GAS-GRAIN MODELS FOR INTERSTELLAR ANION CHEMISTRY
- Also at Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064 (United States)
Long-chain hydrocarbon anions C{sub n}H{sup -} (n = 4, 6, 8) have recently been found to be abundant in a variety of interstellar clouds. In order to explain their large abundances in the denser (prestellar/protostellar) environments, new chemical models are constructed that include gas-grain interactions. Models including accretion of gas-phase species onto dust grains and cosmic-ray-induced desorption of atoms are able to reproduce the observed anion-to-neutral ratios, as well as the absolute abundances of anionic and neutral carbon chains, with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Due to their destructive effects, the depletion of oxygen atoms onto dust results in substantially greater polyyne and anion abundances in high-density gas (with n{sub H{sub 2}}{approx}>10{sup 5} cm{sup -3}). The large abundances of carbon-chain-bearing species observed in the envelopes of protostars such as L1527 can thus be explained without the need for warm carbon-chain chemistry. The C{sub 6}H{sup -} anion-to-neutral ratio is found to be most sensitive to the atomic O and H abundances and the electron density. Therefore, as a core evolves, falling atomic abundances and rising electron densities are found to result in increasing anion-to-neutral ratios. Inclusion of cosmic-ray desorption of atoms in high-density models delays freeze-out, which results in a more temporally stable anion-to-neutral ratio, in better agreement with observations. Our models include reactions between oxygen atoms and carbon-chain anions to produce carbon-chain-oxide species C{sub 6}O, C{sub 7}O, HC{sub 6}O, and HC{sub 7}O, the abundances of which depend on the assumed branching ratios for associative electron detachment.
- OSTI ID:
- 22020422
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 749, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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