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Laboratory experiments show that the ion-molecule chemistry of phosphorus is significantly different from that of nitrogen in dense interstellar clouds. The PH3 molecule is not readily formed by gas-phase, ion-molecule reactions in these regions. Laboratory results used in a simple kinetic model indicate that the most abundant molecule containing phosphorus in dense clouds is PO.
We have constructed three-dimensional models for the equilibrium abundance of molecular hydrogen in diffuse interstellar clouds of arbitrary geometry that are illuminated by ultraviolet radiation. The position-dependent photodissociation rate of H2 in such clouds was computed with a 26 ray approximation to model the attenuation of the incident ultraviolet radiation field by dust and by H2 line absorption. We have applied our modeling technique to the isolated diffuse cloud G236+39, assuming that the cloud has a constant density and that the thickness of the cloud along the line of sight is at every point proportional to the 100 micron continuum intensity measured by IRAS. We find that our model can successfully account for observed variations in the ratio of 100 micron continuum intensity to H I column density, with larger values of that ratio occurring along lines of sight in which the molecular hydrogen fraction is expected to be the largest. Using a standard chi square analysis to assess the goodness of fit of our models, we find (at the 60 a level) that a three-dimensional model is more successful in matching the observational data than a one-dimensional model in which the geometrical extent of the cloud along the line of sight is assumed to be much smaller than its extent in the plane of the sky. If D is the distance to G236 + 39, and given standard assumptions about the rate of grain-catalyzed H2 formation, we find that the cloud has an extent along the line of sight that is 0.9 +/- 0.1 times its mean extent projected onto the plane of the sky and a gas density of 53 +/- 8 (100 pc/D) H nuclei/cc and is illuminated by a radiation field of 1.1 +/- 0.2 (100 pc/D) times the mean interstellar radiation field. The derived 100 micron emissivity per nucleon is 1.13 +/- 0.06 x 10(exp -20) MJy/sr sq cm.
The paper studies the equilibrium of self-gravitating isothermal models of interstellar clouds with a frozen-in magnetic field linked smoothly to the field of a hot tenuous intercloud medium. Equilibrium states are determined which can be reached by clouds contracting nonhomologously from a spherical uniform initial state. Three free parameters characterize the problem: a dimensionless initial radius related to the Jeans length of the cloud, the initial ratio of the magnetic and gas pressures in the cloud, and the initial ratio of the intercloud and cloud pressures. The dependence of the solutions on each of these parameters is investigated. It is found that: (1) the frozen-in field causes the cloud to become oblate with its major axis normal to the field lines; (2) the flattening increases as the magnetic-field strength, gravitational forces, or intercloud pressure increases; (3) increasing intercloud pressure eventually leads to gravitational collapse; and (4) the cloud can reach equilibrium only if its radius does not exceed some critical value. The observed inefficiency of the star-formation process within massive clouds is examined and explained in terms of magnetic phenomena in a collapsing cloud.
In the 91-100 nm spectral region, where absorption of photons by interstellar CO usually leads to dissociation, laboratory spectra obtained at 295 K show that most CO bands are both overlapped and perturbed. Reliable band oscillator strengths cannot be extracted from such spectra. As a consequence, synthetic extreme-ultraviolet absorption spectra for CO at the low temperatures that prevail in interstellar clouds are uncertain. A supersonic expansion technique has been used to cool CO to 30 K and three bands in the 97-nm region have been studied with high spectral resolution. The measured spectrum at 30 K is in reasonable agreement with some published modeled spectra, but the ratios of integrated cross sections are somewhat different from those determined from low resolution spectra obtained at 295 K, in which the bands are blended.
We introduce the use of Laplacian pyramid transforms, a form of nonorthogonal wavelets, to analyze the structure of interstellar clouds. These transforms are generally better suited for analyzing structure than orthogonal wavelets because they provide more flexibility in the structure of the encoding functions - here circularly symmetric bandpass filters. This technique is applied to CO maps of Barnard 5. In the (C-13)O maps, for example, we identify 60 different fragments and clumps, as well as several cavities, or bubbles. Many features show evidence of hierarchical structure, with most of the power in the largest wavelengths. The clumps have a more chaotic structure at small wavelengths than expected for Kolmogorov turbulence, and a mass distribution proportional to M exp -5/3. The structure analysis is consistent with a picture where gravity, energy injection, compressible turbulence, and coalescence play an important role in the dynamics of B5.
The possibility that vibrationally excited H2 may be collisionally de-excited, so providing a heating mechanism for interstellar clouds which operates by coupling the stellar radiation to the gas, is discussed. The majority of excitations in the Lyman and Werner bands of H2 return the molecules to the ground electronic state in a vibrationally excited level, the most favored level being 7. The heating rate obtained in this way is compared with other mechanisms which have been postulated, and the results of calculations of temperature as a function of depth into clouds of different densities are presented. It appears that this mechanism is a significant one, which should be taken into account in detailed models of dense clouds.
We present a series of gasdynamical simulations of the interaction of a dense, cool interstellar cloud with a high-speed, supersonic wind that confines and accelerates the embedded cloud. Our goal is to attempt to determine if such clouds can survive various potentially disruptive instabilities, that occur at their peripheries, long enough to be accelerated to speeds which are comparable to the wind velocity. These simulations are performed using two-dimensional, Eulerian gas dynamics on both an axisymmetric (about the cloud axis) and 'slab' geometric grid. The spatial and temporal resolutions of the simulations are varied over a wide range to investigate the effects of small-scale instabilities on the overall acceleration of clouds and the development of large-scale, disruptive instabilities. Also, we study the effects of wind/cloud Mach number variations by changing the wind speed constant at about 12 km/s (which corresponds to a cloud temperature of 10,000 K). The current simulations track the evolution of clouds as they are accelerated to speeds approximately 4-5 times greater than their internal sound speeds. Furthermore, the models with the highest resolution were extended far beyond quasi-linear Rayleigh-Taylor growth times reaching 6-7 Rayleigh-Taylor growth times for the largest scale instabilities before being terminated because of the accumulation of errors at the rear grid boundary.
We discuss the possibility that vibrationally excited H2 may be collisionally de-excited, so providing a heating mechanism for interstellar clouds which operates by coupling the stellar radiation to the gas. The majority of excitations in the Lyman and Werner bands of H2 return the molecules to the ground electronic state in a vibrationally excited level, the most favoured being v'' = 7. We compare the hearing rate obtained in this way with other mechanisms which have been postulated, and present the results of calculations of temperature as a function of depth into clouds of different densities.
A two spatial dimension gravitational hydrodynamics code has been used to calculate the initial isothermal dynamic collapse phase of axially symmetric, rotating interstellar clouds. The Eulerian code has been constructed so as to conserve angular momentum both locally (approximately) and globally (exactly). An axially symmetric, rotating cloud collapses to form a rotating, near-equilibrium ring. The rings so formed are compared with those found previously by Black and Bodenheimer, and Bodenheimer and Tscharnuter, and found to agree in structure fairly well. Numerical tests with the code, as well as an analytic calculation of the collapse of a pressureless, rotating, axially symmetric cloud in a fixed gravitational potential, support the assertion that the observed ring formation is physically realistic.
A search for correlations arising from molecular line data is made in order to place constraints on the chemical models of interstellar clouds. At 10 to the 21st H2/sq cm, N(CO) for dark clouds is a factor of six greater than the value for diffuse clouds. This implies that the strength of the UV radiation field where CO shields itself from dissociation is about one-half the strength of the average Galactic field. The dark cloud data indicate that the abundance of CO continues to increase with A(V) for directions with A(V) of 4 mag or less, although less steeply with N(H2) than for diffuse clouds. For H2CO, a quadratic relationship is obtained in plots versus H2 column density. The data suggest a possible turnover at the highest values for A(V). NH3 shows no correlation with H2, C(O-18), HC3N, or HC5N; a strong correlation is found between HC5N and HC3N, indicating a chemical link between the cyanopolyynes.
The effect produced by the anisotropic gravitational field on the shape of a nonspherical, self-gravitating interstellar cloud is examined. The projected axial ratios observed for molecular clouds can be accounted for if clouds are not generally in a state of strict dynamical equilibrium. For clouds having spectral line widths dominated by supersonic turbulent motions, this purely gravitational effect predicts a mean true axial ratio q about 0.3 for both oblate and prolate cloud geometries. Clouds having p less than about 0.3 are likely to be prolate and quite elongated. The observational data on molecular cloud cores, which have essentially thermal line widths, can be fitted equally well to either oblate or prolate spheroids having q between 0.1 and 0.4 with q about 0.2 providing the best match: highly elongated cores are again more likely to be prolate. While other processes certainly operate throughout the Galaxy to influence cloud shape, it appears plausible that at least some clouds may be shaped principally by their anisotropic gravitational field.
The velocity profiles of O VI absorption lines of 24 stars, observed in early Copernicus surveys, have been compared with the line profiles of Si III (1206.51 A) and N II (1083.99 A). The velocity structures of the O VI lines appear to be correlated with those of the material in the lower ionization stages. It is argued that the O VI absorption arises in the coronal gas of the conductive interface between hot gas, responsible for extended, soft X-ray emission, and cooler interstellar clouds. The velocity broadening of both sets of lines is attributed to motions of the cloud surfaces induced by pressure fluctuations in the interstellar medium.
Laboratory measurements and calculations have been performed to determine the abundance ratio of the deuterated ethynyl radical (CCD) to the normal radical (CCH) which can be achieved in dense interstellar clouds via isotopic fractionation in the C2H2(+) (HD)=C2HD(+)(H2) system of reactions. According to this limited treatment, the CCD/CCH abundance ratio which can be attained is in the range 0.02-0.03 for the Orion molecular cloud and 0.0l-0.02 for TMC-1. These ranges of numbers are in reasonable agreement with the observed values in Orion and TMC-1. However, the analysis of the CCD/CCH abundance ratio is complicated via the presence of competing fractionation mechanisms, especially in the low-temperature source TMC-1.
Interferometric scans of the interstellar 7699-A line of K I or of the D1 line of Na I are reported for 14 stars. Along with results obtained recently by others for the column densities of H I, H2, or Na I toward a larger number of stars, these results are added to a previous compilation of such data, and are used to reanalyze the relations among the well-correlated K I, Na I, and total hydrogen column densities. The estimated depletion factors of both K and Na are about 3 to 4. Alternatively, the fractional ionization will be at least 0.0009 in these relatively low-density clouds if the K and Na abundances are not to exceed their solar values. Photoionization of the heavy elements by starlight can account for the greater part of this ionization if interstellar carbon is undepleted. The influence of temperature effects and of gas-phase chemical reactions on the approximately quadratic variations of the K I and Na I column densities with the total hydrogen column density is discussed.
By observing the difference in optical depths between absorption spectra toward the two components of double sources, the variations in opacity over lengths of less than 0.1 up to 10 pc inside diffuse interstellar clouds were measured. Significant variations were detected on scales larger than about 0.2 pc, but not less. This may represent the minimum size for diffuse cloud structure. By comparing the variations of Gaussian fitted line parameters, it was found that variations in the internal velocity field of diffuse clouds explain the data better than tiny independent cloudlets.
The suggestion is considered that multiply ionized atoms produced by K- and L-shell X-ray ionization and cosmic-ray ionization can undergo ion-molecule reactions and also initiate molecule production. The role of X-rays in molecule production in general is discussed, and the contribution to molecule production of the C(+) radiative association with hydrogen is examined. Such gas-phase reactions of singly and multiply ionized atoms are used to calculate molecular abundances of carbon-, nitrogen-, and oxygen-bearing species. The column densities of the molecules are evaluated on the basis of a modified version of previously developed isobaric cloud models. It is found that reactions of multiply ionized carbon with H2 can contribute a significant fraction of the observed CH in diffuse interstellar clouds in the presence of diffuse X-ray structures or discrete X-ray sources and that substantial amounts of CH(+) can be produced under certain conditions.
This is a supplement to a previous paper (Anicich & Huntress 1986). It is a survey of bimolecular positive ion-molecule reactions with potential importance to the chemistry of planetary atmospheres, cometary comae, and interstellar clouds. This supplement covers the literature from 1986 through 1991, with some additional citations missed in the original survey. Over 200 new citations are included. A table of reactions is listed by reactant ion, and cross-references are provided for both ionic and neutral reactants and also for both ionic and neutral products.
The reaction Cl(+) + H2 yielding HCl(+) + H is rapid, and it leads to the formation of the molecules HCl(+), H2Cl(+), and HCl. It may be possible to detect HCl(+) near 3600 A, and HCl may be observable at 1291 A. Also, photodissociation of HCl(+) may be a significant source of protons within clouds, and chemical heating resulting from the destruction of chlorine-bearing molecules may account for perhaps 1-10 per cent of the expected cooling from diffuse interstellar clouds.-