H2 molecules and the intercloud medium

Abstract

The paper discusses expected column densities of H2 in the intercloud medium and the possible use of molecules as indicators of intercloud physical conditions. Molecule formation by the H(-) process and on graphite grains is treated, and it is shown that the Barlow-Silk hypothesis of a 1-eV semichemical hydrogen-graphite bond leads to a large enhancement of the intercloud molecule-formation rate. Rotational-excitation calculations are presented for both cloud and intercloud conditions which show, in agreement with Jura (1975), that the presently observed optically thin H2 absorption components are more likely to originate in cold clouds than in the intercloud medium.