Related papers: Determining the cosmic ray ionization rate in dyna…
It is not common to consider the role of uncertainties in the rate coefficients used in interstellar gas-phase chemical models. In this paper, we report a new method to determine both the uncertainties in calculated molecular abundances and…
The H$_2$ ionisation rate in the central molecular zone, located in the Galactic centre, is estimated to be $\zeta\sim2\times10^{-14}~\mathrm{s}^{-1}$, based on observations of H$_3^+$ lines. This value is two to three orders of magnitude…
The ionization fraction plays a key role in the physics and chemistry of the neutral interstellar medium, from controlling the coupling of the gas to the magnetic field to allowing fast ion-neutral reactions that drive interstellar…
We present a new model to describe the star formation process in galaxies, which includes the description of the different gas phases -- molecular, atomic, and ionized -- together with its metal content. The model, which will be coupled to…
We present results from radiation non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) calculations that follow the collapse of rotating, magnetised, molecular cloud cores to stellar densities. These are the first such calculations to include all three…
Aims: We aim to simulate radial profiles of molecular abundances and the gas temperature in cold and heavily shielded starless cores by combining chemical and radiative transfer models. Methods: A determination of the dust temperature in a…
We investigate the growth of hydromagnetic waves driven by streaming cosmic rays in the precursor environment of a supernova remnant shock. It is known that transverse waves propagating parallel to the mean magnetic field are unstable to…
Low energy cosmic rays are the major ionization agents of molecular clouds. However, it has been shown that, if the cosmic ray spectrum measured by Voyager 1 is representative of the whole Galaxy, the predicted ionization rate in diffuse…
The common approach to compute the cosmic-ray distribution in an starburst galaxy or region is equivalent to assume that at any point within that environment, there is an accelerator inputing cosmic rays at a reduced rate. This rate should…
Cosmic-ray and X-ray heating are derived from the electron energy loss calculations of Dalgarno, Yan and Liu for hydrogen-helium gas mixtures. These authors treated the heating from elastic scattering and collisional de-excitation of…
Molecular clouds are the principle stellar nurseries of our universe, keeping them in the focus of both observational and theoretical studies. From observations, some of the key properties of molecular clouds are well known but many…
The rate of ionization by cosmic rays in interstellar gas directly associated with gamma-ray emitting supernova remnants is for the first time calculated to be several orders of magnitude larger than the Galactic average. Analysis of…
(Abridged) We aim to determine the degrees of CO depletion, deuterium fractionation, and ionisation in a sample of seven massive clumps associated with IRDCs. The APEX telescope was used to observe the C17O(2-1), H13CO+(3-2), DCO+(3-2),…
Low-energy cosmic rays, in particular protons with energies below 1 GeV, are significant drivers of the thermochemistry of molecular clouds. However, these cosmic rays are also greatly impacted by energy losses and magnetic field transport…
Diffusion of atoms and molecules is a key process for the chemical evolution in the star forming regions of the interstellar medium. Accurate data on the mobility of many important interstellar species is however often not available and…
A significant amount of star formation occurs and has occurred in environments unlike the solar neighbourhood. The majority of stars formed closer to the peak of the cosmic star formation rate (z > 1.3) and a great deal of star formation…
In this paper we investigate the level of star formation activity within nearby molecular clouds. We employ a uniform set of infrared extinction maps to provide accurate assessments of cloud mass and structure and compare these with…
It was recently discovered that in some regions of the Galaxy, the cosmic ray (CR) abundance is several orders of magnitude higher than previously thought. Additionally, there is evidence that in molecular cloud envelopes, the CR ionization…
We present three-dimensional astrochemical simulations and synthetic observations of magnetised, turbulent, self-gravitating molecular clouds. We explore various galactic interstellar medium environments, including cosmic-ray ionization…
The ionization rate of interstellar material by cosmic rays has been a major source of controversy, with different estimates varying by three orders of magnitude. Observational constraints of this rate have all depended on analyzing the…