Related papers: Detection of extragalactic H3O+
We use the H3O+ molecule to investigate the impact of starburst and AGN activity on the chemistry of the molecular interstellar medium. Using the JCMT, we have observed the 3+_2 - 2-_2 364 GHz line of p-H3O+ towards the centers of seven…
The cosmic-ray ionization rate (zeta) of dense molecular clouds is a key parameter for their dynamics and chemistry. Variations of zeta are well established, but it is unclear if these are related to source column density or to Galactic…
We report observations and analysis of infrared spectra of H3+ and CO lines in the Galactic center, within a few parsecs of the central black hole, Sgr A*. We find a cosmic ray ionization rate typically an order of magnitude higher than…
In diffuse interstellar clouds the chemistry that leads to the formation of the oxygen bearing ions OH+, H2O+, and H3O+ begins with the ionization of atomic hydrogen by cosmic rays, and continues through subsequent hydrogen abstraction…
The molecular gas composition in the inner 1 kpc disk of the starburst galaxy M82 resembles that of Galactic Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). In particular, large abundances of the reactive ions HOC+ and CO+ have been measured in the…
We report on Herschel/PACS observations of absorption lines of OH+, H2O+ and H3O+ in NGC 4418 and Arp 220. Excited lines of OH+ and H2O+ with E_lower of at least 285 and \sim200 K, respectively, are detected in both sources, indicating…
We present the detection of the reactive ion CO+ towards the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. This is the first secure detection of this short-lived ion in an external galaxy. Values of [CO+]/[HCO+]>0.04 are measured across the inner…
The astrochemistry of the HnO+ (n=1..3) ions is important as the main gas-phase formation route for water, and as tracer of the interstellar ionization rate by cosmic rays and other processes. While interstellar H3O+ has been known since…
The oxygen-bearing molecular ions OH+, H2O+, and H3O+ are key species that probe the ionization rate of (partially) molecular gas that is ionized by X-rays and cosmic rays permeating the interstellar medium. We report Herschel far-infrared…
The H3+ ion plays a key role in the chemistry of dense interstellar gas clouds where stars and planets are forming. The low temperatures and high extinctions of such clouds make direct observations of H3+ impossible, but lead to large…
We discuss some implications of our recent detection of extragalactic H3O+: the location of the gas in M82, the origin of energetic radiation in M82, and the possible feedback effects of star formation on the cosmic ray flux in galaxies.
The rate of ionization by cosmic rays in interstellar gas directly associated with gamma-ray emitting supernova remnants is for the first time calculated to be several orders of magnitude larger than the Galactic average. Analysis of…
We used the IRAM 30m telescope to observe the frequency range [86-116]GHz towards the central regions of the starburst galaxies M83, M82, and NGC253, the AGNs M51, NGC1068, and NGC7469, and the ULIRGs Arp220 and Mrk231. Assuming LTE…
We mapped 3 mm continuum and line emission from the starburst galaxy M82 using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy. We targeted the HCN, HCO$^{+}$, HNC, CS and HC$_{3}$N lines, but here we focus on the HCN and…
We present the first aperture synthesis unbiased spectral line survey toward an extragalactic object. The survey covered the 40 GHz frequency range between 202 and 242 GHz of the 1.3 mm atmospheric window. We find that 80% of the observed…
The nucleus of M82 has been mapped in several 3mm and 1mm lines of CN, HCN, C2H, c-C3H2, CH3C2H, HC3N and HOC+ using the IRAM 30m telescope. These species have been purposely selected as good tracers of photon-dominated chemistry. We have…
One of the surprises of the Herschel mission was the detection of ArH+ towards the Crab Nebula in emission and in absorption towards strong Galactic background sources. Although these detections were limited to the first quadrant of the…
Along several sight lines within the Milky Way ArH+ has been ubiquitously detected with only one detection in extragalactic environments, namely along two sight lines in the red shift z=0.89 absorber towards the lensed blazar PKS 1830-211.…
We model the production of OH+, H2O+, and H3O+ in interstellar clouds, using a steady state photodissociation region code that treats the freeze-out of gas species, grain surface chemistry, and desorption of ices from grains. The code…
Absorption lines from the molecules OH+, H2O+, and H3+ have been observed in a diffuse molecular cloud along a line of sight near W51 IRS2. We present the first chemical analysis that combines the information provided by all three of these…