Related papers: Rotational equilibrium of C$_2$ in diffuse interst…
In this paper, we present new data with interstellar C2 (Phillips bands A-X), from observations made with the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory. We have determined the interstellar column densities…
The internal energy available in vibrationally excited H2 molecules can be used to overcome or diminish the activation barrier of various chemical reactions of interest for molecular astrophysics. In this article we investigate in detail…
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…
The Orion Bar is one of the nearest and best-studied photodissociation or photon-dominated regions (PDRs). Observations reveal the presence of H2 lines from vibrationally or rotationally excited upper levels that suggest warm gas…
High quality archival spectra of interstellar absorption from C I toward 9 stars, taken with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope, were analyzed. Our sample was supplemented by two sight lines, 23 Ori and…
Many theoretical and laboratory studies predict H2 to be formed in highly excited ro-vibrational states. The consequent relaxation of excited levels via a cascade of infrared transitions might be observable in emission from suitable…
Aims. Excitation of far-infrared and submillimetric molecular lines may originate from nonreactive collisions, chemical formation, or far infrared, near-infrared, and optical fluorescences. As a template, we investigate the impact of each…
The chemical inventory of protoplanetary midplanes is the basis for forming planetesimals. Among them, solid-state reactions based on CO/CO$_2$ toward molecular complexity on interstellar dust grains have been studied in theoretical and…
We present results of analysis of physical conditions (number density, intensity of UV field, kinetic temperature) in the cold H$_2$-bearing interstellar medium of local and high redshift galaxies. Our measurements based on the fit to the…
Molecular nitrogen is one of the key species in the chemistry of interstellar clouds and protoplanetary disks and the partitioning of nitrogen between N and N2 controls the formation of more complex prebiotic nitrogen-containing species.…
Water is a key molecule in many astrophysical studies. Its high dipole moment makes this molecule to be subthermally populated under the typical conditions of most astrophysical objects. This motivated the calculation of various sets of…
Some astrophysical observations of molecular hydrogen point to a broadening of the velocity distribution for molecules at excited rotational levels. This effect is observed in both Galactic and high redshift clouds. Analysis of H_2, HD, and…
We investigate the chemical evolution of a forming molecular cloud behind an interstellar shock wave. We conduct three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulations of the converging flow of atomic gas, including a simple chemical network…
Among all closed-shell species observed in molecular clouds, molecules with C$_{3v}$ symmetry play a crucial role, as their rotational spectroscopy allows them to behave as a gas thermometer. In the interstellar medium, methyl cyanide…
Estimating molecular abundances ratios from the direct measurement of the emission of the molecules towards a variety of interstellar environments is indeed very useful to advance in our understanding of the chemical evolution of the…
We report on a search for Interstellar CH2D+. Four transitions occur in easily accessible portions of the spectrum; we report on emission at the frequencies of these transitions toward high column density star-forming regions. While the…
Interstellar aromatic molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic nitrogen and oxygen bearing molecules are thought to be abundant in the interstellar medium. In this class of molecules, benzonitrile ($c$-C$_6$H$_5$CN)…
A new chemical model is presented for the carbon-rich circumstellar envelope of the AGB star IRC+10216. The model includes shells of matter with densities that are enhanced relative to the surrounding circumstellar medium. The chemical…
Among the numerous molecular systems found in the interstellar medium (ISM), vinyl cyanide is the first identified olephinic nitrile. While it has been observed in various sources, its detection in Sgr B2 is notable as the 2$_{11}$-2$_{12}$…
We use UV measurements of interstellar CO towards nearby stars to calculate the density in the diffuse molecular clouds containing the molecules responsible for the observed absorption. Chemical models and recent calculations of the…