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.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1306.6795,
title = {CH2D+, the Search for the Holy Grail},
author = {E. Roueff and M. Gerin and D. C. Lis and A. Wootten and N. Marcelino and J. cernicharo and B. Tercero},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1306.6795},
year = {2013}
}
Comments
25 pages, 6 Figures Accepted in Journal of Physical Chemistry A. "Oka Festschrift: Celebrating 45 years of Astrochemistry"