Submillimeter Imaging of NGC 891 with SHARC

The advent of submillimeter wavelength array cameras operating on large ground-based telescopes is revolutionizing imaging at these wavelengths, enabling high-resolution submillimeter surveys of dust emission in star-forming regions and galaxies. Here we present a recent 350 micron image of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891, which was obtained with the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC) at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). We find that high resolution submillimeter data is a vital complement to shorter wavelength satellite data, which enables a reliable separation of the cold dust component seen at millimeter wavelengths from the warmer component which dominates the far-infrared (FIR) luminosity.Comment: 4 pages LaTeX, 2 EPS figures, with PASPconf.sty; to appear in "Astrophysics with Infrared Surveys: A Prelude to SIRTF

Observations of pre-stellar cores

Our understanding of the physical and chemical structure of pre-stellar cores, the simplest star-forming sites, has significantly improved since the last IAU Symposium on Astrochemistry (South Korea, 1999). Research done over these years has revealed that major molecular species like CO and CS systematically deplete onto dust grains at the interior of pre-stellar cores, while species like N2H+ and NH3 survive in the gas phase and can usually be detected towards the core centers. Such a selective behaviour of molecular species gives rise to a differentiated (onion-like) chemical composition, and manifests itself in molecular maps as a dichotomy between centrally peaked and ring-shaped distributions. From the point of view of star-formation studies, the identification of molecular inhomogeneities in cores helps to resolve past discrepancies between observations made using different tracers, and brings the possibility of self-consistent modelling of the core internal structure. Here I present recent work on determining the physical and chemical structure of two pre-stellar cores, L1498 and L1517B, using observations in a large number of molecules and Monte Carlo radiative transfer analysis. These two cores are typical examples of the pre-stellar core population, and their chemical composition is characterized by the presence of large freeze out holes in most molecular species. In contrast with these chemically processed objects, a new population of chemically young cores has started to emerge. The characteristics of its most extreme representative, L1521E, are briefly reviewed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. To appear in IAU 231 conf. proc. "Astrochemistry: Recent Successes and Current Challenges," eds. D.C. Lis, G.A. Blake, and E. Herbs

Collisional excitation of singly deuterated ammonia NH2_2D by H2_2

The availability of collisional rate coefficients with H$_2$ is a pre-requisite for interpretation of observations of molecules whose energy levels are populated under non local thermodynamical equilibrium conditions. In the current study, we present collisional rate coefficients for the NH$_2$D / para--H$_2$($J_2 = 0,2$) collisional system, for energy levels up to $J_\tau = 7_7$ ($E_u$$\sim$735 K) and for gas temperatures in the range $T = 5-300$K. The cross sections are obtained using the essentially exact close--coupling (CC) formalism at low energy and at the highest energies, we used the coupled--states (CS) approximation. For the energy levels up to $J_\tau = 4_2$ ($E_u$$\sim$215 K), the cross sections obtained through the CS formalism are scaled according to a few CC reference points. These reference points are subsequently used to estimate the accuracy of the rate coefficients for higher levels, which is mainly limited by the use of the CS formalism. Considering the current potential energy surface, the rate coefficients are thus expected to be accurate to within 5\% for the levels below $J_\tau = 4_2$, while we estimate an accuracy of 30\% for higher levels

High-Frequency Measurements Of The Spectrum Of Sagittarius A*

We report near-simultaneous interferometric measurements of the spectrum of Sagittarius A* over the 5-354 GHz range and single-dish observations that have yielded the first detection of Sgr A* at 850 GHz. We confirm that Sgr A*'s spectrum rises more steeply at short millimeter wavelengths than at centimeter wavelengths, leading to a near-millimeter/submillimeter excess that dominates its luminosity. Below 900 GHz, Sgr A*'s observed luminosity is 70 +/- 30 L.. A new upper limit to Sgr A*'s 24.3 mu m flux, together with a compilation of other extant IR data, imply a far-infrared spectral turnover, which can result from either an intrinsic synchrotron cutoff or excess extinction near Sgr A*. If the former applies, Sgr A*'s total synchrotron luminosity is <10(3) L., while in the latter case it is <3 x 10(4) L. if spherical symmetry also applies.NSF AST96-15025, AST96-13717Astronom

CH^+(1–0) and ^(13)CH^+(1–0) absorption lines in the direction of massive star-forming regions

We report the detection of the ground-state rotational transition of the methylidyne cation CH^+ and its isotopologue ^(13)CH^+ toward the remote massive star-forming regions W33A, W49N, and W51 with the HIFI instrument onboard the Herschel satellite. Both lines are seen only in absorption against the dust continuum emission of the star-forming regions. The CH^+ absorption is saturated over almost the entire velocity ranges sampled by the lines-of-sight that include gas associated with the star-forming regions (SFR) and Galactic foreground material. The CH^+ column densities are inferred from the optically thin components. A lower limit of the isotopic ratio [^(12)CH^+]/[^(13)CH^+] > 35.5 is derived from the absorptions of foreground material toward W49N. The column density ratio, N(CH^+)/N(HCO^+), is found to vary by at least a factor 10, between 4 and >40, in the Galactic foreground material. Line-of-sight ^(12)CH^+ average abundances relative to total hydrogen are estimated. Their average value, N(CH^+)/N_H > 2.6 × 10^(−8), is higher than that observed in the solar neighborhood and confirms the high abundances of CH^+ in the Galactic interstellar medium. We compare this result to the predictions of turbulent dissipation regions (TDR) models and find that these high abundances can be reproduced for the inner Galaxy conditions. It is remarkable that the range of predicted N(CH^+)/N(HCO^+) ratios, from 1 to ~50, is comparable to that observed

CH2D+, the Search for the Holy Grail

CH2D+, the singly deuterated counterpart of CH3+, offers an alternative way to mediate formation of deuterated species at temperatures of several tens of K, as compared to the release of deuterated species from grains. We report a longstanding observational search for this molecular ion, whose rotational spectroscopy is not yet completely secure. We summarize the main spectroscopic properties of this molecule and discuss the chemical network leading to the formation of CH2D+, with explicit account of the ortho/para forms of H2, H3+ and CH3+. Astrochemical models support the presence of this molecular ion in moderately warm environments at a marginal level.Comment: 25 pages, 6 Figures Accepted in Journal of Physical Chemistry A. "Oka Festschrift: Celebrating 45 years of Astrochemistry

Collisional excitation of doubly and triply deuterated ammonia ND2_2H and ND3_3 by H2_2

The availability of collisional rate coefficients is a prerequisite for an accurate interpretation of astrophysical observations, since the observed media often harbour densities where molecules are populated under non--LTE conditions. In the current study, we present calculations of rate coefficients suitable to describe the various spin isomers of multiply deuterated ammonia, namely the ND$_2$H and ND$_3$ isotopologues. These calculations are based on the most accurate NH$_3$--H$_2$ potential energy surface available, which has been modified to describe the geometrical changes induced by the nuclear substitutions. The dynamical calculations are performed within the close--coupling formalism and are carried out in order to provide rate coefficients up to a temperature of $T$ = 50K. For the various isotopologues/symmetries, we provide rate coefficients for the energy levels below $\sim$ 100 cm$^{-1}$. Subsequently, these new rate coefficients are used in astrophysical models aimed at reproducing the NH$_2$D, ND$_2$H and ND$_3$ observations previously reported towards the prestellar cores B1b and 16293E. We thus update the estimates of the corresponding column densities and find a reasonable agreement with the previous models. In particular, the ortho--to--para ratios of NH$_2$D and NHD$_2$ are found to be consistent with the statistical ratios

A Direct Measurement of the Total Gas Column Density in Orion KL

The large number of high-J lines of C^(18)O available via the Herschel Space Observatory provide an unprecedented ability to model the total CO column density in hot cores. Using the emission from all the observed lines (up to J = 15-14), we sum the column densities in each individual level to obtain the total column after correcting for the population in the unobserved states. With additional knowledge of source size, V_(LSR), and line width, and both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE modeling, we have determined the total C^(18)O column densities in the Extended Ridge, Outflow/Plateau, Compact Ridge, and Hot Core components of Orion KL to be 1.4 × 10^(16) cm^(–2), 3.5 × 10^(16) cm^(–2), 2.2 × 10^(16) cm^(–2), and 6.2 × 10^(16) cm^(–2), respectively. We also find that the C^(18)O/C^(17)O abundance ratio varies from 1.7 in the Outflow/Plateau, 2.3 in the Extended Ridge, 3.0 in the Hot Core, and to 4.1 in the Compact Ridge. This is in agreement with models in which regions with higher ultraviolet radiation fields selectively dissociate C^(17)O, although care must be taken when interpreting these numbers due to the size of the uncertainties in the C^(18)O/C^(17)O abundance ratio