Search for Interstellar LiH in the Milky Way

Journal Article · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 2017 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/AA5EBD· OSTI ID:22869266

Neufeld, David A. ^[1]; Goldsmith, Paul F. ^[2]; Comito, Claudia; Schmiedeke, Anika ^[3]

---

1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 20218 (United States)
2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena CA, 91109 (United States)
3. I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Köln (Germany)

We report the results of a sensitive search for the 443.952902 GHz J=1--0 transition of the lithium hydride (LiH) molecule toward two interstellar clouds in the Milky Way, W49N and Sgr B2 (Main), that has been carried out using the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope. The results obtained toward W49N place an upper limit of 1.9×10{sup −11} (3σ) on the LiH abundance, N(LiH)/N(H{sub 2}), in a foreground, diffuse molecular cloud along the sight line to W49N, corresponding to 0.5% of the solar system lithium abundance. Those obtained toward Sgr B2 (Main) place an abundance limit N(LiH)/N(H{sub 2})<3.6×10{sup −13} (3σ) in the dense gas within the Sgr B2 cloud itself. These limits are considerably smaller that those implied by the tentative detection of LiH reported previously for the z = 0.685 absorber toward B0218+357.

• OSTI ID: 22869266
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 837; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COSMIC DUST
DETECTION
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
HYDROGEN
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
LITHIUM
LITHIUM HYDRIDES
MILKY WAY
MOLECULES
TELESCOPES