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Karl M. Menten

Publications and source records attributed to Karl M. Menten.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

First detection of CF$^{+}$ in the Large Magellanic Cloud

CF$^{+}$ has been established as a valuable diagnostic tool for investigating photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) and fluorine abundances in the Milky Way. However, its role in extragalactic environments remains largely uncharted. Our objective is to explore the significance of CF$^{+}$ in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and assess its utility as a valuable probe for examining C$^{+}$ and fluorine abundances in external galaxies. We performed pointed CF$^{+}$ observations toward an active star-forming region, N113 in the LMC, using the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment 12~m sub-millimeter telescope. We report the first discovery of CF$^{+}$ in the LMC through the successful detection of the CF$^{+}$ (2$\to$1) and (3$\to$2) lines. The excitation models indicate that CF$^{+}$ emission originates from dense PDRs characterized by an H$_{2}$ number density of $(0.5-7.9)\times 10^{4}$~cm$^{-3}$ in N113. Our observations provide the first constraint on the fluorine abundance in molecular clouds in the LMC, disclosing a value of $\lesssim 1.7\times 10^{-9}$. This value is about an order of magnitude lower than those previously measured toward red giants in the LMC, indicative of fluorine deficiency in the molecular gas. The estimated column density ratio between C$^{+}$ and CF$^{+}$ appears to be lower than the anticipated equilibrium ratio derived from the fluorine abundance in red giants. Both phenomena can be explained by the deficiency of CF$^{+}$ caused by the freeze-out of its primary chemical precursor, HF, onto dust grains. The deficiency of CF$^{+}$ within molecular clouds suggests that the measurements presented in this work serve exclusively as conservative estimates, establishing lower bounds for both the fluorine abundance and C$^{+}$ column densities in external galaxies.

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The effects of stellar feedback on molecular clumps in the Lagoon Nebula (M8)

The Lagoon Nebula (M8) is host to multiple regions with recent and ongoing massive star formation. With M8-Main and M8 East, two prominent regions of massive star formation have been studied in detail over the past years, while large parts of the nebula have received little attention. These largely unexplored regions comprise a large sample of molecular clumps that are affected by the presence of massive O- and B-type stars. We establish an inventory of species observed towards 37 known molecular clumps in M8 by conducting an unbiased line survey for each clump. For this, we used APEX and the IRAM 30m telescope for pointed on-off observations on the clumps. These observations cover bandwidths of 53GHz and 40GHz in frequency ranges from 210GHz to 280GHz and from 70GHz to 117GHz, respectively. Temperatures are derived from rotational transitions of CH3CN, CH3C2H and para-H2CO. Additional archival data from the Spitzer, Herschel, MSX, APEX, WISE, JCMT and AKARI telescopes are used to derive physical parameters of the dust emission by fitting spectral energy distributions to the observed flux densities. Across the observed M8 region, we identify 346 transitions from 70 different molecular species, including isotopologues. We detect tracers of photo-dissociation regions across all the clumps and 38% of these clumps show signs of star formation. We find that PDR tracers are most abundant in clumps with relatively lower H2 column densities. When comparing M8 clumps to ATLASGAL sources at similar distances, we find them to be slightly less massive and have compatible luminosities and radii. This possibly indicates a fragmentation of the gas caused by the O- and B-type stars. In contrast, dust temperatures of the clumps in M8 are found to be increased by approximately 5K (25%) indicating substantial external heating of the clumps by radiation of the present massive stars.

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Mass assembly in massive star formation: a fragmentation study of ATLASGAL clumps

The mass assembly in star forming regions arises from the hierarchical structure in molecular clouds in tandem with fragmentation at different scales. In this paper, we present a study of the fragmentation of massive clumps covering a range of evolutionary states, selected from the ATLASGAL survey, using the compact configuration of the Submillimeter Array. The observations reveal a wide diversity in the fragmentation properties with about 60% of the sources showing limited to no fragmentation at the 2" scale, or a physical scale of 0.015 - 0.09 pc. We also find several examples where the cores detected with the Submillimeter array are significantly offset from the clump potential suggesting that initial fragmentation does not result in the formation of a large number of Jeans mass fragments. The fraction of the clump mass that is in compact structures is seen to increase with source evolution. We also see a significant correlation between the maximum mass of a fragment and the bolometric luminosity of the parent clump. These suggest that massive star formation proceeds through clump fed core accretion with the initial fragmentation being dependent on the density structure of the clumps and/or magnetic fields.

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Massive clumps in W43-main: Structure formation in an extensively shocked molecular cloud

W43-main is a massive molecular complex located at the interaction of the Scutum arm and the Galactic bar undergoing starburst activities. We aim to investigate the gas dynamics, in particular, the prevailing shock signatures from the cloud to clump scale and assess the impact of shocks on the formation of dense gas and early-stage cores. We have carried out NOEMA and IRAM-30m observations at 3 mm with an angular resolution of $\sim$0.1 pc towards five massive clumps in W43 main. We use CH$_{3}$CCH and H$_{2}$CS lines to trace the extended gas temperature and CH$_{3}$OH lines to probe the volume density of the dense gas ($\gtrsim$10$^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$). The emission of SiO (2-1) is extensive across the region ($\sim$4 pc) and is mostly contained within a low-velocity regime, hinting at a large-scale origin of the shocks. The position-velocity maps of multiple tracers show systematic spatio-kinematic offsets supporting the cloud-cloud collision/merging scenario. We identify an additional extended velocity component in CCH emission, which coincides with one of the velocity components of the larger scale $^{13}$CO (2-1) emission, likely representing an outer, less dense gas layer in the cloud merging process. We find that the V-shaped, asymmetric SiO wings are tightly correlated with localised gas density enhancements, which is direct evidence of dense gas formation and accumulation in shocks. We resolve two categories of NH$_{2}$D cores: ones exhibiting only subsonic to transonic velocity dispersion, and the others with an additional supersonic velocity dispersion. The centroid velocities of the latter cores are correlated with the shock front seen by SiO. The kinematics of the $\sim$0.1 pc NH$_{2}$D cores are heavily imprinted by shock activities, and may represent a population of early-stage cores forming around the shock interface.

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Observational evidence for local vertical constraining of \HI by molecular cloud complexes

A massive molecular cloud complex represents local gravitational potential that can constrain the vertical distribution of surrounding stars and gas. This pinching effect results in the local corrugation of the scale height of stars and gas which is in addition to the global corrugation of the mid-plane of the disc. For the first time, we report observational evidence for this pinching on the \HI vertical structures in the Galactic region ($20^{\circ}< l<40^{\circ}$), also called W41--W44 region. The \HI vertical distribution is modelled by a double Gaussian profile that physically represents a narrow dense gas distribution confined to the mid-plane embedded in a wider diffuse \HI. We find that the estimate of the \HI scale height distribution of wider components, shows corrugated structures at the locations of molecular complexes, as theoretically predicted in literature. While the narrow component is less affected by the pinching, we found a hint of the disc being disrupted by the active dynamics in the local environment of the complex, e.g., supernova explosions. Molecular complexes of mass of several $10^6$ solar mass, associated with the mini-starburst region W43 and the supernova remnant W41 show the strongest evidence for the pinching; here a broad trough, with an average width of $\sim400$ pc and height $\sim300$ pc, in the disc thickness of the wider component is prominently visible. Searching for similar effect on the stars as well as in the location of other complexes in the Milky Way and other galaxies will be useful to establish this phenomenon more firmly.

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Diverse molecular gas excitations in quasar host galaxies at z \sim 6

We present observations using the NOrthern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) of CO and $\rm H_{2}O$ emission lines, and the underlying dust continuum in two quasars at $z \sim 6$, i.e., P215-16 at $z$ = 5.78 and J1429+5447 at $z$ = 6.18. Notably, among all published CO SLEDs of quasars at $z \sim 6$, the two systems reveal the highest and the lowest CO level of excitation, respectively. Our radiative transfer modeling of the CO SLED of P215-16 suggests that the molecular gas heated by AGN could be a plausible origin for the high CO excitation. For J1429+5447, we obtain the first well-sampled CO SLED (from transitions from 2-1 to 10-9) of a radio-loud quasar at $z\gtrsim 6$. Analysis of the CO SLED suggests that a single photo-dissociation region (PDR) component could explain the CO excitation in the radio-loud quasar J1429+5447. This work highlights the utility of the CO SLED in uncovering the ISM properties in these young quasar-starburst systems at the highest redshift. The diversity of the CO SLEDs reveals the complexities in gas conditions and excitation mechanisms at their early evolutionary stage.

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Observing the LMC with APEX: Signatures of Large-scale Feedback in the Molecular Clouds of 30 Doradus

Stellar feedback plays a crucial role in star formation and the life cycle of molecular clouds. The intense star formation region 30 Doradus, which is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is a unique target for detailed investigation of stellar feedback owing to the proximity of the hosting galaxy and modern observational capabilities that together allow us to resolve individual molecular clouds $-$ nurseries of star formation. We study the impact of large-scale feedback on the molecular gas using the new observational data in the $^{12}$CO(3$-$2) line obtained with the APEX telescope. Our data cover an unprecedented area of 13.8 sq. deg. of the LMC disc with a spatial resolution of 5 pc and provide an unbiased view of the molecular clouds in the galaxy. Using this data, we located molecular clouds in the disc of the galaxy, estimated their properties, such as the areal number density, relative velocity and separation, width of the line profile, CO line luminosity, size, and virial mass, and compared these properties of the clouds of 30 Doradus with those in the rest of the LMC disc. We find that, compared with the rest of the observed molecular clouds in the LMC disc, those in 30 Doradus show the highest areal number density; they are spatially more clustered, they move faster with respect to each other, and they feature larger linewidths. In parallel, we do not find statistically significant differences in such properties as the CO line luminosity, size, and virial mass between the clouds of 30 Doradus and the rest of the observed field. We interpret our results as signatures of gas dispersal and fragmentation due to high-energy large-scale feedback.

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Maser Investigation toward Off-Plane Stars (MIOPS): detection of SiO masers in the Galactic thick disk and halo

Studying stars that are located off the Galactic plane is important for understanding the formation history of the Milky Way. We searched for SiO masers toward off-plane O-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars from the catalog presented by Mauron et al. (2019) in order to shed light on the origin of these objects. A total of 102 stars were observed in the SiO $J$=1-0, $v=1$ and 2 transitions with the Effelsberg-100 m and Tianma-65 m telescopes. SiO masers were discovered in eight stars, all first detections. The measured maser velocities allow the first estimates of the host AGB stars' radial velocities. We find that the radial velocities of three stars (namely G068.881-24.615, G070.384-24.886, and G084.453-21.863) significantly deviate from the values expected from Galactic circular motion. The updated distances and 3D motions indicate that G068.881$-$24.615 is likely located in the Galactic halo, while G160.648-08.846 is probably located in the Galactic thin disk, and the other six stars are probably part of the Galactic thick disk.

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Shocking Sgr B2(N1) with its own outflow: A new perspective on segregation between O- and N-bearing molecules

We want to investigate the influence of the powerful outflow driven by the hot core Sgr B2(N1) on the gas molecular inventory of the surrounding medium. We used the data taken as part of the 3 mm imaging spectral-line survey ReMoCA (Re-exploring Molecular Complexity with ALMA). Integrated intensity maps of SO and SiO emission reveal a bipolar structure with blue-shifted emission dominantly extending to the SE from the centre of the hot core and red-shifted emission to the NW. This is also prominently observed in emission of other S-bearing molecules and species that only contain N as a heavy element, including COMs, but also CH3OH, CH3CHO, HNCO, and NH2CHO. For a selection of COMs and simpler species, spectra were modelled under the assumption of LTE and population diagrams were derived at two positions, one in each outflow lobe. From this analysis, we obtained rotational temperatures, which are in a range of ~100-200K, and column densities. Abundances were subsequently compared to predictions of astrochemical models and to observations of L1157-B1, a position located in the well-studied outflow of the low-mass protostar L1157, and the source G+0.693-0.027, located in the Sgr B2 molecular cloud complex. Given the short distance of the analysed outflow positions to the centre of Sgr B2(N1), we propose a scenario in which a phase of hot-core chemistry (i.e. thermal desorption of ice species and high-temperature gas-phase chemistry) preceded a shock wave. The subsequent compression and further heating of the material resulted in the accelerated destruction of (mainly O-bearing) molecules. Gas-phase formation of cyanides seems to be able to compete with their destruction in the post-shock gas. Abundances of HCnN (n=3,5) are enhanced in the outflow component pointing to (additional) gas-phase formation. To confirm such a scenario, appropriate chemical shock models need to be run.

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Velocity-resolved high-J CO emission from massive star-forming clumps

(Abridged) Context. Massive star formation is associated with energetic processes, which result in significant gas cooling via far-infrared (IR) lines. Velocity-resolved observations can constrain the kinematics of the gas, allowing the identification of the physical mechanisms responsible for gas heating. Aims. Our aim is to quantify far-infrared CO line emission toward high-mass star-forming regions, identify the high-velocity gas component associated with outflows, and estimate the physical conditions required for the excitation of the observed lines. Methods. Velocity-resolved SOFIA/GREAT spectra of 13 high-mass star forming clumps of various luminosities and evolutionary stages are studied using CO 11-10 and 16-15 lines. Results. All targets show strong high-J CO emission in the far-IR, characterized by broad line wings associated with outflows, thereby significantly increasing the sample of sources with velocity-resolved high-J CO spectra. The contribution of the emission in the line wings does not correlate with the envelope mass or evolutionary stage. Gas rotational temperatures cover a narrow range of 120-220 K for the line wings. The non-LTE radiative transfer models indicate gas densities of 1e5-1e7 cm-3 and N(CO) of 1e17- 1e18 cm-2, similar to physical conditions in deeply-embedded low- and high-mass protostars. The velocity-integrated CO line fluxes correlate with the bolometric luminosity over 7 orders of magnitude including data on the low-mass protostars, suggesting similar processes are responsible for the high-J CO excitation over a significant range of physical scales. Conclusions. Velocity-resolved line profiles allow the detection of outflows toward massive star-forming clumps spanning a broad range of evolutionary stages. The lack of clear evolutionary trends suggest that mass accretion and ejection prevail during the entire lifetime of star-forming clumps.

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One, Two, Three ... An Explosive Outflow in IRAS 12326$-$6245 revealed by ALMA

In the last years there has been a substantial increase in the number of the reported massive and luminous star-forming regions with related explosive outflows thanks to the superb sensitivity and angular resolution provided by the new radio, infrared, and optical facilities. Here, we report one more explosive outflow related with the massive and bright star-forming region IRAS 12326$-$6245 using Band 6 sensitive and high angular resolution ($\sim$0.2$"$) Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations. We find over 10 molecular and collimated well-defined streamers, with Hubble-Lemaitre like expansion motions, and pointing right to the center of a dusty and molecular shell (reported for the first time here) localized in the northern part of the UCHII region known as G301.1A. The estimated kinematic age, and energy for the explosion are $\sim$700 yrs, and 10$^{48}$ erg, respectively. Taking into account the recently reported explosive outflows together with IRAS 12326$-$6245, we estimate an event rate of once every 90 yr in our Galaxy, similar to the formation rate of massive stars.

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A radical transition in the post-main-sequence system U Equulei

U Equ is an unusual maser-hosting IR source discovered in the 1990s. It was tentatively classified as a post-AGB star with a unique optical spectrum displaying rare emission and absorption features from molecular gas. In 2022, we discovered that its optical spectrum has drastically changed. Methods: Optical high-resolution spectra of U Equ from SALT are supplemented by archival data and NIR photometry from NOT. New spectral line observations with the Effelsberg telescope and ALMA are presented. Results: No circumstellar molecular features are present in the contemporary optical spectra of U Equ. Non-photospheric absorption and emission from neutral and ionized species dominate the current spectrum. Some of the observed features indicate an outflow with a terminal velocity of 215 km\s. The H\&K lines of [Ca II] indicate a photosphere of spectral type F. Photometric measurements show that the source has been monotonically increasing its optical and NIR fluxes since the beginning of this century. SEDs at different epochs show dusty circumstellar material arranged in a highly-inclined disk. At a distance of 4 kpc, the source's luminosity is 10$^4$ L$_{\odot}$. Conclusions: The object has changed considerably in the last three decades, either due to geometrical reconfiguration of the circumstellar medium, evolutionary changes in the central star, or owing to an accretion event that has started in the system very recently. Observationally, U Equ appears to resemble the Category 0 of disk-hosting post-AGB stars, especially the post-common envelope binary HD 101584. It is uncertain if the drastic spectral change and the associated optical/MIR rise in brightness are common in post-AGB stars but such a radical change may be related to the real-time onset of the evolution of the system into a planetary nebula. We find that the post-AGB star V576 Car has undergone a similar transformation as U Equ.

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The 107 GHz methanol transition is a dasar in G0.253+0.016

We present observations of population anti-inversion in the $3_1 - 4_0\ A^+$ transition of CH$_3$OH (methanol) at 107.013831 GHz toward the Galactic Center cloud G0.253+0.016 ("The Brick"). Anti-inversion of molecular level populations can result in absorption lines against the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in a phenomenon known as a "dasar." We model the physical conditions under which the 107 GHz methanol transition dases and determine that dasing occurs at densities below $10^6$ cm$^{-3}$ and column densities between $10^{13}$ and $10^{16}$ cm$^{-2}$. We also find that for this transition, dasing does not strongly depend on the gas kinetic temperature. We evaluate the potential of this tool for future deep galaxy surveys. We note that other works have already reported absorption in this transition (e.g., in NGC 253), but we provide the first definitive evidence that it is absorption against the CMB rather than against undetected continuum sources.

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An Updated Reference Frame for the Galactic Inner Parsec

Infrared observations of stellar orbits about Sgr A* probe the mass distribution in the inner parsec of the Galaxy and provide definitive evidence for the existence of a massive black hole. However, the infrared astrometry is relative and is tied to the radio emission from Sgr A* using stellar SiO masers that coincide with infrared-bright stars. To support and improve this two-step astrometry, we present new astrometric observations of 15 stellar SiO masers within 2 pc of Sgr A*. Combined with legacy observations spanning 25.8 years, we re-analyze the relative offsets of these masers from Sgr A* and measure positions and proper motions that are significantly improved compared to the previously published reference frame. Maser positions are corrected for epoch-specific differential aberration, precession, nutation, and solar gravitational deflection. Omitting the supergiant IRS 7, the mean position uncertainties are 0.46 mas and 0.84 mas in RA and Dec., and the mean proper motion uncertainties are 0.07 mas yr$^{-1}$ and 0.12 mas yr$^{-1}$, respectively. At a distance of 8.2 kpc, these correspond to position uncertainties of 3.7 AU and 6.9 AU and proper motion uncertainties of 2.7 km s$^{-1}$ and 4.6 km s$^{-1}$. The reference frame stability, the uncertainty in the variance-weighted mean proper motion of the maser ensemble, is 8 $μ$as yr$^{-1}$ (0.30 km s$^{-1}$) in RA and 11 $μ$as yr$^{-1}$ (0.44 km s$^{-1}$) in Dec., which represents a 2.3-fold improvement over previous work and a new benchmark for the maser-based reference frame.

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ALMA and VLBA views on the outflow associated with an O-type protostar in G26.50+0.28

Protostellar jets and outflows are essential ingredients of the star formation process. A better understanding of this phenomenon is important in its own right as well as for many fundamental aspects of star formation. Jets and outflows associated with O-type protostars are rarely studied with observations reaching the close vicinity of the protostars. In this work, we report high-resolution ALMA and VLBA observations to reveal a clear and consistent picture of an outflow associated with an O-type protostar candidate in the G26.50+0.28 region. These observations reveal, for the first time, a collimated jet located in the middle of the outflow cavity. The jet is found to be perpendicular to an elongated disk/toroid and its velocity gradient. The collimated jet appears to show a small amplitude ($α$$\approx$0$\,.\!\!^{\circ}$06) counterclockwise precession, when looking along the blueshifted jet axis from the strongest continuum source MM1, with a precession length of 0.22 pc. The inclination of the jet is likely to be very low ($\approx$8$^{\circ}$), which makes it a promising target to study its transverse morphologies and kinematics. However, no clear evidence of jet rotation is found in the ALMA and VLBA observations. The three-dimensional velocities of the water maser spots appear to show the same absolute speed with respect to different opening angles, suggesting the jet winds may be launched in a relatively small region. This favors the X-wind model, that is, jets are launched in a small area near the inner disk edge.

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[C I] and [C II] emission in the circumstellar envelope of IRC +10216 I. Observational data and NLTE modeling of the [C I] emission

Aims: The study at hand aims to describe the distribution of atomic carbon, C0, throughout the envelope, in support of an improved understanding of its photo-chemistry. Additionally, we also briefly discuss the observation of [CII] emission towards the star. Methods: We obtain spectra of the [CI] $\mathrm{^3P_1} \rightarrow \mathrm{^3P_0}$ fine structure line at projected distances of up to 78" from the star. The line profiles are characterized by both direct fitting of Gaussian components, and by modeling the observed line of the [CI] triplet. We also report the detection of the $\mathrm{^2P_{3/2}} \rightarrow \mathrm{^2P_{1/2}}$ line from the C+ fine structure singlet at the central position and at 32" from the star. Results: The overall picture of the [CI] emission from IRC +10216 agrees with more limited previous studies. The satisfying agreement between the observed and modeled line profiles, with emission at the systemic velocity appearing beyond one beam from the star, rules out that the C0 is located in a thin shell. Given that the bond energy of CO falls only 0.1 eV below the ionization threshold of C0, the absence of observable [CII] emission from sightlines beyond a projected distance of $\sim 10^{17}$ cm from the star (adopting a distance of 130 pc) does not contradict a scenario where the bulk of C0 is located between that of CO and C+, as expected for an external FUV radiation field. This conjecture is also corroborated by a model in which the C0 shell is located farther outside, failing to reproduce the [CI] line profiles at intermediate sky-plane distances from the star. Comparing a photo-chemical model adopted from literature with the simplifying assumption of a constant C0 abundance with respect to the $\mathrm{H}_2$ density, we constrain the inner boundary of the [CI] emitting shell, located at $\sim 10^{16}$ cm from the star.

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Inverse MultiView II: Microarcsecond Trigonometric Parallaxes for Southern Hemisphere 6.7~GHz Methanol Masers G232.62+00.99 and G323.74$-$00.26

We present the first results from the Southern Hemisphere Parallax Interferometric Radio Astrometry Legacy Survey (\spirals): $10μ$as-accurate parallaxes and proper motions for two southern hemisphere 6.7 GHz methanol masers obtained using the inverse MultiView calibration method. Using an array of radio telescopes in Australia and New Zealand, we measured the trigonometric parallax and proper motions for the masers associated with the star formation region G232.62+00.99 of $π= 0.610\pm0.011$~mas, $μ_x=-2.266\pm0.021$~mas~y$^{-1}$ and $μ_y=2.249\pm0.049$~mas~y$^{-1}$, which implies its distance to be $d=1.637\pm0.029$~kpc. These measurements represent an improvement in accuracy by more than a factor of 3 over the previous measurements obtained through Very Long Baseline Array observations of the 12~GHz methanol masers associated with this region. We also measure the trigonometric parallax and proper motion for G323.74--00.26 as $π= 0.364\pm0.009$~mas, $μ_x=-3.239\pm0.025$~mas~y$^{-1}$ and $μ_y=-3.976\pm0.039$~mas~y$^{-1}$, which implies a distance of $d=2.747\pm0.068$~kpc. These are the most accurate measurements of trigonometric parallax obtained for 6.7~GHz class II methanol masers to date. We confirm that G232.62+00.99 is in the Local arm and find that G323.74--00.26 is in the Scutum-Centaurus arm. We also investigate the structure and internal dynamics of both masers.

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First detection of deuterated methylidyne (CD) in the interstellar medium

While the abundance of elemental deuterium is relatively low (D/H ~ a few 1E-5), orders of magnitude higher D/H abundance ratios have been found for many interstellar molecules, enhanced by deuterium fractionation. In cold molecular clouds (T < 20K) deuterium fractionation is driven by the H2D+ ion, whereas at higher temperatures (T > 20-30K) gas-phase deuteration is controlled by reactions with CH2D+ and C2HD+. While the role of H2D+ in driving cold interstellar deuterium chemistry is well understood, thanks to observational constraints from direct measurements of H2D+, deuteration stemming from CH2D+ is far less understood, caused by the absence of direct observational constraints of its key ions. Therefore, making use of chemical surrogates is imperative for exploring deuterium chemistry at intermediate temperatures. Formed at an early stage of ion-molecule chemistry, directly from the dissociative recombination of CH3+ (CH2D+), CH (CD) is an ideal tracer for investigating deuterium substitution initiated by reactions with CH2D+. This paper reports the first detection of CD in the interstellar medium, carried out using the APEX 12m telescope toward the widely studied low-mass protostellar system IRAS 16293-2422. Gas-phase chemical models reproducing the observed CD/CH abundance ratio of 0.016 suggests that it reflects `warm deuterium chemistry' (which ensues in moderately warm conditions of the interstellar medium) and illustrates the potential use of the CD/CH ratio in constraining the gas temperatures of the envelope gas clouds it probes.

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