Related papers: Isotopic fractionation in interstellar molecules
We investigate nitrogen isotope fractionation in forming and evolving molecular clouds using gas-ice astrochemical simulations. We find that the bulk gas can become depleted in heavy nitrogen (15N) due to the formation of 15N-enriched ices.…
Nitrogen-bearing molecules display variable isotopic fractionation levels in different astronomical environments such as in the interstellar medium or in the Solar System. Models of interstellar chemistry are unable to induce nitrogen…
The line intensities of the fundamental rotational transitions of H13CN and HC15N were observed towards two prestellar cores, L183 and L1544, and lead to molecular isotopic ratios 140 6 14N/15N 6 250 and 140 6 14N/15N 6 360, respectively.…
Context. The increased sensitivity and high spectral resolution of millimeter telescopes allow the detection of an increasing number of isotopically substituted molecules in the interstellar medium. The 14N/ 15N ratio is difficult to…
In star forming regions in our own Galaxy, the 14N/15N ratio is found to vary from $\sim$ 100 in meteorites, comets and protoplanetary disks up to $\sim$ 1000 in pre-stellar and star forming cores, while in external galaxies the very few…
Organic material found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles is enriched in D and 15N. This is consistent with the idea that the functional groups carrying these isotopic anomalies, nitriles and amines, were formed by ion-molecule…
(Abridged) The terrestrial planets, comets, and meteorites are significantly enriched in 15N compared to the Sun and Jupiter. While the solar and jovian nitrogen isotope ratio is believed to represent the composition of the protosolar…
Measurements of the nitrogen isotopic ratio in Solar System comets show a constant value, ~140, which is three times lower than the protosolar ratio, a highly significant difference that remains unexplained. Observations of static starless…
Nitrogen-bearing molecules in cold molecular clouds exhibit a range of isotopic fractionation ratios and these molecules may be the precursors of $^{15}$N enrichments found in comets and meteorites. Chemical model calculations indicate that…
Despite low elemental abundance of atomic deuterium in interstellar medium (ISM), observational evidences suggest that several species in gas-phase and in ices could be heavily fractionated. We explore various aspects of deuterium…
The formation of singly and doubly deuterated isotopomers of formaldehyde and of singly, doubly, and multiply deuterated isotopomers of methanol on interstellar grain surfaces has been studied with a semi-empirical modified rate approach…
Isotopic fractionation is a very powerful tool to follow the evolution of material from one stage to the next in the star-formation process. Pre-stellar cores exhibit some of the highest levels of deuteration because their physical…
Photodissociation of 14N2 and 14N15N occurs in interstellar clouds, circumstellar envelopes, protoplanetary discs, and other environments due to UV radiation from stellar sources and the presence of cosmic rays. This source of N atoms…
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…
Deuteration is sensitive to environmental conditions in star-forming regions. To investigate NH$_2$D chemistry, we compared the spatial distribution of ortho-NH$_2$D $1_{11}^s-1_{01}^a$, NH$_3$(1,1) and NH$_3$(2,2) in 12 late-stage massive…
We report new calculations of interstellar 15N fractionation. Previously, we have shown that large enhancements of 15N/14N can occur in cold, dense gas where CO is frozen out, but that the existence of an NH + N channel in the dissociative…
Isotopologue abundance ratios are important to understand the evolution of astrophysical objects and ultimately the origins of a planetary system like our own. Being nitrogen a fundamental ingredient of pre-biotic material, understanding…
The surface formation of NH3 and its deuterated isotopologues - NH2D, NHD2, and ND3 - is investigated at low temperatures through the simultaneous addition of hydrogen and deuterium atoms to nitrogen atoms in CO-rich interstellar ice…
We present a new gas-grain chemical model for the combined isotopic fractionation of carbon and nitrogen in molecular clouds, in which the isotope chemistry of carbon and nitrogen is coupled with a time-dependent description of spin-state…
Context. Observations of $\rm ^{14}N/^{15}N$ in the interstellar medium are becoming more frequent thanks to the increased telescope capabilities. However, interpreting these data is still puzzling. In particular, measurements of $\rm…