Methane Abundance Variations toward the Massive Protostar NGC 7538 IRS 9

Abstract

Absorption and emission lines originating from the ν3 C–H stretching manifold of gas-phase CH4 were discovered in the high-resolution (R = 25,000) infrared L-band spectrum along the line of sight toward NGC 7538 IRS 9. These observations provide a diagnostic of the complex dynamics and chemistry in a massive star-forming region. The line shapes resemble P Cygni profiles with the absorption and emission components shifted by ~7 km s-1 with respect to the systemic velocity. Similar velocity components were observed in CO at 4.7 μm, but in contrast to CH4, the CO shows deep absorption due to a high-velocity outflow as well as absorption at the systemic velocity due to the cold outer envelope. It is concluded that the gas-phase CH4 abundance varies by an order of magnitude in this line of sight: it is low in the envelope and the outflow (X[CH4] < 0.4 × 10-6) and at least a factor of 10 larger in the central core. The discovery of solid CH4 in independent ground- and space-based data sets shows that methane is nearly entirely frozen onto grains in the envelope. It thus appears that CH4 is formed by grain surface reactions, evaporates into the gas phase in the warm inner regions of protostellar cores, and is efficiently destroyed in shocks related to outflows.