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Title: THE HCN/HNC ABUNDANCE RATIO TOWARD DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION

Abstract

Using the H{sup 13}CN and HN{sup 13}C J = 1–0 line observations, the abundance ratio of HCN/HNC has been estimated for different evolutionary stages of massive star formation: infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), high-mass protostellar objects (HMPOs), and ultracompact H ii regions (UCH iis). IRDCs were divided into “quiescent IRDC cores (qIRDCc)” and “active IRDC cores (aIRDCc),” depending on star formation activity. The HCN/HNC ratio is known to be higher at active and high temperature regions related to ongoing star formation, compared to cold and quiescent regions. Our observations toward 8 qIRDCc, 16 aIRDCc, 23 HMPOs, and 31 UCH iis show consistent results; the ratio is 0.97 (±0.10), 2.65 (±0.88), 4.17 (±1.03), and 8.96 (±3.32) in these respective evolutionary stages, increasing from qIRDCc to UCH iis. The change of the HCN/HNC abundance ratio, therefore, seems directly associated with the evolutionary stages of star formation, which have different temperatures. One suggested explanation for this trend is the conversion of HNC to HCN, which occurs effectively at higher temperatures. To test the explanation, we performed a simple chemical model calculation. In order to fit the observed results, the energy barrier of the conversion must be much lower than the value provided by theoreticalmore » calculations.« less

Authors:
;  [1];  [2]
  1. School of Space Research, Kyung Hee University, Yongin-Si, Gyeonggi-Do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)
  2. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22520183
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 219; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0067-0049
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CARBON 13; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; HYDROCYANIC ACID; MASS; PROTOSTARS; STAR EVOLUTION; STARS

Citation Formats

Jin, Mihwa, Lee, Jeong-Eun, and Kim, Kee-Tae. THE HCN/HNC ABUNDANCE RATIO TOWARD DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1088/0067-0049/219/1/2.
Jin, Mihwa, Lee, Jeong-Eun, & Kim, Kee-Tae. THE HCN/HNC ABUNDANCE RATIO TOWARD DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/219/1/2
Jin, Mihwa, Lee, Jeong-Eun, and Kim, Kee-Tae. 2015. "THE HCN/HNC ABUNDANCE RATIO TOWARD DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/219/1/2.
@article{osti_22520183,
title = {THE HCN/HNC ABUNDANCE RATIO TOWARD DIFFERENT EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF MASSIVE STAR FORMATION},
author = {Jin, Mihwa and Lee, Jeong-Eun and Kim, Kee-Tae},
abstractNote = {Using the H{sup 13}CN and HN{sup 13}C J = 1–0 line observations, the abundance ratio of HCN/HNC has been estimated for different evolutionary stages of massive star formation: infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), high-mass protostellar objects (HMPOs), and ultracompact H ii regions (UCH iis). IRDCs were divided into “quiescent IRDC cores (qIRDCc)” and “active IRDC cores (aIRDCc),” depending on star formation activity. The HCN/HNC ratio is known to be higher at active and high temperature regions related to ongoing star formation, compared to cold and quiescent regions. Our observations toward 8 qIRDCc, 16 aIRDCc, 23 HMPOs, and 31 UCH iis show consistent results; the ratio is 0.97 (±0.10), 2.65 (±0.88), 4.17 (±1.03), and 8.96 (±3.32) in these respective evolutionary stages, increasing from qIRDCc to UCH iis. The change of the HCN/HNC abundance ratio, therefore, seems directly associated with the evolutionary stages of star formation, which have different temperatures. One suggested explanation for this trend is the conversion of HNC to HCN, which occurs effectively at higher temperatures. To test the explanation, we performed a simple chemical model calculation. In order to fit the observed results, the energy barrier of the conversion must be much lower than the value provided by theoretical calculations.},
doi = {10.1088/0067-0049/219/1/2},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22520183}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series},
issn = {0067-0049},
number = 1,
volume = 219,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}