra of a given line of sight. For each component, we derived the central opacity, the velocity dispersion, and computed the molecular column density. We compared our results to the predictions of UV-dominated chemical models of photodissociation regions (PDR models) and to those of non-equilibrium models in which the chemistry is driven by the dissipation of turbulent energy (TDR models). Results. The molecular column densities of all the velocity components span up to two orders of magnitude. Those of CN, HCN, and HNC are linearly correlated with each other with mean ratios N(HCN)/N(HNC) = 4.8 $\pm$ 1.3 and N(CN)/N(HNC) = 34 $\pm$ 12, and more loosely correlated with those of HCO+, N(HNC)/N(HCO+) = 0.5 $\pm$ 0.3, N(HCN)/N(HCO+) = 1.9 $\pm$ 0.9, and N(CN)/N(HCO+) = 18 $\pm$ 9. These ratios are similar to those inferred from observations of high Galactic latitude lines of sight, suggesting that the gas sampled by absorption lines in the Galactic plane has the same chemical properties as that in the Solar neighbourhood. The FWHM of the Gaussian velocity components span the range 0.3 to 3 km s-1 and those of the HCO+ lines are found to be 30% broader than those of CN-bearing molecules. The PDR models fail to reproduce simultaneously the observed abundances of the CN-bearing species and HCO+, even for high-density material (100 cm-3 < nH < 104 cm-3). The TDR models, in turn, are able to reproduce the observed abundances and abundance ratios of all the analysed molecules for the moderate gas densities (30 cm-3 < nH < 200 cm-3) and the turbulent energy observed in the diffuse interstellar medium. Conclusions. Intermittent turbulent dissipation appears to be a promising driver of the gas phase chemistry of the diffuse and translucent gas throughout the Galaxy. The details of the dissipation mechanisms still need to be investigated

Dense Ionized and Neutral Gas Surrounding Sgr A*

We present high resolution H41a hydrogen recombination line observations of the 1.2' (3 pc) region surrounding Sgr A* at 92 GHz using the OVRO Millimeter Array with an angular resolution of 7" x 3" and velocity resolution of 13 km/s. New observations of H31a, H35a, H41a, and H44a lines were obtained using the NRAO 12-m telescope, and their relative line strengths are interpreted in terms of various emission mechanisms. These are the most extensive and most sensitive observations of recombination line to date. Observations of HCO+ (1 - 0) transition at 89 GHz are also obtained simultaneously with a 40% improved angular resolution and 4-15 times improved sensitivity over previous observations, and the distribution and kinematics of the dense molecular gas in the circumnuclear disk (CND) are mapped and compared with those of the ionized gas. The line brightness ratios of the hydrogen recombination lines are consistent with purely spontaneous emission from 7000 K gas with n_e = 20,000 cm$^{-3}$ near LTE condition. A virial analysis suggests that the most prominent molecular gas clumps in the CND have mean densities of 10^7 cm^{-3}, sufficient to withstand the tidal shear in the Galactic Center region. Therefore, these clumps may survive over several dynamical times, and the CND may be a dynamically stable structure. We estimate a total gas mass of 3 x 10^5 solar mass for the CND. \Comment: 34 pages including 11 figures (4 jpgs), Latex, uses aastex. The full pdf format file including high resolution figures is available at http://www.astro.umass.edu/~myun/papers/SgrA.pdf . To appear in the 20 November 2004 (V616) issue of the Astrophysical Journa

Constraining the variation of fundamental constants using 18cm OH lines

We describe a new technique to estimate variations in the fundamental constants using 18cm OH absorption lines. This has the advantage that all lines arise in the same species, allowing a clean comparison between the measured redshifts. In conjunction with one additional transition (for example, an HCO$^+$ line), it is possible to simultaneously measure changes in $\alpha$, $g_p$ and $y \equiv m_e/m_p$. At present, only the 1665 MHz and 1667 MHz lines have been detected at cosmological distances; we use these line redshifts in conjunction with those of HI 21cm and mm-wave molecular absorption in a gravitational lens at $z\sim 0.68$ to constrain changes in the above three parameters over the redshift range $0 < z \lesssim 0.68$. While the constraints are relatively weak ($\lesssim$ 1 part in $10^3$), this is the first simultaneous constraint on the variation of all three parameters. We also demonstrate that either one (or more) of $\alpha$, $g_p$ and $y$ must vary with cosmological time or there must be systematic velocity offsets between the OH, HCO$^+$ and HI absorbing clouds.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

The Dynamics of Molecular Material Within 15 pcs of the Galactic Center

We report the results of a 5-field mosaic of the central 15pc of the Galaxy in the (1,1) and (2,2) lines of NH3. Two narrow filaments or streamers are seen running parallel to the Galactic plane. The southern streamer appears to carry gas directly toward the nuclear region from the 20 km/s cloud. The eastern streamer, which we will denote the molecular ridge, appears to be the denser part of the 50 km/s cloud which lies immediately east of the Sgr A East complex and extends in the south towards the 20 km/s cloud. This ridge of gas carries the kinematical signatures of interactions with Sgr A East as well as a SNR which lies south of the Galactic center. The bulk motion of the gas, the enhanced line widths, and the heating of the molecular material all suggest an active evolutionary phase for the gas immediately adjacent to the nucleus.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journa