Abstracts of Interest
Selected by:
Ryan Burley
Abstract: 2308.13781
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Observation of gamma rays up to 320 TeV from the middle-aged TeV pulsar wind nebula HESS J1849$-$000
Download PDFAbstract: Gamma rays from HESS J1849$-$000, a middle-aged TeV pulsar wind nebula (PWN), are observed by the Tibet air shower array and the muon detector array. The detection significance of gamma rays reaches $4.0\, \sigma$ and $4.4\, \sigma$ levels above 25 TeV and 100 TeV, respectively, in units of Gaussian standard deviation $\sigma$. The energy spectrum measured between $40\, {\rm TeV} < E < 320\, {\rm TeV}$ for the first time is described with a simple power-law function of ${\rm d}N/{\rm d}E = (2.86 \pm 1.44) \times 10^{-16}(E/40\, {\rm TeV})^{-2.24 \pm 0.41}\, {\rm TeV}^{-1}\, {\rm cm}^{-2}\, {\rm s}^{-1}$. The gamma-ray energy spectrum from the sub-TeV ($E < 1\, {\rm TeV}$) to sub-PeV ($100\, {\rm TeV} < E < 1\, {\rm PeV}$) ranges including the results of previous studies can be modeled with the leptonic scenario, inverse Compton scattering by high-energy electrons accelerated by the PWN of PSR J1849$-$0001. On the other hand, the gamma-ray energy spectrum can also be modeled with the hadronic scenario in which gamma rays are generated from the decay of neutral pions produced by collisions between accelerated cosmic-ray protons and the ambient molecular cloud found in the gamma-ray emitting region. The cutoff energy of cosmic-ray protons $E_{\rm p\, cut}$, cut is estimated at ${\rm log}_{10}(E_{\rm p,\, cut}/{\rm TeV}) = 3.73^{+2.98}_{-0.66}$, suggesting that protons are accelerated up to the PeV energy range. Our study thus proposes that HESS J1849$-$000 should be further investigated as a new candidate for a Galactic PeV cosmic-ray accelerator, PeVatron.
Abstract: 2308.13780
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Measurement of the Gamma-Ray Energy Spectrum beyond 100 TeV from the HESS J1843$-$033 Region
Download PDFAbstract: HESS J1843$-$033 is a very-high-energy gamma-ray source whose origin remains unidentified. This work presents, for the first time, the energy spectrum of gamma rays beyond $100\, {\rm TeV}$ from the HESS J1843$-$033 region using the data recorded by the Tibet air shower array and its underground muon detector array. A gamma-ray source with an extension of $0.34^{\circ} \pm 0.12^{\circ}$ is successfully detected above $25\, {\rm TeV}$ at $(\alpha,\, \delta) = (281.09^{\circ}\pm 0.10^{\circ},\, -3.76^{\circ}\pm 0.09^{\circ})$ near HESS J1843$-$033 with a statistical significance of $6.2\, \sigma$, and the source is named TASG J1844$-$038. The position of TASG J1844$-$038 is consistent with those of HESS J1843$-$033, eHWC J1842$-$035, and LHAASO J1843$-$0338. The measured gamma-ray energy spectrum in $25\, {\rm TeV} < E < 130\, {\rm TeV}$ is described with ${\rm d}N/{\rm d}E = (9.70\pm 1.89)\times 10^{-16} (E/40\, {\rm TeV})^{-3.26\pm 0.30}\, {\rm TeV}^{-1} {\rm cm}^{-2} {\rm s}^{-1}$, and the spectral fit to the combined spectra of HESS J1843$-$033, LHAASO J1843$-$0338, and TASG J1844$-$038 implies the existence of a cutoff at $49.5\pm 9.0\, {\rm TeV}$. Associations of TASG J1844-038 with SNR G28.6$-$0.1 and PSR J1844-0346 are also discussed in detail for the first time.
Abstract: 2308.13600
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Where is the End of the Cosmic-Ray Electron Spectrum?
Download PDFAbstract: Detecting the end of the cosmic-ray (CR) electron spectrum would provide important new insights. While we know that Milky Way sources can accelerate electrons up to at least $\sim$1~PeV, the observed CR electron spectrum at Earth extends only up to 5~TeV (possibly 20~TeV), a large discrepancy. The question of the end of the CR electron spectrum has received relatively little attention, despite its importance. We take a comprehensive approach, showing that there are multiple steps at which the observed CR electron spectrum could be cut off. At the highest energies, the accelerators may not have sufficient luminosity, or the sources may not allow sufficient escape, or propagation to Earth may not be sufficiently effective, or present detectors may not have sufficient sensitivity. For each step, we calculate a rough range of possibilities. Although all of the inputs are uncertain, a clear vista of exciting opportunities emerges. We outline strategies for progress based on CR electron observations and auxiliary multi-messenger observations. In addition to advancing our understanding of CRs in the Milky Way, progress will also sharpen sensitivity to dark matter annihilation or decay.
Abstract: 2308.13584
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Gammapy: A Python package for gamma-ray astronomy
Download PDFAbstract: In this article, we present Gammapy, an open-source Python package for the analysis of astronomical $\gamma$-ray data, and illustrate the functionalities of its first long-term-support release, version 1.0. Built on the modern Python scientific ecosystem, Gammapy provides a uniform platform for reducing and modeling data from different $\gamma$-ray instruments for many analysis scenarios. Gammapy complies with several well-established data conventions in high-energy astrophysics, providing serialized data products that are interoperable with other software packages. Starting from event lists and instrument response functions, Gammapy provides functionalities to reduce these data by binning them in energy and sky coordinates. Several techniques for background estimation are implemented in the package to handle the residual hadronic background affecting $\gamma$-ray instruments. After the data are binned, the flux and morphology of one or more $\gamma$-ray sources can be estimated using Poisson maximum likelihood fitting and assuming a variety of spectral, temporal, and spatial models. Estimation of flux points, likelihood profiles, and light curves is also supported. After describing the structure of the package, we show, using publicly available $\gamma$-ray data, the capabilities of Gammapy in multiple traditional and novel $\gamma$-ray analysis scenarios, such as spectral and spectro-morphological modeling and estimations of a spectral energy distribution and a light curve. Its flexibility and power are displayed in a final multi-instrument example, where datasets from different instruments, at different stages of data reduction, are simultaneously fitted with an astrophysical flux model.
Abstract: 2308.13435
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Unraveling the Effects of Dense Medium on a Near to Bohm-Limit Acceleration in Kepler's SNR
Download PDFAbstract: The maximum energy of electrons accelerated by supernova remnants (SNR) is typically limited by radiative losses. In this scenario, the synchrotron cooling time scale is equal to the acceleration time scale. On the other hand, the low propagation speed of a shock in a dense medium is expected to result in an extended acceleration time scale, thus inducing a decrease in the maximum electron energy for a given SNR age and in the X-ray nonthermal flux. The young Kepler's SNR shows an enhanced efficiency of the acceleration process, which is close to the Bohm limit in the north of its shell, where the shock is slowed down by a dense circumstellar medium. Conversely, in the south, where no interaction with a dense medium is evident and the shock speed is high, the acceleration proceeds with a higher Bohm factor. To investigate this scenario, we studied the temporal evolution of the non-thermal emission, taking advantage of two Chandra X-ray observations of Kepler's SNR (performed in 2006 and 2014). We analyzed the spectra of different filaments both in the north and south of the shell, and measured their proper motion. We found a region with low shock velocity where we measured a significant decrease in flux from 2006 to 2014. This could be the first evidence of fading synchrotron emission in Kepler's SNR. This result suggests that under a certain threshold of shock speed the acceleration process could exit the loss-limited regime.
Abstract: 2308.15527
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Estimating Ejecta Mass Ratios in Kepler's SNR: Global X-Ray Spectral Analysis Including Suzaku Systematics and Emitting Volume Uncertainties
Download PDFAbstract: The exact origins of many Type Ia supernovae$\unicode{x2013}$progenitor scenarios and explosive mechanisms$\unicode{x2013}$remain uncertain. In this work, we analyze the global Suzaku X-Ray spectrum of Kepler's supernova remnant in order to constrain mass ratios of various ejecta species synthesized during explosion. Critically, we account for the Suzaku telescope effective area calibration uncertainties of 5$\unicode{x2013}$20% by generating 100 mock effective area curves and using Markov Chain Monte Carlo based spectral fitting to produce 100 sets of best-fit parameter values. Additionally, we characterize the uncertainties from assumptions made about the emitting volumes of each model plasma component: finding that these uncertainties can be the dominant source of error. We then compare our calculated mass ratios to previous observational studies of Kepler's SNR and to the predictions of SN Ia simulations. Our mass ratio estimates require a $\sim$90% attenuated $^{12}$C$+^{16}$O reaction rate and are potentially consistent with both near- and sub-M$_{\rm Ch}$ progenitors, but are inconsistent with the dynamically stable double detonation origin scenario and only marginally consistent with the dynamically unstable dynamically-driven double-degenerate double detonation (D$^6$) scenario.
Abstract: 2308.16685
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:On the nature of the energy-dependent morphology of the composite multi-TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1702-420
Download PDFAbstract: HESS J1702-420 is a multi-TeV gamma-ray source with an unusual energy-dependent morphology. The recent H.E.S.S. observations suggest that the emission is well described by a combination of point-like HESS J1702-420A (dominating at highest energies, $\gtrsim$ 30 TeV ) and diffuse ($\sim$ 0.3$^\circ$) HESS J1702-420B (dominating below $\lesssim$ 5TeV) sources with very hard (${\Gamma} \sim 1.5$) and soft (${\Gamma}$ ~2.6) power-law spectra, respectively. Here we propose a model which postulates that the proton accelerator is located at the position of HESS J1702-420A and is embedded into a dense molecular cloud that coincides with HESS J1702-420B. In the proposed model, the VHE radiation of HESS J1702-420 is explained by the pion-decay emission from the continuously injected relativistic protons propagating through a dense cloud. The energy-dependent morphology is defined by the diffusive nature of the low-energy protons propagation, transiting sharply to (quasi) ballistic propagation at higher energies. Adopting strong energy dependence of the diffusion coefficient, $D \propto E^\beta$ with $\beta \geq 1$, we argue that HESS J1702-420 as the system of two gamma-ray sources is the result of the propagation effect. Protons injected by a single accelerator at the rate $Q_0 \simeq 10^{38} \, (n_0/100 \, \rm cm^{-3})^{-1}\, (d/ \, 0.25\,kpc)^{-1} \rm erg/s$ can reasonably reproduce the morphology and fluxes of two gamma-ray components.
Abstract: 2308.13686
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Baikal-GVD Astrophysical Neutrino Candidate near the Blazar TXS~0506+056
Download PDFAbstract: We report on the observation of a rare neutrino event detected by Baikal-GVD in April 2021. The event GVD210418CA is the highest-energy cascade observed by Baikal-GVD so far from the direction below the horizon. The estimated cascade energy is $224\pm75$~TeV. The evaluated signalness parameter of GVD210418CA is 97.1\% using an assumption of the E$^{-2.46}$ spectrum of astrophysical neutrinos. The arrival direction of GVD210418CA is near the position of the well-known radio blazar TXS~0506+056, with the angular distance being within a 90\% directional uncertainty region of the Baikal-GVD measurement. The event was followed by a radio flare observed by the RATAN-600 radio telescope, further strengthening the case for the neutrino-blazar association.
Abstract: 2308.13659
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Neutrino propagation through Earth: modeling uncertainties using nuPyProp
Download PDFAbstract: Using the Earth as a neutrino converter, tau neutrino fluxes from astrophysical point sources can be detected by tau-lepton-induced extensive air showers (EASs). Both muon neutrino and tau neutrino induced upward-going EAS signals can be detected by terrestrial, sub-orbital and satellite-based instruments. The sensitivity of these neutrino telescopes can be evaluated with the nuSpaceSim package, which includes the nuPyProp simulation package. The nuPyProp package propagates neutrinos ($\nu_\mu$, $\nu_\tau$) through the Earth to produce the corresponding charged leptons (muons and tau-leptons). We use nuPyProp to quantify the uncertainties from Earth density models, tau depolarization effects and photo-nuclear electromagnetic energy loss models in the charged lepton exit probabilities and their spectra. The largest uncertainties come from electromagnetic energy loss modeling, with as much as a 20-50% difference between the models. We compare nuPyProp results with other simulation package results.
Abstract: 2308.15643
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Searching for TeV emission from LHAASO J0341+5258 with VERITAS and HAWC
Download PDFAbstract: Galactic PeVatrons are astrophysical sources accelerating particles up to a few PeV ($\sim$10$^{15}$ eV) energies. The primary signature of 100 TeV $\gamma$ rays may come from PeV protons or multi-hundred TeV (not PeV) electrons. The search for PeVatrons has been one of the key science topics for VERITAS and HAWC. In 2021, LHAASO detected 14 steady $\gamma$-ray sources with photon energies above 100 TeV, up to 1.4 PeV. This provides a clear list of PeVatron candidates for further study with VERITAS and HAWC. Most of these sources contain possible source associations, such as supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and stellar clusters. However, two sources: LHAASO J2108+5157 and LHAASO J0341+5258, do not have any such counterparts. Therefore, multiwavelength observations are required to identify the objects responsible for the UHE $\gamma$ rays, to understand the source morphology and association, and to shed light on the emission processes. Here, we will present the status of VERITAS/HAWC observations and results for the LHAASO PeVatron candidate J0341+5258, and also discuss the VERITAS PeVatron search in general.
Abstract: 2308.14848
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Evidence for proton acceleration and escape from the Puppis A SNR using Fermi-LAT observations
Download PDFAbstract: Supernova remnants (SNRs) are the best candidates for galactic cosmic ray acceleration to relativistic energies via diffusive shock acceleration. The gamma-ray emission of SNRs can provide direct evidence of leptonic (inverse Compton and bremsstrahlung) and hadronic (proton-proton interaction and subsequently pion decay) processes. Puppis A is a ~ 4 kyr old SNR interacting with interstellar clouds which has been observed in a broad energy band, from radio to gamma-ray. We performed a morphological and spectral analysis of 14 years of observations with Fermi-LAT telescope in order to study its gamma-ray emission. We found a clear asymmetry in high-energy brightness between the eastern and western sides of the remnant, reminiscent to that observed in the X-ray emission. The eastern side, interacting with a molecular cloud, shows a spectrum which can be reproduced by a pion decay model. Moreover, we analyzed two gamma-ray sources located close to the remnant. The hardness of their spectra suggests that the gamma-ray emission can be due to particles escaping from the shock of Puppis A.
Abstract: 2308.16717
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Joint H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT analysis of the region around PSR J1813-1749
Download PDFAbstract: HESS J1813-178 is one of the brightest sources detected during the first HESS Galactic Plane survey. The compact source, also detected by MAGIC, is believed to be a pulsar wind nebula powered by one of the most powerful pulsars known in the Galaxy, PSR J1813-1749 with a spin-down luminosity of $\dot{\mathrm{E}} = 5.6 \cdot 10^{37}\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$. With its extreme physical properties, as well as the pulsar's young age of 5.6 kyrs, the $\gamma$-rays detected in this region allow us to study the evolution of a highly atypical system. Previous studies of the region in the GeV energy range show emission extended beyond the size of the compact H.E.S.S. source. Using the archival H.E.S.S. data with improved background methods, we perform a detailed morphological and spectral analysis of the region. Additionally to the compact, bright emission component, we find significantly extended emission, whose position is coincident with HESS J1813-178. We reanalyse the region in GeV and derive a joint-model in order to find a continuous description of the emission in the region from GeV to TeV. Using the results derived in this analysis, as well as X-ray and radio data of the region, we perform multi-wavelength spectral modeling. Possible hadronic or leptonic origins of the $\gamma$-ray emission are investigated, and the diffusion parameters necessary to explain the extended emission are examined.
Abstract: 2308.16669
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Modelling of highly extended Gamma-ray emission around the Geminga Pulsar as detected with H.E.S.S
Download PDFAbstract: Geminga is an enigmatic radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsar located at a mere 250 pc distance from Earth. Extended very-high-energy gamma-ray emission around the pulsar has been detected by multiple water Cherenkov detector based instruments. However, the detection of extended TeV gamma-ray emission around the Geminga pulsar has proven challenging for IACTs due to the angular scale exceeding the typical field-of-view. By detailed studies of background estimation techniques and characterising systematic effects, a detection of highly extended TeV gamma-ray emission could be confirmed by the H.E.S.S. IACT array. Building on the previously announced detection, in this contribution we further characterise the emission and apply an electron diffusion model to the combined gamma-ray data from the H.E.S.S. and HAWC experiments, as well as X-ray data from XMM-Newton.
Abstract: 2308.16525
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Method for calculation of the beta exponent from the Heitler-Matthews model of hadronic air showers
Download PDFAbstract: The number of muons in an air shower is a strong indicator of the mass of the primary particle and increases with a small power of the cosmic ray mass by the $\beta$-exponent, $N_{\mu} \sim A^{(1-\beta)}$. This behaviour can be explained in terms of the Heitler-Matthews model of hadronic air showers. In this paper, we present a method for calculating $\beta$ from the Heitler-Matthews model. The method has been successfully verified with a series of simulated events observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory at $10^{19}$ eV. To follow real measurements of the mass composition at this energy, the generated sample consists of a certain fraction of events produced with p, He, N and Fe primary energies. Since hadronic interactions at the highest energies can differ from those observed at energies reached by terrestrial accelerators, we generate a mock data set with $\beta =0.92$ (the canonical value) and $\beta =0.96$ (a more exotic scenario). The method can be applied to measured events to determine the muon signal for each primary particle as well as the muon scaling factor and the $\beta$-exponent. Determining the $\beta$-exponent can effectively constrain the parameters that govern hadronic interactions and help solve the so-called muon problem, where hadronic interaction models predict too few muons relative to observed events. In this paper, we lay the foundation for the future analysis of measured data from the Pierre Auger Observatory with a simulation study.
Abstract: 2308.13854
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:The Multiwavelength Picture of GRB 221009A's Afterglow
Download PDFAbstract: We present counts-level fits to the keV-GeV data of the early afterglow of the brightest gamma-ray burst detected to date, GRB 221009A. We discuss the complexity of the data reduction due to the unprecedented brightness and the location in the Galactic plane. We find the energy spectrum to be well described as a smoothly broken power law with a break around 10 keV and no indications for additional features towards GeV energies. An interpretation as synchrotron emission from forward-shock accelerated and subsequently cooled electrons yields three possible types of solutions: (1) a slow cooling solution with low magnetic fields (few percent of a Gauss) but poorly constrained minimum injected electron energy (<100 GeV), (2) a fast cooling solution with stronger magnetic fields (few percent to few Gauss) and minimum injected electron energy 10-100 GeV or (3) the transition between both regimes with low magnetic fields and minimum injected electron energy around 100 GeV. Limited statistics at GeV energies prevent conclusions extrapolating towards a cut-off or the onset of a new component at higher energies.
Abstract: 2308.13889
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:HI in Molecular Clouds: Irradiation by FUV plus Cosmic Rays
Download PDFAbstract: We extend the analytic theory presented by Sternberg et al. 2014 and Bialy \& Sternberg (2016) for the production of atomic hydrogen (HI) via FUV photodissociation at the boundaries of dense interstellar molecular (H$_2$) clouds, to also include the effects of penetrating (low-energy) cosmic-rays for the growth of the total HI column densities. We compute the steady-state abundances of the HI and H$_2$ in one-dimensional gas slabs in which the FUV photodissociation rates are reduced by depth-dependent H$_2$ self-shielding and dust absorption, and in which the cosmic-ray ionization rates are either constant or reduced by transport effects. The solutions for the HI and H$_2$ density profiles and the integrated HI columns, depend primarily on the ratios $I_{\rm UV}/Rn$ and $\zeta/Rn$, where $I_{\rm UV}$ is the intensity of the photodissociating FUV field, $\zeta$ is the H$_2$ cosmic-ray ionization rate, $n$ is the hydrogen gas density, and $R$ is the dust-surface H$_2$ formation rate coefficient. We present computations for a wide range of FUV field strengths, cosmic-ray ionization rates, and dust-to-gas ratios. We develop analytic expressions for the growth of the HI column densities. For Galactic giant molecular clouds (GMCs) with multiphased (warm/cold) HI envelopes, the interior cosmic-ray zones will dominate the production of the HI only if $\zeta \gtrsim 4.5\times 10^{-16} \times (M_{\rm GMC}/10^6 \ M_{\odot})^{-1/2}$~s$^{-1}$, where $M_{\rm GMC}$ is the GMC mass, and including attenuation of the cosmic-ray fluxes. For most Galactic GMCs and conditions, FUV photodissociation dominates over cosmic-ray ionization for the production of the HI column densities. Furthermore, the cosmic-rays do not affect the HI-to-H$_2$ transition points.
Abstract: 2308.14454
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Identification of the simplest sugar-like molecule glycolaldehyde towards the hot molecular core G358.93-0.03 MM1
Download PDFAbstract: Glycolaldehyde (CH$_{2}$OHCHO) is the simplest monosaccharide sugar in the interstellar medium, and it is directly involved in the origin of life via the 'RNA world' hypothesis. We present the first detection of glycolaldehyde (CH$_{2}$OHCHO) towards the hot molecular core G358.93-0.03 MM1 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The calculated column density of CH$_{2}$OHCHO towards G358.93-0.03 MM1 is (1.52$\pm$0.9)$\times$10$^{16}$ cm$^{-2}$ with an excitation temperature of 300$\pm$68.5 K. The derived fractional abundance of CH$_{2}$OHCHO with respect to H$_{2}$ is (4.90$\pm$2.92)$\times$10$^{-9}$, which is consistent with that estimated by existing two-phase warm-up chemical models. We discuss the possible formation pathways of CH$_{2}$OHCHO within the context of hot molecular cores and hot corinos and find that CH$_{2}$OHCHO is likely formed via the reactions of radical HCO and radical CH$_{2}$OH on the grain surface of G358.93-0.03 MM1.
Abstract: 2308.15521
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Full Text: [ PostScript, PDF]
Title:Protonated hydrogen cyanide as a tracer of pristine molecular gas
Download PDFAbstract: Protonated hydrogen cyanide, HCNH$^{+}$, plays a fundamental role in astrochemistry because it is an intermediary in gas-phase ion-neutral reactions within cold molecular clouds. However, the impact of the environment on the chemistry of HCNH$^{+}$ remains poorly understood. With the IRAM-30 m and APEX-12 m observations, we report the first robust distribution of HCNH$^{+}$ in the Serpens filament and in Serpens South. Our data suggest that HCNH$^{+}$ is abundant in cold and quiescent regions, but is deficit in active star-forming regions. The observed HCNH$^{+}$ fractional abundances relative to H$_{2}$ range from $3.1\times 10^{-11}$ in protostellar cores to $5.9\times 10^{-10}$ in prestellar cores, and the HCNH$^{+}$ abundance generally decreases with increasing H$_{2}$ column density, which suggests that HCNH$^{+}$ coevolves with cloud cores. Our observations and modeling results suggest that the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ in cold molecular clouds is strongly dependent on the H$_{2}$ number density. The decrease in the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ is caused by the fact that its main precursors (e.g., HCN and HNC) undergo freeze-out as the number density of H$_{2}$ increases. However, current chemical models cannot explain other observed trends, such as the fact that the abundance of HCNH$^{+}$ shows an anti-correlation with that of HCN and HNC, but a positive correlation with that of N$_{2}$H$^{+}$ in the southern part of the Serpens South northern clump. This indicates that additional chemical pathways have to be invoked for the formation of HCNH$^{+}$ via molecules like N$_{2}$ in regions in which HCN and HNC freeze out. Both the fact that HCNH$^{+}$ is most abundant in molecular cores prior to gravitational collapse and the fact that low-$J$ HCNH$^{+}$ transitions have very low H$_{2}$ critical densities make this molecular ion an excellent probe of pristine molecular gas.
This page created: Fri Sep 1 16:12:58 ACST 2023 by rburley
For a printable title listing click here
For details on generating this page see the instructions. If there are problems with this page (and I expect there will be from time to time) contact Jose.
For previous lists of abstracts of interest click Previous abstracts of interest