Abstract
Using the EXES instrument on SOFIA, we have obtained velocity-resolved spectra of several pure rotational lines of H2 toward shocked molecular gas within three Galactic sources: the supernova remnant (SNR) IC 443 (clump C), a protostellar outflow in the intermediate-mass star-forming region NGC 2071, and the SNR 3C 391. These observations had the goal of searching for expected velocity shifts between ortho- and para-H2 transitions emitted by C-type shocks. In contrast in our previous similar study of HH7, the result of our search was negative: no velocity shifts were reliably detected. Several possible explanations for the absence of such shifts are discussed: these include a preshock ortho-to-para ratio that is already close to the high-temperature equilibrium value of 3 (in the case of IC 443C), the more complex shock structures evident in all these sources, and the larger projected aperture sizes relative to those in the observations of HH7.
Published Version
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