arXiv subjects

Charlotte Vastel

Publications and source records attributed to Charlotte Vastel.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

The origin of complex organic molecules in prestellar cores

Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in a variety of environments, including cold prestellar cores. Given the low temperature of these objects, these last detections challenge existing models. We report here new observations towards the prestellar core L1544. They are based on an unbiased spectral survey of the 3mm band at the IRAM-30m telescope, as part of the Large Program ASAI. The observations allow us to provide the full census of the oxygen bearing COMs in this source. We detected tricarbon monoxide, methanol, acetaldehyde, formic acid, ketene, and propyne with abundances varying from 5e-11 to 6e-9. The non-LTE analysis of the methanol lines shows that they are likely emitted at the border of the core, at a radius of ~8000 AU where T~10 K and nH2~2e4 cm-3. Previous works have shown that water vapour is enhanced in the same region because of the photodesorption of water ices. We propose that a non-thermal desorption mechanism is also responsible for the observed emission of methanol and COMs from the same layer. The desorbed oxygen and a tiny amount of desorbed methanol and ethene are enough to reproduce the abundances of tricarbon monoxide, methanol, acetaldehyde and ketene measured in L1544. These new findings open the possibility that COMs in prestellar cores originate in a similar outer layer rather than in the dense inner cores, as previously assumed, and that their formation is driven by the non-thermally desorbed species.

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arXiv2014

Water deuterium fractionation in the high-mass star-forming region G34.26+0.15 based on Herschel/HIFI data

Understanding water deuterium fractionation is important for constraining the mechanisms of water formation in interstellar clouds. Observations of HDO and H$_2^{18}$O transitions were carried out towards the high-mass star-forming region G34.26+0.15 with the HIFI instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory, as well as with ground-based single-dish telescopes. Ten HDO lines and three H$_2^{18}$O lines covering a broad range of upper energy levels (22-204 K) were detected. We used a non-LTE 1D analysis to determine the HDO/H$_2$O ratio as a function of radius in the envelope. Models with different water abundance distributions were considered in order to reproduce the observed line profiles. The HDO/H$_2$O ratio is found to be lower in the hot core ($\sim$3.5 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ - 7.5 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$) than in the colder envelope ($\sim$1.0 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$ - 2.2 $\times$ 10$^{-3}$). This is the first time that a radial variation of the HDO/H$_2$O ratio has been found to occur in a high-mass source. The chemical evolution of this source was modeled as a function of its radius and the observations are relatively well reproduced. The comparison between the chemical model and the observations leads to an age of $\sim$10$^5$ years after the infrared dark cloud stage.

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arXiv2014

High D$_2$O/HDO ratio in the inner regions of the low-mass protostar NGC1333 IRAS2A

Water plays a crucial role both in the interstellar medium and on Earth. To constrain its formation mechanisms and its evolution through the star formation process, the determination of the water deuterium fractionation ratios is particularly suitable. Previous studies derived HDO/H$_2$O ratios in the warm inner regions of low-mass protostars. We here report a detection of the D$_2$O 1$_{1,0}$-1$_{0,1}$ transition toward the low-mass protostar NGC1333 IRAS2A with the Plateau de Bure interferometer: this represents the first interferometric detection of D$_2$O - and only the second solar-type protostar for which this isotopologue is detected. Using the observations of the HDO 5$_{4,2}$-6$_{3,3}$ transition simultaneously detected and three other HDO lines previously observed, we show that the HDO line fluxes are well reproduced with a single excitation temperature of 218$\pm$21 K and a source size of $\sim$0.5 arcsec. The D$_2$O/HDO ratio is $\sim$(1.2$\pm$0.5) $\times$ 10$^{-2}$, while the use of previous H$_2^{18}$O observations give an HDO/H$_2$O ratio of $\sim$(1.7$\pm$0.8) $\times$ 10$^{-3}$, i.e. a factor of 7 lower than the D$_2$O/HDO ratio. These results contradict the predictions of current grain surface chemical models and indicate that either the surface deuteration processes are poorly understood or that both sublimation of grain mantles and water formation at high temperatures ($\gtrsim$230 K) take place in the inner regions of this source. In the second scenario, the thermal desorption of the grain mantles would explain the high D$_2$O/HDO ratio, while water formation at high temperature would explain significant extra production of H$_2$O leading to a decrease of the HDO/H$_2$O ratio.

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arXiv2013

Water deuterium fractionation in the inner regions of two solar type protostars

The [HDO]/[H2O] ratio is a crucial parameter for probing the history of water formation. So far, it has been measured for only three solar type protostars and yielded different results, possibly pointing to a substantially different history in their formation. In the present work, we report new interferometric observations of the HDO 4 2,2 - 4 2,3 line for two solar type protostars, IRAS2A and IRAS4A, located in the NGC1333 region. In both sources, the detected HDO emission originates from a central compact unresolved region. Comparison with previously published interferometric observations of the H218$O 3 1,3 - 2 2,0 line shows that the HDO and H$_2$O lines mostly come from the same region. A non-LTE LVG analysis of the HDO and H218$O line emissions, combined with published observations, provides a [HDO]/[H2O] ratio of 0.3 - 8 % in IRAS2A and 0.5 - 3 % in IRAS4A. First, the water fractionation is lower than that of other molecules such as formaldehyde and methanol in the same sources. Second, it is similar to that measured in the solar type protostar prototype, IRAS16293-2422, and, surprisingly enough, larger than that measured in NGC1333 IRAS4B. {The comparison of the measured values towards IRAS2A and IRAS4A with the predictions of our gas-grain model GRAINOBLE gives similar conclusions to those for IRAS 16293, arguing that these protostars {share} a similar chemical history, although they are located in different clouds.

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arXiv2012

A study of deuterated water in the low-mass protostar IRAS16293-2422

The HDO/H2O ratio is a powerful diagnostic to understand the evolution of water from the first stages of star formation to the formation of planets and comets. Our aim is to determine precisely the abundance distribution of HDO towards the low-mass protostar IRAS16293-2422 and learn more about the water formation mechanisms by determining the HDO/H2O abundance ratio. A spectral survey of the source IRAS16293-2422 was carried out in the framework of the CHESS Herschel Key program with the HIFI instrument, allowing the detection of numerous HDO lines. Other transitions have been observed previously with ground-based telescopes. The spherical Monte Carlo radiative transfer code RATRAN was used to reproduce the observed line profiles of HDO by assuming an abundance jump. To determine the H2O abundance throughout the envelope, a similar study was made of the H2-18O observed lines, as the H2O main isotope lines are contaminated by the outflows. We derive an inner HDO abundance of 1.7e-7 and an outer HDO abundance of 8e-11. To reproduce the HDO absorption lines, it is necessary to add an absorbing layer in front of the envelope. It may correspond to a water-rich layer created by the photodesorption of the ices at the edges of the molecular cloud. The HDO/H2O ratio is ~1.4-5.8% in the hot corino whereas it is ~0.2-2.2% in the outer envelope. It is estimated at ~4.8% in the added absorbing layer. Although it is clearly higher than the cosmic D/H abundance, the HDO/H2O ratio remains lower than the D/H ratio derived for other deuterated molecules observed in the same source. The similarity of the ratios derived in the hot corino and in the added absorbing layer suggests that water formed before the gravitational collapse of the protostar, contrary to formaldehyde and methanol, which formed later once the CO molecules had depleted on the grains.

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arXiv2011

Herschel Measurements of Molecular Oxygen in Orion

We report observations of three rotational transitions of molecular oxygen (O2) in emission from the H2 Peak 1 position of vibrationally excited molecular hydrogen in Orion. We observed the 487 GHz, 774 GHz, and 1121 GHz lines using HIFI on the Herschel Space Observatory, having velocities of 11 km s-1 to 12 km s-1 and widths of 3 km s-1. The beam-averaged column density is N(O2) = 6.5\times1016 cm-2, and assuming that the source has an equal beam filling factor for all transitions (beam widths 44, 28, and 19"), the relative line intensities imply a kinetic temperature between 65 K and 120 K. The fractional abundance of O2 relative to H2 is 0.3 - 7.3\times10-6. The unusual velocity suggests an association with a ~ 5" diameter source, denoted Peak A, the Western Clump, or MF4. The mass of this source is ~ 10 M\odot and the dust temperature is \geq 150 K. Our preferred explanation of the enhanced O2 abundance is that dust grains in this region are sufficiently warm (T \geq 100 K) to desorb water ice and thus keep a significant fraction of elemental oxygen in the gas phase, with a significant fraction as O2. For this small source, the line ratios require a temperature \geq 180 K. The inferred O2 column density \simeq 5\times1018 cm-2 can be produced in Peak A, having N(H2) \simeq 4\times1024 cm-2. An alternative mechanism is a low-velocity (10 to 15 km s-1) C-shock, which can produce N(O2) up to 1017 cm-2.

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arXiv2010

Interstellar OH+, H2O+ and H3O+ along the sight-line to G10.6-0.4

We report the detection of absorption lines by the reactive ions OH+, H2O+ and H3O+ along the line of sight to the submillimeter continuum source G10.6$-$0.4 (W31C). We used the Herschel HIFI instrument in dual beam switch mode to observe the ground state rotational transitions of OH+ at 971 GHz, H2O+ at 1115 and 607 GHz, and H3O+ at 984 GHz. The resultant spectra show deep absorption over a broad velocity range that originates in the interstellar matter along the line of sight to G10.6$-$0.4 as well as in the molecular gas directly associated with that source. The OH+ spectrum reaches saturation over most velocities corresponding to the foreground gas, while the opacity of the H2O+ lines remains lower than 1 in the same velocity range, and the H3O+ line shows only weak absorption. For LSR velocities between 7 and 50 kms$^{-1}$ we estimate total column densities of $N$(OH+) $> 2.5 \times 10^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$, $N$(H2O+) $\sim 6 \times 10^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $N$(H3O+) $\sim 4.0 \times 10^{13}$ cm$^{-2}$. These detections confirm the role of O$^+$ and OH$^+$ in initiating the oxygen chemistry in diffuse molecular gas and strengthen our understanding of the gas phase production of water. The high ratio of the OH+ by the H2O+ column density implies that these species predominantly trace low-density gas with a small fraction of hydrogen in molecular form.

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arXiv2010

TIMASSS : The IRAS16293-2422 Millimeter And Submillimeter Spectral Survey: Tentative Detection of Deuterated Methyl Formate (DCOOCH3)

High deuterium fractionation is observed in various types of environment such as prestellar cores, hot cores and hot corinos. It has proven to be an efficient probe to study the physical and chemical conditions of these environments. The study of the deuteration of different molecules helps us to understand their formation. This is especially interesting for complex molecules such as methanol and bigger molecules for which it may allow to differentiate between gas-phase and solid-state formation pathways. Methanol exhibits a high deuterium fractionation in hot corinos. Since CH3OH is thought to be a precursor of methyl formate we expect that deuterated methyl formate is produced in such environments. We have searched for the singly-deuterated isotopologue of methyl formate, DCOOCH3, in IRAS 16293-2422, a hot corino well-known for its high degree of methanol deuteration. We have used the IRAM/JCMT unbiased spectral survey of IRAS 16293-2422 which allows us to search for the DCOOCH3 rotational transitions within the survey spectral range (80-280 GHz, 328-366 GHz). The expected emission of deuterated methyl formate is modelled at LTE and compared with the observations.} We have tentatively detected DCOOCH3 in the protostar IRAS 16293-2422. We assign eight lines detected in the IRAM survey to DCOOCH3. Three of these lines are affected by blending problems and one line is affected by calibration uncertainties, nevertheless the LTE emission model is compatible with the observations. A simple LTE modelling of the two cores in IRAS 16293-2422, based on a previous interferometric study of HCOOCH3, allows us to estimate the amount of DCOOCH3 in IRAS 16293-2422. Adopting an excitation temperature of 100 K and a source size of 2\arcsec and 1\farcs5 for the A and B cores, respectively, we find that N(A,DCOOCH3) = N(B,DCOOCH3) ~ 6.10^14 /cm2. The derived deuterium fractionation is ~ 15%, consistent with values for other deuterated species in this source and much greater than that expected from the deuterium cosmic abundance. DCOOCH3, if its tentative detection is confirmed, should now be considered in theoretical models that study complex molecule formation and their deuteration mechanisms. Experimental work is also needed to investigate the different chemical routes leading to the formation of deuterated methyl formate.

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arXiv2008

Chemical modeling of L183 (= L134N) : an estimate of the ortho/para H2 ratio

Context. The high degree of deuteration observed in some prestellar cores depends on the ortho-to-para H2 ratio through the H3+ fractionation. Aims. We want to constrain the ortho/para H2 ratio across the L183 prestellar core. This is mandatory to correctly describe the deuter- ation amplification phenomenon in depleted cores such as L183 and to relate the total (ortho+para) H2D+ abundance to the sole ortho-H2D+ column density measurement. Methods. To constrain this ortho/para H2 ratio and derive its profile, we make use of the N2D+ /N2H+ ratio and of the ortho-H2D+ observations performed across the prestellar core. We use two simple chemical models limited to an almost totally depleted core description. New dissociative recombination and trihydrogen cation-dihydrogen reaction rates (including all isotopologues) are presented in this paper and included in our models. Results. We estimate the H2D+ ortho/para ratio in the L183 cloud, and constrain the H2 ortho/para ratio : we show that it is varying across the prestellar core by at least an order of magnitude being still very high (~0.1) in most of the cloud. Our time-dependent model indicates that the prestellar core is presumably older than 1.5-2 x 10^5 years but that it may not be much older. We also show that it has reached its present density only recently and that its contraction from a uniform density cloud can be constrained. Conclusions. A proper understanding of deuteration chemistry cannot be attained without taking into account the whole ortho/para family of molecular hydrogen and trihydrogen cation isotopologues as their relations are of utmost importance in the global scheme. Tracing the ortho/para H2 ratio should also give useful constraints on the dynamical evolution of prestellar cores.

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arXiv2008

Survey of ortho-H2D+(1_{1,0}-1_{1,1}) in dense cloud cores

We present a survey of the ortho-H2D+(1_{1,0}-1_{1,1}) line toward a sample of 10 starless cores and 6 protostellar cores, carried out at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. The high diagnostic power of this line is revealed for the study of the chemistry, and the evolutionary and dynamical status of low-mass dense cores. The line is detected in 7 starless cores and in 4 protostellar cores. N(ortho-H2D+) ranges between 2 and 40x10^{12} cm^{-2} in starless cores and between 2 and 9x10^{12} cm^{-2} in protostellar cores. The brightest lines are detected toward the densest and most centrally concentrated starless cores, where the CO depletion factor and the deuterium fractionation are also largest. The large scatter observed in plots of N(ortho-H2D+) vs. the observed deuterium fractionation and vs. the CO depletion factor is likely to be due to variations in the ortho-to-para (o/p) ratio of H2D+ from >0.5 for T_{kin} < 10 K gas in pre-stellar cores to ~0.03 (consistent with T_{kin} ~15 K for protostellar cores). The two Ophiuchus cores in our sample also require a relatively low o/p ratio (~0.3). Other parameters, including the cosmic-ray ionization rate, the CO depletion factor (or, more in general, the depletion factor of neutral species), the volume density, the fraction of dust grains and PAHs also largely affect the ortho-H2D+ abundance. The most deuterated and H2D+-rich objects (L429, L1544, L694-2 and L183) are reproduced by chemical models of centrally concentrated (central densties ~10^{6} cm^{-3}) cores with chemical ages between 10^4 and 10^6 yr. Upper limits of the para-H3O+ (1_1- -2_1+) and para-D2H+ (1_{1,0}-1_{0,1}) lines are also given. (Abridged)

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arXiv2007

Depletion and low gas temperature in the L183 prestellar core : the N2H+ - N2D+ tool

Context. The study of pre-stellar cores (PSCs) suffers from a lack of undepleted species to trace the gas physical properties in their very dense inner parts. Aims. We want to carry out detailed modelling of N2H+ and N2D+ cuts across the L183 main core to evaluate the depletion of these species and their usefulness as a probe of physical conditions in PSCs. Methods. We have developed a non-LTE (NLTE) Monte-Carlo code treating the 1D radiative transfer of both N2H+ and N2D+, making use of recently published collisional coefficients with He between individual hyperfine levels. The code includes line overlap between hyperfine transitions. An extensive set of core models is calculated and compared with observations. Special attention is paid to the issue of source coupling to the antenna beam. Results. The best fitting models indicate that i) gas in the core center is very cold (7$\pm$ 1 K) and thermalized with dust, ii) depletion of N2H+ does occur, starting at densities 5-7E5 cm−3 and reaching a factor of 6 (+13/−3) in abundance, iii) deuterium fractionation reaches ∼70% at the core center, and iv) the density profile is proportional to r^-1 out to ∼4000 AU, and to r^−2 beyond. Conclusions. Our NLTE code could be used to (re-)interpret recent and upcoming observations of N2H+ and N2D+ in many pre-stellar cores of interest, to obtain better temperature and abundance profiles.

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arXiv2006

Deuterium enhancement in H3+ in prestellar cores

Deuterium enhancement of monodeuterated species has been recognized for more than 30 years as a result of the chemical fractionation that results from the difference in zero point energies of deuterated and hydrogenated molecules. The key reaction is the deuteron exchange in the reaction between HD, the reservoir of deuterium in dark interstellar clouds, and the H3+ molecular ion, leading to the production of the H2D+ molecule, and the low temperature in dark interstellar clouds favors this production. Furthermore, the presence of multiply deuterated species have incited our group to proceed further and consider the subsequent reaction of H2D+ with HD, leading to D2H+ (first detected by Vastel et al. 2004), which can further react with HD to produce D3+. In prestellar cores, where CO was found to be depleted (Bacmann et al. 2003), this production should be increased, as CO would normally destroy H3+. The first model including D2H+ and D3+ (Roberts, Herbst & Millar 2003) predicted that these molecules should be as abundant as H2D+ (see contribution by H. Roberts). The first detection of the D2H+ was made possible by the recent laboratory measurement by Hirao & Amano (2003) for the frequency of the fundamental line of the para-D2H+ (see contribution by T. Amano). Here we present observations of H2D+ and D2H+ towards a sample of dark clouds and prestellar cores and show how the distribution of ortho-H2D+ (1_1,0-1_1,1) can trace the deuterium factory in prestellar cores. We also present how future instrumentation will improve our knowledge concerning the deuterium enhancement of H3+.

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arXiv2002

ISO-LWS observations of C+ and O lines in absorption toward SgrB2

High spectral resolution ISO-LWS observations of the [OI] 63.2 and 145.5 microns and [CII] 157.7 microns fine structure lines are presented for the center of the Sagittarius B2 complex (SgrB2). Both the [OI] 63.2 microns and the [CII] 157.7 microns lines are detected in absorption. Using observations of the CO isotopes and of the HI lines, absorption components can be associated with many clouds along the Sgr B2 line of sight. From these data, we were able to disentangle three different layers, as predicted by PDR models, which contain atomic oxygen. We derive lower limits for the column densities of C and O. The fact that the [CII] 157.7 microns line is detected in absorption implies that the main cooling line of the interstellar medium can be optically thick especially in the direction of large star-forming complexes or in the nuclei of galaxies. This could partially account for the deficiency in the [CII] 157.7 microns line which has been recently found toward infrared bright galaxies in ISO data.

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