Related papers: H3+ Between the Stars
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…
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…
Surprisingly large column densities of H3+ have been detected using infrared absorption spectroscopy in seven diffuse cloud sightlines (Cygnus OB2 12, Cygnus OB2 5, HD 183143, HD 20041, WR 104, WR 118, and WR 121), demonstrating that H3+ is…
The chemistry in the diffuse interstellar medium initiates the gradual increase of molecular complexity during the life cycle of matter. A key molecule that enables build-up of new molecular bonds and new molecules via proton-donation is…
The astrochemistry of the HnO+ (n=1..3) ions is important as the main gas-phase formation route for water, and as tracer of the interstellar ionization rate by cosmic rays and other processes. While interstellar H3O+ has been known since…
We carried out an observational search for the recently discovered molecule H2NC, and its more stable isomer H2CN, toward eight cold dense clouds (L1544, L134N, TMC-2, Lupus-1A, L1489, TMC-1 NH3, L1498, and L1641N) and two diffuse clouds…
The H3+ and H2D+ ions are important probes of the physical and chemical conditions in regions of the interstellar medium where new stars are forming. This paper reviews how observations of these species and of heavier ions such as HCO+ and…
We present the theory of radiative association of atoms and molecules, and we apply it to the (H$_2$-H$^-$) van der Waals complex. We discuss the possibility for the H$_3^-$ ion to be formed in the interstellar medium in an environment with…
The first detection of the molecular ion H3+ in an extragalactic object has been made toward the highly obscured ultraluminous galaxy, IRAS 08572+3915. Two absorption features near 3.9 microns in its spectrum are identified as the…
Interstellar hydrides -- that is, molecules containing a single heavy element atom with one or more hydrogen atoms -- were among the first molecules detected outside the solar system. They lie at the root of interstellar chemistry, being…
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…
Although they are only minor constituents of the interstellar medium, halogen-containing molecules are of special interest because of their unique thermochemistry. Here, we present a theoretical study of the chemistry of interstellar…
We consider the possibility that solid molecular hydrogen is present in interstellar space. If so cosmic-rays and energetic photons cause ionisation in the solid leading to the formation of H6+. This ion is not produced by gas-phase…
Diffuse and translucent molecular clouds fill a vast majority of the interstellar space in the galactic disk being thus the most typical objects of the Interstellar Medium (ISM). Recent advances in observational techniques of modern optical…
The formation of CH+ in the interstellar medium has long been an outstanding problem in chemical models. In order to probe the physical conditions of the ISM in which CH+ forms, we propose the use of CH3+ observations. The pathway to…
The chemistry of the diffuse interstellar medium is driven by the combined influences of cosmic rays, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and turbulence. Previously detected at the outer edges of photodissociation regions (PDRs) and formed from the…
The triatomic hydrogen ion H3+ is one of the most important species for the gas phase chemistry of the interstellar medium. Observations of H3+ are used to constrain important physical and chemical parameters of interstellar environments.…
The field of astrochemistry has seen major advances triggered by the completion of new powerful radio telescopes, with gains in sensitivity of receivers and in bandwidth. To date, about 330 molecular species are detected, in interstellar…
Interstellar CO2 is an important reservoir of carbon and oxygen, and one of the major constituents of the icy mantles of dust grains, but it is not observable directly in the cold gas because has no permanent dipole moment. Its protonated…
This paper relates the history of attempts to detect H3+ in the dense interstellar medium, from the early 1980's to the successful detection in 1996.