Related papers: Ionise hard: interstellar PO$^{+}$ detection
We have used archival far-ultraviolet spectra from observations made by HST/STIS and FUSE to determine the column densities and rotational excitation temperatures for CO and H2, respectively, along the lines of sight to 23 Galactic O and B…
The early stages of low-mass star formation are likely to be subject to intense ionization by protostellar energetic MeV particles. As a result, the surrounding gas is enriched in molecular ions, such as HCO$^{+}$ and N$_{2}$H$^{+}$.…
The molecular species hydrogen peroxide, HOOH, is likely to be a key ingredient in the oxygen and water chemistry in the interstellar medium. Our aim with this investigation is to determine how abundant HOOH is in the cloud core {\rho} Oph…
Observations of H3+ in the Galactic diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) have led to various surprising results, including the conclusion that the cosmic-ray ionization rate (zeta_2) is about 1 order of magnitude larger than previously…
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…
We report the tentative detection in space of the nitrosylium ion, NO$^+$. The observations were performed towards the cold dense core Barnard 1-b. The identification of the NO$^+$ $J$=2--1 line is supported by new laboratory measurements…
Phosphorus is a crucial element in biochemistry, especially the P-O bond, which is key for the formation of the backbone of the deoxyribonucleic acid. So far, PO has only been detected towards the envelope of evolved stars, and never…
Studies of absorption spectra of high-z QSOs have revealed that the intergalactic medium at z ~ 2-3 is enriched to ~ 0.1%-1% solar for gas densities more than a few times the mean cosmic density, but have not yet produced an accurate…
We report the first detection in the interstellar medium of a C$_2$H$_5$O$_2$N isomer: $syn$-glycolamide (NH$_2$C(O)CH$_2$OH). The exquisite sensitivity at sub-mK levels of an ultra-deep spectral survey carried out with the Yebes 40m and…
The present-day phosphorus abundance in the solar neighbourhood is determined from a sample of OB-type stars. This is in order to constrain the endpoint of the galactochemical evolution of phosphorus in the course of stellar nucleosynthesis…
Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential elements for life due to its central role in biochemical processes. Recent searches have shown that P-bearing molecules (in particular PN and PO) are present in star-forming regions, although their…
Context. Ionization plays a central role in the gas-phase chemistry of molecular clouds. Since ions are coupled with magnetic fields, which can in turn counteract gravitational collapse, it is of paramount importance to measure their…
Phosphorus is a crucial element in prebiotic chemistry, especially the P$-$O bond, which is key for the formation of the backbone of the deoxyribonucleic acid. So far, PO had only been detected towards the envelope of evolved stars, and…
Cosmic-rays are the primary initiators of interstellar chemistry, and getting a better understanding of the varying impact they have on the chemistry of interstellar clouds throughout the Milky Way will not only expand our understanding of…
Observations of CO+ suggest column densities on the order 10^12 cm^-2 that can not be reproduced by many chemical models. CO+ is more likely to be destroyed than excited in collisions with hydrogen. An anomalous excitation mechanism may…
Little is known about the chemistry of isocyanates (compounds with the functional group R-N=C=O) in the interstellar medium, as only four of them have been detected so far: isocyanate radical (NCO), isocyanic acid (HNCO), N-protonated…
We present FUSE and HST/STIS measurements of the PII column density toward Galactic stars. We analyzed PII through the profile fitting of the unsaturated $\lambda$1125 and $\lambda$1533 lines and derived column densities integrated along…
The abundance of oxygen in galaxies is widely used in furthering our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution. Unfortunately, direct measurements of O/H in the neutral gas are extremely difficult to obtain, as the only OI line…
We present a comprehensive examination of interstellar P and Cl abundances based on an analysis of archival spectra acquired with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic…
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…