Herschel HIFI observations of O{sub 2} toward Orion: special conditions for shock enhanced emission
We report observations of molecular oxygen (O{sub 2}) rotational transitions at 487 GHz, 774 GHz, and 1121 GHz toward Orion Peak A. The O{sub 2} lines at 487 GHz and 774 GHz are detected at velocities of 10-12 km s{sup –1} with line widths ∼3 km s{sup –1}; however, the transition at 1121 GHz is not detected. The observed line characteristics, combined with the results of earlier observations, suggest that the region responsible for the O{sub 2} emission is ≅9'' (6 × 10{sup 16} cm) in size, and is located close to the H {sub 2} Peak 1 position (where vibrationally excited H{sub 2} emission peaks), and not at Peak A, 23'' away. The peak O{sub 2} column density is ≅1.1 × 10{sup 18} cm{sup –2}. The line velocity is close to that of the 621 GHz water maser emission found in this portion of the Orion Molecular Cloud, and having a shock with velocity vector lying nearly in the plane of the sky is consistent with producing maximum maser gain along the line of sight. The enhanced O{sub 2} abundance compared to that generally found in dense interstellar clouds can be explained by passage of a low-velocity C shock through a clump with preshock density 2 × 10{sup 4} cm{sup –3}, if a reasonable flux of UV radiation is present. The postshock O{sub 2} can explain the emission from the source if its line-of-sight dimension is ≅10 times larger than its size on the plane of the sky. The special geometry and conditions required may explain why O{sub 2} emission has not been detected in the cores of other massive star-forming molecular clouds.