arXiv subjects

A. I. Vasyunin

Publications and source records attributed to A. I. Vasyunin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Off-lattice Microscopic Monte Carlo Modeling of Molecular Hydrogen Formation on Carbonaceous Dust Grains

In this work, we present an off-lattice Monte Carlo model of accretion and migration of hydrogen atoms on a rough surface of carbon dust grain. The migration of physisorbed atoms by means of thermal diffusion and quantum tunnelling through barriers between the surface potential minima is considered. The model is applied to simulations of molecular hydrogen formation in a cold interstellar medium for a temperature range 5-35 K. Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanisms for the formation of the H$_2$ molecule were taken into account. We found that the surface potential energy minima that hold the accreted hydrogen atoms (binding energy) has wide dispersion of its values. The minimum energy is three times smaller than the maximum energy for the uneven surface of the model grain. The large dispersion of the binding energies results in an extended range of temperatures where H$_2$ formation is efficient: 5-25 K. The dispersion of binding energies also reduces efficiency of diffusion due to tunnelling in comparison to that assumed in kinetic equation codes in which constant values of binding energies are employed. Thus, thermal hopping is the main source for the mobility of the hydrogen atoms in the presented off-lattice model. Finally, the model naturally provides the mean values for the ratio of binding-to-desorption energy. This ratio demonstrates weak dependence on temperature and is in the range of 0.5-0.6.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Correlation between formaldehyde and methanol in prestellar cores

Formaldehyde is a key precursor in the formation routes of many complex organic molecules (COMs) in space. It is also an intermediate step in CO hydrogenation sequence that leads to methanol formation on the surface of interstellar grains in cold dense prestellar cores where pristine ices are formed. Various chemical models successfully reproduce the COMs abundances in cold cores, however, they consistently overpredict the abundance of formaldehyde by an order of magnitude. This results in an inverse H2CO:CH3OH abundance ratios obtained in the astrochemical simulations as compared to the observed values. In this work, we present a homogeneous data set of formaldehyde observational maps obtained towards seven dense cores in the L1495 filament with the IRAM 30 m telescope. Resolving the spatial distribution of the molecules is essential to test the chemical models. We carefully estimate the formaldehyde column densities and abundances to put reliable observational constraints on the chemical models of cold cores. Through numerous tests, we aim to constrain the updated chemical model MONACO to better align with the observed formaldehyde abundance and its ratio to methanol. In particular, we elaborate on the branching ratio of the CH3 + O reaction at low temperatures. The revised MONACO model reproduces abundances of both methanol and formaldehyde within an order of magnitude. However the model tends to overproduce formaldehyde and underpredict methanol. Consequently, the model systematically overestimates the H2CO:CH3OH ratio, although it remains within an order of magnitude of the values derived from observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Deuterium fractionation in cold dense cores in the low-mass star forming region L1688

In this work, we study deuterium fractionation in four starless cores in the low-mass star-forming region L1688 in the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. We study how the deuterium fraction ($R_D$) changes with environment, compare deuteration of ions and neutrals, core centre and its envelope, and attempt to reproduce the observed results with a gas-grain chemical model. We chose high and low gas density tracers to study both core centre and the envelope. With the IRAM 30m antenna, we mapped N$_2$H$^+$(1-0), N$_2$D$^+$(1-0), H$^{13}$CO$^+$ (1-0) and (2-1), DCO$^+$(2-1), and $p$-NH$_2$D(1$_{11}$-1$_{01}$) towards the chosen cores. The missing $p$-NH$_3$ and N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) data were taken from the literature. To measure the molecular hydrogen column density, dust and gas temperature within the cores, we used the Herschel/SPIRE dust continuum emission data, the GAS survey data (ammonia), and the COMPLETE survey data to estimate the upper limit on CO depletion. We present the deuterium fraction maps for three species towards four starless cores. Deuterium fraction of the core envelopes traced by DCO$^+$/H$^{13}$CO$^+$ is one order of magnitude lower ($\sim$0.08) than that of the core central parts traced by the nitrogen-bearing species ($\sim$0.5). Deuterium fraction increases with the gas density as indicated by high deuterium fraction of high gas density tracers and low deuterium fraction of lower gas density tracers and by the decrease of $R_D$ with core radii, consistent with the predictions of the chemical model. Our model results show a good agreement with observations for $R_D$(N$_2$D$^+$/N$_2$H$^+$) and R$_D$(DCO$^+$/HCO$^+$) and underestimate the $R_D$(NH$_2$D/NH$_3$).

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Modelling Deuterated Isotopologues of Methanol toward the Pre-Stellar Core L1544

Aims. We aim to improve a previous model for the prediction of column densities and deuterium fractions of non- and singly deuterated methanol. Thereby, we try to identify crucial chemical and physical parameters, for which the study of deuteration could provide valuable additional constraints. Methods. We employed a gas-grain chemical code to devise a model that is in agreement with the observed column density and deuterium fraction profiles of the innermost region of the pre-stellar core L1544. For that purpose, we developed a new treatment of reactive desorption, deriving an individual reactive desorption efficiency for every product species in a chemical reaction, that depends on the reaction enthalpy and type of underlying surface. Furthermore, we explored several options to promote the diffusion of hydrogen and deuterium atoms over the surface of interstellar dust grains, in order to increase methanol formation. Results. Our fiducial model employs diffusion by quantum tunneling of hydrogen and deuterium atoms, resulting in CH$_3$OH and CH$_2$DOH column densities that are approximately an order of magnitude lower than the observed values, which improves the results compared to the previous model by a factor 10. The $N$(CH$_2$DOH)/$N$(CH$_3$OH) ratio is reproduced within a factor of 1.2 for the centre and 1.8 for the position of the methanol peak. Given the large uncertainties that chemical models typically have, we consider our predictions to be in agreement with the observations. In general, we conclude that a diffusion process with a high diffusion rate needs to be employed to obtain methanol column densities that are in accordance with the observed values. Also, we find that the introduction of abstraction reactions into the methanol formation scheme suppresses deuteration, when used in combination with a high diffusion rate.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Impact of HAC evolution on the formation of small hydrocarbons in the Orion Bar and the Horsehead PDRs

We study evolution of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) grains under harsh UV radiation in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) near young massive stars. Our aim is to evaluate the impact of the HAC grains on formation of observed small hydrocarbons: C$_2$H, C$_2$H$_2$, C$_3$H$^+$, C$_3$H, C$_3$H$_2$, C$_4$H, in PDRs. We developed a microscopic model of the HAC grains based on available experimental results. The model includes processes of photo- and thermodesorption, accretion of hydrogen and carbon atoms and subsequent formation of carbonaceous mantle on dust surface. H$_2$, CH$_4$, C$_2$H$_2$, C$_2$H$_4$, C$_2$H$_6$, C$_3$H$_4$, C$_3$H$_6$, C$_3$H$_8$ are considered as the main fragments of the HAC photo-destruction. We simulated evolution of the HAC grains under the physical conditions of two PDRs, the Orion Bar and the Horsehead nebula. We estimated the production rates of the HAC fragments in gas phase chemical reactions and compared them with the production rates of fragments due to the HAC destruction. The latter rates may dominate under some conditions, namely, at A$_V$=0.1 in both PDRs. We coupled our model with the gas-grain chemical model MONACO and calculated abundances of observed small hydrocarbons. We conclude that the contribution of the HAC destruction fragments to chemistry is not enough to match the observed abundances, although it increases the abundances by several orders of magnitude in the Orion Bar at A$_V$=0.1. Additionally, we found that the process of carbonaceous mantle formation on dust surface can be an inhibitor for the formation of observed small hydrocarbons in PDRs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Mass ejection and time variability in protostellar outflows: Cep E. SOLIS XVI

Protostellar jets are an important agent of star formation feedback, tightly connected with the mass-accretion process. The history of jet formation and mass-ejection provides constraints on the mass accretion history and the nature of the driving source. We want to characterize the time-variability of the mass-ejection phenomena at work in the Class 0 protostellar phase, in order to better understand the dynamics of the outflowing gas and bring more constraints on the origin of the jet chemical composition and the mass-accretion history. We have observed the emission of the CO 2-1 and SO N_J=5_4-4_3 rotational transitions with NOEMA, towards the intermediate-mass Class 0 protostellar system Cep E. The CO high-velocity jet emission reveals a central component associated with high-velocity molecular knots, also detected in SO, surrounded by a collimated layer of entrained gas. The gas layer appears to accelerate along the main axis over a length scale delta_0 ~700 au, while its diameter gradually increases up to several 1000au at 2000au from the protostar. The jet is fragmented into 18 knots of mass ~10^-3 Msun, unevenly distributed between the northern and southern lobes, with velocity variations up to 15 km/s close to the protostar, well below the jet terminal velocities. The knot interval distribution is approximately bimodal with a scale of ~50-80yr close to the protostar and ~150-200yr at larger distances >12". The mass-loss rates derived from knot masses are overall steady, with values of 2.7x10^-5 Msun/yr (8.9x10^-6 Msun/yr) in the northern (southern) lobe. The interaction of the ambient protostellar material with high-velocity knots drives the formation of a molecular layer around the jet, which accounts for the higher mass-loss rate in the north. The jet dynamics are well accounted for by a simple precession model with a period of 2000yr and a mass-ejection period of 55yr.

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arXiv2020

Water and Methanol Ice in L1544

Methanol and complex organic molecules have been found in cold starless cores, where a standard warm-up scenario would not work because of the absence of heat sources. A recent chemical model attributed the presence of methanol and large organics to the efficient chemical desorption and a class of neutral-neutral reactions that proceed fast at low temperatures in the gas phase. The model calls for a high abundance of methanol ice at the edge of the CO freeze-out zone in cold cloud cores. We performed medium resolution spectroscopy toward 3 field stars behind the starless core L1544 at 3 $μ$m to constrain the methanol ice abundance and compare it with the model predictions. One of the field stars shows a methanol-ice abundance of 11% with respect to water ice. This is higher than the typical methanol abundance previously found in cold cloud cores (4%), but is 4.5 times smaller than predicted. The reason for the disagreement between the observations and the model calculations is not yet understood.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Impact of PAH photodissociation on the formation of small hydrocarbons in the Orion Bar and the Horsehead PDRs

We study whether polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be a weighty source of small hydrocarbons in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs). We modeled the evolution of 20 specific PAH molecules in terms of dehydrogenation and destruction of the carbon skeleton under the physical conditions of two well-studied PDRs, the Orion Bar and the Horsehead nebula which represent prototypical examples of PDRs irradiated by "high" and "low" ultraviolet radiation field. PAHs are described as microcanonical systems. The acetylene molecule is considered as the main carbonaceous fragment of the PAH dissociation as it follows from laboratory experiments and theory. We estimated the rates of acetylene production in gas phase chemical reactions and compared them with the rates of the acetylene production through the PAH dissociation. It is found that the latter rates can be higher than the former rates in the Orion Bar at $A_{\rm V}<1$ and also at $A_{\rm V}>3.5$. In the Horsehead nebula, the chemical reactions provide more acetylene than the PAH dissociation. The produced acetylene participate in the reactions of the formation of small hydrocarbons (C$_2$H, C$_3$H, C$_3$H$^{+}$, C$_3$H$_2$, C$_4$H). Acetylene production via the PAH destruction may increase the abundances of small hydrocarbons produced in gas phase chemical reactions in the Orion Bar only at $A_{\rm V}>3.5$. In the Horsehead nebula, the contribution of PAHs to the abundances of the small hydrocarbons is negligible. We conclude that the PAHs are not a major source of small hydrocarbons in both PDRs except some locations in the Orion Bar.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Optical properties and dust temperatures in clumpy diffuse medium

In this study, we explore the impact of inhomogeneities in the spatial distribution of interstellar dust on spatial scales of $\le1$ au caused by ion shadowing forces on the optical properties of diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) as well as on the dust temperature. We show that recently proposed possibility that interstellar dust grains in the diffuse ISM are grouped in spherical cloudlets (clumps) may significantly affect the observed optical properties of the diffuse ISM in comparison to that calculated under the commonly accepted assumption on the uniform dust/gas mixture if the size of clumps $\gtrsim0.1$ au. We found that opacity of an arbitrary region of diffuse ISM quickly decreases with growth of dusty clumps. We also studied the dependence of opacity and dust temperature inside the dusty clumps on their size. We show that the clumps larger than 0.1 au are opaque for far ultraviolet radiation. Dust temperature exhibit a gradient inside a clump, decreasing from the edge to the center by several degrees for a clump of a size of 0.1 au and larger. We argue that dust temperatures and high opacity within clumps larger than 0.1 au may facilitate somewhat more efficient synthesis of molecules on surfaces of interstellar grains in the diffuse ISM than it was anticipated previously. On the other hand, the presence of clumps with sizes below 0.1 au makes small or negligible influence on the optical properties of the diffuse ISM in comparison to the case with uniform dust/gas mixture.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2020

Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS).VII. Discovery of a cold dense methanol blob toward the L1521F VeLLO system

The SOLIS (Seeds Of Life In Space) IRAM/NOEMA Large Program aims at studying a set of crucial complex organic molecules in a sample of sources, with well-known physical structure, covering the various phases of Solar-type star formation. One representative object of the transition from the prestellar core to the protostar phases has been observed toward the Very Low Luminosity Object (VeLLO) called L1521F. This type of source is important to study to make the link between prestellar cores and Class 0 sources and also to constrain the chemical evolution during the process of star formation. Two frequency windows (81.6-82.6 GHz and 96.65-97.65 GHz) were used to observe the emission from several complex organics toward the L1521F VeLLO. Only 2 transitions of methanol (A+, E2) have been detected in the narrow window centered at 96.7 GHz (with an upper limit on E1) in a very compact emission blob (~7'' corresponding to ~1000au) toward the NE of the L1521F protostar. The CS 2-1 transition is also detected within the WideX bandwidth. Consistently, with what has been found in prestellar cores, the methanol emission appears ~1000au away from the dust peak. The location of the methanol blob coincides with one of the filaments previously reported in the literature. The Tex of the gas inferred from methanol is (10$\pm$2) K, while the H2 gas density (estimated from the detected CS 2-1 emission and previous CS 5-4 ALMA obs.) is a factor >25 higher than the density in the surrounding environment (n(H2) >10$^{7}$ cm$^{-3}$). From its compactness, low excitation temperature and high gas density, we suggest that the methanol emission detected with NOEMA is either a cold and dense shock-induced blob, recently formed ($\leq$ few hundred years) by infalling gas or a cold and dense fragment that may have just been formed as a result of the intense gas dynamics found within the L1521F VeLLO system.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Physical properties and chemical composition of the cores in the California molecular cloud

We aim to reveal the physical properties and chemical composition of the cores in the California molecular cloud (CMC), so as to better understand the initial conditions of star formation. We made a high-resolution column density map (18.2") with Herschel data, and extracted a complete sample of the cores in the CMC with the \textsl{fellwalker} algorithm. We performed new single-pointing observations of molecular lines near 90 GHz with the IRAM 30m telescope along the main filament of the CMC. In addition, we also performed a numerical modeling of chemical evolution for the cores under the physical conditions. We extracted 300 cores, of which 33 are protostellar and 267 are starless cores. About 51\% (137 of 267) of the starless cores are prestellar cores. Three cores have the potential to evolve into high-mass stars. The prestellar core mass function (CMF) can be well fit by a log-normal form. The high-mass end of the prestellar CMF shows a power-law form with an index $α=-0.9\pm 0.1$ that is shallower than that of the Galactic field stellar mass function. Combining the mass transformation efficiency ($\varepsilon$) from the prestellar core to the star of $15\pm 1\%$ and the core formation efficiency (CFE) of 5.5\%, we suggest an overall star formation efficiency of about 1\% in the CMC. In the single-pointing observations with the IRAM 30m telescope, we find that 6 cores show blue-skewed profile, while 4 cores show red-skewed profile. [$\rm {HCO}^{+}$]/[HNC] and [$\rm {HCO}^{+}$]/$\rm [N_{2}H^{+}]$ in protostellar cores are higher than those in prestellar cores; this can be used as chemical clocks. The best-fit chemical age of the cores with line observations is $\sim 5\times 10^4$~years.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

O2 signature in thin and thick O2-H2O ices

Aims. In this paper we investigate the detectability of the molecular oxygen in icy dust grain mantles towards astronomical objects. Methods. We present a systematic set of experiments with O2-H2O ice mixtures designed to disentangle how the molecular ratio affects the O2 signature in the mid- and near-infrared spectral regions. All the experiments were conducted in a closed-cycle helium cryostat coupled to a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The ice mixtures comprise varying thicknesses from 8 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ to 3 $μ$m. The absorption spectra of the O2-H2O mixtures are also compared to the one of pure water. In addition, the possibility to detect the O2 in icy bodies and in the interstellar medium is discussed. Results. We are able to see the O2 feature at 1551 cm$^{-1}$ even for the most diluted mixture of H2O : O2 = 9 : 1, comparable to a ratio of O2/H2O = 10 % which has already been detected in situ in the coma of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We provide an estimate for the detection of O2 with the future mission of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Seeds Of Life In Space (SOLIS): The organic composition diversity at 300--1000 au scale in Solar-type star forming regions

Complex organic molecules have been observed for decades in the interstellar medium. Some of them might be considered as small bricks of the macromolecules at the base of terrestrial life. It is hence particularly important to understand organic chemistry in Solar-like star forming regions. In this article, we present a new observational project: SOLIS (Seeds Of Life In Space). This is a Large Project at the IRAM-NOEMA interferometer, and its scope is to image the emission of several crucial organic molecules in a sample of Solar-like star forming regions in different evolutionary stage and environments. Here, we report the first SOLIS results, obtained from analysing the spectra of different regions of the Class 0 source NGC1333-IRAS4A, the protocluster OMC-2 FIR4, and the shock site L1157-B1. The different regions were identified based on the images of formamide (NH2CHO) and cyanodiacetylene (HC5N) lines. We discuss the observed large diversity in the molecular and organic content, both on large (3000-10000 au) and relatively small (300-1000 au) scales. Finally, we derive upper limits to the methoxy fractional abundance in the three observed regions of the same order of magnitude of that measured in few cold prestellar objects, namely ~10^-12-10^-11 with respect to H2 molecules.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2017

Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS) III. Formamide in protostellar shocks: evidence for gas-phase formation

Context: Modern versions of the Miller-Urey experiment claim that formamide (NH$_2$CHO) could be the starting point for the formation of metabolic and genetic macromolecules. Intriguingly, formamide is indeed observed in regions forming Solar-type stars as well as in external galaxies. Aims: How NH$_2$CHO is formed has been a puzzle for decades: our goal is to contribute to the hotly debated question of whether formamide is mostly formed via gas-phase or grain surface chemistry. Methods: We used the NOEMA interferometer to image NH$_2$CHO towards the L1157-B1 blue-shifted shock, a well known interstellar laboratory, to study how the components of dust mantles and cores released into the gas phase triggers the formation of formamide. Results: We report the first spatially resolved image (size $\sim$ 9", $\sim$ 2300 AU) of formamide emission in a shocked region around a Sun-like protostar: the line profiles are blueshifted and have a FWHM $\simeq$ 5 km s$^{-1}$. A column density of $N_{\rm NH_2CHO}$ = 8 $\times$ 10$^{12}$ cm$^{-1}$, and an abundance (with respect to H-nuclei) of 4 $\times$ 10$^{-9}$ are derived. We show a spatial segregation of formamide with respect to other organic species. Our observations, coupled with a chemical modelling analysis, indicate that the formamide observed in L1157-B1 is formed by gas-phase chemical process, and not on grain surfaces as previously suggested. Conclusions: The SOLIS interferometric observations of formamide provide direct evidence that this potentially crucial brick of life is efficiently formed in the gas-phase around Sun-like protostars.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2017

SOLIS II. Carbon-chain growth in the Solar-type protocluster OMC2-FIR4

The interstellar delivery of carbon atoms locked into molecules might be one of the key ingredients for the emergence of life. Cyanopolyynes are carbon chains delimited at their two extremities by an atom of hydrogen and a cyano group, so that they might be excellent reservoirs of carbon. The simplest member, HC3N, is ubiquitous in the galactic interstellar medium and found also in external galaxies. Thus, understanding the growth of cyanopolyynes in regions forming stars similar to our Sun, and what affects it, is particularly relevant. In the framework of the IRAM/NOEMA Large Program SOLIS (Seeds Of Life In Space), we have obtained a map of two cyanopolyynes, HC3N and HC5N, in the protocluster OMC2-FIR4. Because our Sun is thought to be born in a rich cluster, OMC2-FIR4 is one of the closest and best known representatives of the environment in which the Sun may have been born. We find a HC3N/HC5N abundance ratio across the source in the range ~ 1 - 30, with the smallest values (< 10) in FIR5 and in the Eastern region of FIR4. The ratios < 10 can be reproduced by chemical models only if: (1) the cosmic-ray ionisation rate $ζ$ is ~ $4 \times 10^{-14}$ s$^{-1}$; (2) the gaseous elemental ratio C/O is close to unity; (3) O and C are largely depleted. The large $ζ$ is comparable to that measured in FIR4 by previous works and was interpreted as due to a flux of energetic (> 10 MeV) particles from embedded sources. We suggest that these sources could lie East of FIR4 and FIR5. A temperature gradient across FIR4, with T decreasing by about 10 K, could also explain the observed change in the HC3N/HC5N line ratio, without the need of a cosmic ray ionisation rate gradient. However, even in this case, a high constant cosmic-ray ionisation rate (of the order of $10^{-14}$ s$^{-1}$) is necessary to reproduce the observations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Water deuteration and ortho-to-para nuclear spin ratio of H2 in molecular clouds formed via the accumulation of HI gas

We investigate the water deuteration ratio and ortho-to-para nuclear spin ratio of H2 (OPR(H2)) during the formation and early evolution of a molecular cloud, following the scenario that accretion flows sweep and accumulate HI gas to form molecular clouds. We follow the physical evolution of post-shock materials using a one-dimensional shock model, with post-processing gas-ice chemistry simulations. This approach allows us to study the evolution of the OPR(H2) and water deuteration ratio without an arbitrary assumption concerning the initial molecular abundances, including the initial OPR(H2). When the conversion of hydrogen into H2 is almost complete, the OPR(H2) is already much smaller than the statistical value of three due to the spin conversion in the gas phase. As the gas accumulates, the OPR(H2) decreases in a non-equilibrium manner. We find that water ice can be deuterium-poor at the end of its main formation stage in the cloud, compared to water vapor observed in the vicinity of low-mass protostars where water ice is likely sublimated. If this is the case, the enrichment of deuterium in water should mostly occur at somewhat later evolutionary stages of star formation, i.e., cold prestellar/protostellar cores. The main mechanism to suppress water ice deuteration in the cloud is the cycle of photodissociation and reformation of water ice, which efficiently removes deuterium from water ice chemistry. The removal efficiency depends on the main formation pathway of water ice. The OPR(H2) plays a minor role in water ice deuteration at the main formation stage of water ice.

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arXiv2013

Organic species in Infrared Dark Clouds

It is currently assumed that infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) represent the earliest evolutionary stages of high-mass stars ($>$ 8 M$_{\odot}$). Submillimeter and millimeter-wave studies performed over the past 15 years show that IRDCs possess a broad variety of properties, and hence a wide range of problems and questions that can be tackled. In this paper, we report an investigation of the molecular composition and chemical processes in two groups of IRDCs. Using the Mopra, APEX, and IRAM radio telescopes over the last four years, we have collected molecular line data for CO, H$_2$CO, HNCO, CH$_3$CCH, CH$_3$OH, CH$_3$CHO, CH$_3$OCHO, and CH$_3$OCH$_3$. For all of these species we estimated molecular abundances. We then undertook chemical modeling studies, concentrating on the source IRDC028.34+0.06, and compared observed and modeled abundances. This comparison showed that to reproduce observed abundances of complex organic molecules (COMs), a 0-D gas-grain model with constant physical conditions is not sufficient. We achieved greater success with the use of a warm-up model, in which warm-up from 10 K to 30 K occurs following a cold phase.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2013

New extended deuterium fractionation model: assessment at dense ISM conditions and sensitivity analysis

Observations of deuterated species are useful in probing the temperature, ionization level, evolutionary stage, chemistry, and thermal history of astrophysical environments. The analysis of data from ALMA and other new telescopes requires an elaborate model of deuterium fractionation. This paper presents a publicly available chemical network with multi-deuterated species and an extended, up-to-date set of gas-phase and surface reactions. To test this network, we simulate deuterium fractionation in diverse interstellar sources. Two cases of initial abundances are considered: i) atomic except for H2 and HD, and ii) molecular from a prestellar core. We reproduce the observed D/H ratios of many deuterated molecules, and sort the species according to their sensitivity to temperature gradients and initial abundances. We find that many multiply-deuterated species produced at 10 K retain enhanced D/H ratios at temperatures $\la 100$ K. We study how recent updates to reaction rates affect calculated D/H ratios, and perform a detailed sensitivity analysis of the uncertainties of the gas-phase reaction rates in the network. We find that uncertainties are generally lower in dark cloud environments than in warm IRDCs and that uncertainties increase with the size of the molecule and number of D-atoms. A set of the most problematic reactions is presented. We list potentially observable deuterated species predicted to be abundant in low- and high-mass star-formation regions.

astro-ph.SR↗