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Nitrogen Sulfide (NS) in Star Forming Regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

Douglas Mcgonagle
Affiliation:
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
William Irvine
Affiliation:
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA
Young Minh
Affiliation:
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory University of Massachusetts at Amherst, USA

Abstract

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Gas phase models of ion molecule chemistry have been rather successful in matching the observed abundances of small interstellar molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. However, the situation is somewhat less clear for nitrogen-containing species, partly because the important initiating reaction N+ + H2 is slightly endothermic; and for sulfur-containing molecules, where it remains uncertain whether it is necessary to invoke surface reactions on grains to match the observed abundances. As a relatively simple species, the abundance of nitrogen sulfide should provide a good test of the models of the coupled chemistry of nitrogen and sulfur. Until very recently only two molecules containing both these elements were known in the interstellar medium, NS and HNCS, and both have been observed only in Sgr B2. We have therefore undertaken a survey for interstellar NS in Galactic molecular clouds using the FCRAO 14-meter telescope. The 2Π1/2, J = 5/2 → 3/2, transition has in fact been detected in many regions of massive star formation (see table).

Type
Quiescent Clouds and Regions of Star Formation
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1992