Related papers: The Deuterium Fractionation Timescale in Dense Clo…
At the low temperatures ($\sim$10 K) and high densities ($\sim$100,000 H$_2$ molecules per cc) of molecular cloud cores and protostellar envelopes, a large amount of molecular species (in particular those containing C and O) freeze-out onto…
We examine galactic chemical evolution models which reproduce the present-day and pre-solar values of deuterium starting with a primordial value which is consistent with a baryon-to-photon ratio of $3 \times 10^{-10}$. We consider various…
Theory predicts, and observations confirm, that the column density ratio of a molecule containing D to its counterpart containing H can be used as an evolutionary tracer in the low-mass star formation process. Since it remains unclear if…
Deuterium fractionation provides a key diagnostic of the physical and chemical evolution of prestellar and protostellar cores, where it is strongly linked to CO depletion in cold, dense gas. We present the first spatially resolved maps of…
Understanding gas-grain chemistry of deuterium in star-forming objects may help to explain their history and present state. We aim to clarify how processes in ices affect the deuterium fractionation. In this regard, we investigate a…
Observations of low mass protostars which probe small enough size scales to be within likely CO depletion regions show the highest [NH2D]/[NH3] ratios yet measured, of 4--33%. These molecular D/H ratios are higher than those measured on…
Isotopic ratios have been used as chemical diagnostics to investigate the origin of the material in the Solar System. We have determined the HCN, HNC, and N2H+ isotopic ratios and the chemical age in a large sample of 23 starless cores…
The formation of deuterated molecules is favoured at low temperatures and high densities. Therefore, the deuteration fraction D$_{frac}$ is expected to be enhanced in cold, dense prestellar cores and to decrease after protostellar birth.…
We present N2D+ 3-2 (IRAM) and H2D+ 1_11 - 1_10 and N2H+ 4-3 (JCMT) maps of the small cluster-forming Ophiuchus B2 core in the nearby Ophiuchus molecular cloud. In conjunction with previously published N2H+ 1-0 observations, the N2D+ data…
We have measured the deuterium fractionation (through the column density ratio N(N2D+)/N(N2H+)) and the CO depletion factor (ratio between expected and observed CO abundance) in a sample of 10 high-mass protostellar candidates, in order to…
The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) contains most of the mass of our Galaxy but its star formation rate is one order of magnitude lower than in the Galactic disc. This is likely related to the fact that the bulk of the gas in the CMZ is in a…
We present the modeling results of deuterium fractionation of water ice, H2, and the primary deuterium isotopologues of H3+ adopting physical conditions associated with the star and planet formation process. We calculated the deuterium…
We have performed a pointed survey of N2D+ 2-1 and N2D+ 3-2 emission toward 64 N2H+-bright starless and protostellar cores in the Perseus molecular cloud using the Arizona Radio Observatory Submillimeter Telescope and Kitt Peak 12 m…
In this work we present the first attempt of modelling the deuterium chemistry in the massive young protostellar core NGC 2264 CMM3. We investigated the sensitivity of this chemistry to the physical conditions in its surrounding…
Prestellar cores represent the initial conditions of star formation, but heavy molecules such as CO are strongly depleted in their cold, dense interiors, limiting the ability to probe core centers. Deuterated molecular ions therefore emerge…
To understand massive star formation requires study of its initial conditions. Two massive starless core candidates, C1-N & C1-S, have been detected in IRDC G028.37+00.07 in $\rm N_2D^+$(3-2) with $ALMA$. From their line widths, either the…
Deuterium fractionation in molecular ions, in particular HCO+, has been extensively used to estimate the degree of ionization in molecular clouds. This paper reviews recent work on ionization degree in homogeneous clouds. We will show that…
We have observed the J=3-2 transition of N2H+ and N2D+ to investigate the trend of deuterium fractionation with evolutionary stage in three selected regions in the Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G28.34+0.06 with the Submillimeter Telescope…
Measurements of deuterium in the local interstellar medium have revealed large variations in D/H along different lines of sight. Moreover, recent {\it Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer} (FUSE) measurements find D/H to be anticorrelated…
We use spectra and maps of the $J=1-0$ and $J=2-1$ DCO$^{+}$, DCN, DNC, $\rm N_2D^+$ lines and $1_{11}-1_{01}$ ortho- and para-NH$_{2}$D lines, obtained with the IRAM-30m telescope, as well as observations of their hydrogenated…