skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: A UNIFIED MONTE CARLO TREATMENT OF GAS-GRAIN CHEMISTRY FOR LARGE REACTION NETWORKS. II. A MULTIPHASE GAS-SURFACE-LAYERED BULK MODEL

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
 [1];  [2]
  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
  2. Departments of Chemistry, Astronomy, and Physics, The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

The observed gas-phase molecular inventory of hot cores is believed to be significantly impacted by the products of chemistry in interstellar ices. In this study, we report the construction of a full macroscopic Monte Carlo model of both the gas-phase chemistry and the chemistry occurring in the icy mantles of interstellar grains. Our model treats icy grain mantles in a layer-by-layer manner, which incorporates laboratory data on ice desorption correctly. The ice treatment includes a distinction between a reactive ice surface and an inert bulk. The treatment also distinguishes between zeroth- and first-order desorption, and includes the entrapment of volatile species in more refractory ice mantles. We apply the model to the investigation of the chemistry in hot cores, in which a thick ice mantle built up during the previous cold phase of protostellar evolution undergoes surface reactions and is eventually evaporated. For the first time, the impact of a detailed multilayer approach to grain mantle formation on the warm-up chemistry is explored. The use of a multilayer ice structure has a mixed impact on the abundances of organic species formed during the warm-up phase. For example, the abundance of gaseous HCOOCH{sub 3} is lower in the multilayer model than in previous grain models that do not distinguish between layers (so-called two phase models). Other gaseous organic species formed in the warm-up phase are affected slightly. Finally, we find that the entrapment of volatile species in water ice can explain the two-jump behavior of H{sub 2}CO previously found in observations of protostars.

OSTI ID:
22167297
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 762, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English