Large-scale Spectroscopic Mapping of the ρ Ophiuchi Molecular Cloud Complex. I. The C2H-to-N2H+ Ratio as a Signpost of Cloud Characteristics

Abstract

Abstract We present 2.5-square-degree C2H N = 1–0 and N2H+ J = 1–0 maps of the ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud complex. These are the first large-scale maps of the ρ Ophiuchi molecular cloud complex with these two tracers. The C2H emission is spatially more extended than the N2H+ emission. One faint N2H+ clump, Oph-M, and one C2H ring, Oph-RingSW, are identified for the first time. The observed C2H-to-N2H+ abundance ratio ([C2H]/[N2H+]) varies between 5 and 110. We modeled the C2H and N2H+ abundances with 1D chemical models, which show a clear decline of [C2H]/[N2H+] with chemical age. Such an evolutionary trend is little affected by temperatures when they are below 40 K. At high density (n H > 105 cm−3), however, the time it takes for the abundance ratio to drop at least one order of magnitude becomes less than the dynamical time (e.g., turbulence crossing time of ∼105 yr). The observed [C2H]/[N2H+] difference between L1688 and L1689 can be explained by L1688 having chemically younger gas in relatively less dense regions. The observed [C2H]/[N2H+] values are the results of time evolution, accelerated at higher densities. For the relatively low density regions in L1688 where only C2H emission was detected, the gas should be chemically younger.