Related papers: On the Ortho:Para Ratio of H3+ in Diffuse Molecula…
We used the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m telescope to observe the J_KaKc=3_03-2_02, 3_22-2_21, and 3_21-2_20 transitions of para-H_2CO at 218 GHz simultaneously to determine kinetic temperatures of the dense gas in the central…
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 have studied the evolution of molecular gas during the early stages of protostellar collapse. In addition to allowing for the freeze out of `heavy' species on to grains, we have computed the variation of population densities of the…
OH is a cornerstone molecule in the chemistry of interstellar and circumstellar media and is ubiquitously detected in warm gas thanks to its infrared rotational lines. However, the excitation processes of OH remain poorly characterized. We…
To evaluate the effect of turbulent heating in the thermal balance of interstellar clouds, we develop an extension of the log-Poisson intermittency model to supersonic turbulence. The model depends on a parameter, d, interpreted as the…
With the 30-m IRAM radio telescope, we observed several massive star forming regions at wavelengths of 3-4 and 2 mm. The temperature of the gas in the sources was estimated from the lines of CH$_{3}$CCH and from the transitions of the…
We report the derivation of rate coefficients for the rotational (de-)excitation of PO$^+$ induced by collisions with H$_2$. The calculations were performed on a four-dimensional potential energy surface, obtained on top of highly accurate…
New high-resolution dissociative recombination rate coefficients of rotationally cool and hot H3+ in the vibrational ground state have been measured with a 22-pole trap setup and a Penning ion source, respectively, at the ion storage ring…
Ammonia inversion lines are often used as probes of the physical conditions in the dense ISM. The excitation temperature between the first two para metastable (rotational) levels is an excellent probe of the gas kinetic temperature.…
Cold cores in interstellar molecular clouds represent the very first phase in star formation. The physical conditions of these objects are studied in order to understand how molecular clouds evolve and how stellar masses are determined. The…
We present LVG and non-local radiative transfer calculations involving the rotational and hyperfine structure of the spectrum of N$_2$H$^+$ with collisional rate coefficients recently derived by us. The goal of this study is to check the…
The H3+ molecule has been detected in many lines of sight within the central molecular zone (CMZ) with exceptionally large column densities and unusual excitation properties compared to diffuse local clouds. The detection of the (3,3)…
The ultraviolet and far--ultraviolet spectra of HD 147888 allows to access the v=0 as well as higher vibrational levels of the ground H2 electronic level. We have determined column densities of the H2 molecule on vibrational levels v=0-5…
The temperature is a central parameter affecting the chemical and physical properties of dense cores of interstellar clouds and their evolution to star formation. The chemistry and the dust properties are temperature dependent and the…
We report the results of initial FUSE observations of molecular hydrogen (H2) in translucent clouds. These clouds have greater optical depth than any of the diffuse clouds previously observed for far-UV H2 absorption, and provide new…
Determining temperatures in molecular clouds from ratios of CO rotational lines or from ratios of continuum emission in different wavelength bands suffers from reduced temperature sensitivity in the high-temperature limit. In theory, the…
The H3+ molecular ion plays a fundamental role in interstellar chemistry, as it initiates a network of chemical reactions that produce many interstellar molecules. In dense clouds, the H3+ abundance is understood using a simple chemical…
Using high resolution infrared spectroscopy we have surveyed twenty sightlines for H3+ absorption. H3+ is detected in eight diffuse cloud sightlines with column densities varying from 0.6x10^14 cm^-2 to 3.9x10^14 cm^-2. This brings to…
H2O+ has been observed in its ortho- and para- states toward the massive star forming core Sgr B2(M), located close to the Galactic center. The observations show absorption in all spiral arm clouds between the Sun and Sgr B2. The average…
We present an analysis of interstellar H2 toward HD 37903, which is a hot, B 1.5 V star located in the NGC 2023 reflection nebula. Meyer et al. (2001) have used a rich spectrum of vibrationally excited H2 observed by the HST to calculate a…