Herschel/HIFI discovery of interstellar chloronium (H2Cl+) [Letter]

Lis, D. C., Pearson, J. C., Neufeld, D. A., Schilke, P., Mueller, H. S. P., Gupta, H., Bell, T. A., Comito, C., Phillips, T. G., Bergin, E. A., Ceccarelli, C., Goldsmith, P. F., Blake, G. A., Bacmann, A., Baudry, A., Benedettini, M., Benz, A., Black, J., Boogert, A., Bottinelli, S., Cabrit, S., Caselli, P., Castets, A., Caux, E., Cernicharo, J., Codella, C., Coutens, A., Crimier, N., Crockett, N. R., Daniel, F., Demyk, K., Dominic, C., Dubernet, M. -L., Emprechtinger, M., Encrenaz, P., Falgarone, E., Fuente, A., Gerin, M., Giesen, T. F., Goicoechea, J. R., Helmich, F., Hennebelle, P., Henning, Th., Herbst, E., Hily-Blant, P., Hjalmarson, A., Hollenbach, D., Jack, T., Joblin, C., Johnstone, D., Kahane, C., Kama, M., Kaufman, M., Klotz, A., Langer, W. D., Larsson, B., Le Bourlot, J., Lefloch, B., Le Petit, F., Li, D., Liseau, R., Lord, S. D., Lorenzani, A., Maret, S., Martin, P. G., Melnick, G. J., Menten, K. M., Morris, P., Murphy, J. A., Nagy, Z., Nisini, B., Ossenkopf, V., Pacheco, S., Pagani, L., Parise, Berengere, Perault, M., Plume, R., Qin, S. -L., Roueff, E., Salez, M., Sandqvist, A., Saraceno, P., Schlemmer, S., Schuster, K., Snell, R., Stutzki, J., Tielens, A., Trappe, N., van der Tak, F. F. S., van der Wiel, M. H. D., van Dishoeck, E., Vastel, C., Viti, S., Wakelam, V., Walters, A., Wang, S., Wyrowski, F., Yorke, H. W., Yu, S., Zmuidzinas, J., Delorme, Y., Desbat, J. -P., Guesten, R., Krieg, J. -M. and Delforge, B. 2010. Herschel/HIFI discovery of interstellar chloronium (H2Cl+) [Letter]. Astronomy and Astrophysics 521 , L9. 10.1051/0004-6361/201014959

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Abstract

We report the first detection of chloronium, H2Cl+, in the interstellar medium, using the HIFI instrument aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. The 212–101 lines of ortho-HCl+ and ortho-HCl+ are detected in absorption towards NGC 6334I, and the 111–000 transition of para-HCl+ is detected in absorption towards NGC 6334I and Sgr B2(S). The H2Cl+ column densities are compared to those of the chemically-related species HCl. The derived HCl/H2Cl+ column density ratios, ~1–10, are within the range predicted by models of diffuse and dense photon dominated regions (PDRs). However, the observed H2Cl+ column densities, in excess of 1013 cm-2, are significantly higher than the model predictions. Our observations demonstrate the outstanding spectroscopic capabilities of HIFI for detecting new interstellar molecules and providing key constraints for astrochemical models.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Uncontrolled Keywords:	astrochemistry ; line: identification ; ISM: abundances ; ISM: molecules ; molecular processes ; submillimetre: ISM
Additional Information:	Pdf uploaded in accordance with publisher's policy at http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/0004-6361/ (accessed 17/04/2014)
Publisher:	EDP Sciences
ISSN:	0004-6361
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	07 May 2023 09:26
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/52797

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