ORTHO-PARA SELECTION RULES IN THE GAS-PHASE CHEMISTRY OF INTERSTELLAR AMMONIA
- UJF-Grenoble 1/CNRS-INSU, Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) UMR 5274, Grenoble F-38041 (France)
The ortho-para chemistry of ammonia in the cold interstellar medium is investigated using a gas-phase chemical network. Branching ratios for the primary reaction chain involved in the formation and destruction of ortho- and para-NH{sub 3} were derived using angular momentum rules based on the conservation of the nuclear spin. We show that the 'anomalous' ortho-to-para ratio of ammonia ({approx}0.7) observed in various interstellar regions is in fact consistent with nuclear spin selection rules in a para-enriched H{sub 2} gas. This ratio is found to be independent of temperature in the range 5-30 K. We also predict an ortho-to-para ratio of {approx}2.3 for NH{sub 2}. We conclude that a low ortho-to-para ratio of H{sub 2} naturally drives the ortho-to-para ratios of nitrogen hydrides below the statistical values.
- OSTI ID:
- 22118799
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 770, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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