HCN Line Research Articles

Effects of dust evolution on protoplanetary disks in the mid-infrared

In this paper, we couple the dust evolution code two-pop-py with the thermochemical disk modelling code ProDiMo. We create a series of thermochemical disk models that simulate the evolution of dust over time from 0.018 to 10 Myr, including the radial drift, growth, and settling of dust grains. We examine the effects of this dust evolution on mid-infrared gas emission, focusing on the mid-infrared spectral lines of C2H2, CO2, HCN, NH3, OH, and H2O, which are readily observable with Spitzer and the upcoming E-ELT and JWST. The addition of dust evolution acts to increase line fluxes by reducing the population of small dust grains. We find that the spectral lines of all species except C2H2 respond strongly to dust evolution; line fluxes increase by more than an order of magnitude across the model series as the density of small dust grains decreases over time. The C2H2 line fluxes are extremely low because of a low abundance in the infrared line-emitting regions, even though C2H2 is commonly detected with Spitzer, suggesting that warm chemistry in the inner disk may need further investigation. Finally, we find that the CO2 flux densities increase more rapidly than the other species as the dust disk evolves. This suggests that the flux ratios of CO2 to other species may be lower in disks with less-evolved dust populations.

MALT90 molecular content on high-mass IR-dark clumps

Context. High mass stars form in groups or clusters in dense molecular clumps with sizes of 1 pc and masses of 200 M⊙. Infrared-dark clumps and the individual cores within them with sizes < 0.1 pc and masses < 100 M⊙ are important laboratories for high-mass star formation in order to study the initial conditions. Aims. We investigate the physical and chemical properties of high-mass clumps in order to better understand the early evolutionary stages and find targets that show star formation signs such as infall motions or outflows. Methods. We selected the high-mass clumps from ATLASGAL survey that were identified as dark at 8/24 μm wavelengths. We used MALT90 Survey data which provides a molecular line set (HCO+, HNC, HCN, N2H+, H13CO+, HN13C, SiO) to investigate the physical and chemical conditions in early stages of star formation. Results. Eleven sources have significant SiO detection (over 3σ) which usually indicates outflow activity. Thirteen sources are found with blue profiles in both or either HCO+ and/or HNC lines and clump mass infall rates are estimated to be in the range of 0.2 × 10−3 M⊙ yr−1 − 1.8 × 10−2 M⊙ yr−1. The excitation temperature is obtained as < 24 K for all sources. The column densities for optically thin lines of H13CO+ and HN13C are in the range of 0.4–8.8 (×1012) cm−2, and 0.9–11.9 (×1012) cm−2, respectively, while it is in the range of 0.1–7.5 (×1014) cm−2 for HCO+ and HNC lines. The column densities for N2H+ were ranging between 4.4–275.7 (×1012) cm−2 as expected from cold dense regions. Large line widths of N2H+ might indicate turbulence and large line widths of HCO+, HNC, and SiO indicate outflow activities. Mean optical depths are 20.32, and 23.19 for optically thick HCO+ and HCN lines, and 0.39 and 0.45 for their optically thin isotopologues H13CO+ and HN13C, respectively. Conclusions. This study reveals the physical and chemical properties of 30 high-mass IR-dark clumps and the interesting targets among them based on their emission line morphology and kinematics.

ALMA Observations of HCN and HCO+ Outflows in the Merging Galaxy NGC 3256

Abstract We report ∼2″ resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of the HCN (1–0), HCO+ (1–0), CO (1–0), CO (2–1), and CO (3–2) lines toward the nearby merging double-nucleus galaxy NGC 3256. We find that the high-density gas outflow traced in HCN (1–0) and HCO+ (1–0) emission is colocated with the diffuse molecular outflow emanating from the southern nucleus, where a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) is believed to be the dominant source of the far-infrared luminosity. On the other hand, the same lines were undetected in the outflow region associated with the northern nucleus, whose primary heating source is likely related to starburst activity without obvious signs of an AGN. Both the HCO+ (1–0)/CO (1–0) line ratio (i.e., dense gas fraction) and the CO (3–2)/CO (1–0) line ratio are larger in the southern outflow (0.20 ± 0.04 and 1.3 ± 0.2, respectively) than in the southern nucleus (0.08 ± 0.01 and 0.7 ± 0.1, respectively). By investigating these line ratios for each velocity component in the southern outflow, we find that the dense gas fraction increases and the CO (3–2)/CO (1–0) line ratio decreases toward the largest velocity offset. This suggests the existence of a two-phase (diffuse and clumpy) outflow. One possible scenario to produce such a two-phase outflow is an interaction between the jet and the interstellar medium, which possibly triggers shocks and/or star formation associated with the outflow.

Chemical tracers in proto-brown dwarfs: CN, HCN, and HNC observations

We present results from a study of nitrogen chemistry in Class 0/I proto-brown dwarfs (proto-BDs). We have used the IRAM 30 m telescope to observe the CN (2-1), HCN (3-2), and HNC (3-2) lines in 7 proto-BDs. All proto-BDs show a large CN/HCN abundance ratio of >20, and a HNC/HCN abundance ratio close to or larger than unity. The enhanced CN/HCN ratios can be explained by high UV flux originating from an active accretion zone in the proto-BDs. The larger than unity HNC/HCN ratio for the proto-BDs is likely caused by a combination of low temperature and high density. Both CN and HNC show a flat distribution with CO, indicating that these species can survive in regions where CO is depleted. We have investigated the correlations in the molecular abundances of these species for the proto-BDs with Class 0/I protostars. We find tentative trends of CN (HCN) abundances being about an order of magnitude higher (lower) in the proto-BDs compared to protostars. HNC for the proto-BDs shows a nearly constant abundance unlike the large spread of ~2 orders of magnitude seen for the protostars. Also notable is a rise in the HNC/HCN abundance ratio for the lowest luminosity objects, suggesting that this ratio is higher under low-temperature environments. None of the relatively evolved Class Flat/Class II brown dwarfs in our sample show emission in HNC. The HNC molecule can be considered as an efficient tracer to search and identify early stage sub-stellar mass objects.

Search for high-mass protostars with ALMA revealed up to kilo-parsec scales (SPARKS)

The conditions leading to the formation of the most massive O-type stars are still an enigma in modern astrophysics. To assess the physical conditions of high-mass protostars in their main accretion phase, here we present a case study of a young massive clump selected from the ATLASGAL survey, G328.2551–0.5321. The source exhibits a bolometric luminosity of 1.3 × 104L⊙, which allows us to estimate that its current protostellar mass lies between ~11 and 16M⊙. We show high angular resolution observations with ALMA that reach a physical scale of ~400 au. To reveal the structure of this high-mass protostellar envelope in detail at a ~0.17′′ resolution, we used the thermal dust continuum emission and spectroscopic information, amongst others from the CO (J= 3–2) line, which is sensitive to the high-velocity molecular outflow of the source. We also used the SiO (J= 8–7) and SO2(J= 82,6− 71,7) lines, which trace shocks along the outflow, as well as several CH3OH and HC3N lines that probe the gas of the inner envelope in the closest vicinity of the protostar. Our observations of the dust continuum emission reveal a single high-mass protostellar envelope, down to our resolution limit. We find evidence for a compact, marginally resolved continuum source that is surrounded by azimuthal elongations that could be consistent with a spiral pattern. We also report on the detection of a rotational line of CH3OH within itsvt= 1 torsionally excited state. This shows two bright emission peaks that are spatially offset from the dust continuum peak and exhibit a distinct velocity component ±4.5 km s−1offset from the systemic velocity of the source. Rotational diagram analysis and models based on local thermodynamic equilibrium assumption require high CH3OH column densities that reachN(CH3OH) = 1.2−2 × 1019cm−2, and kinetic temperatures of the order of 160–200 K at the position of these peaks. A comparison of their morphology and kinematics with those of the outflow component of the CO line and the SO2line suggests that the high-excitation CH3OH spots are associated with the innermost regions of the envelope. While the HC3Nv7= 0 (J= 37–36) line is also detected in the outflow, the HC3Nv7= 1e(J= 38–37) rotational transition within the first vibrationally excited state of the molecule shows a compact morphology. We find that the velocity shifts at the position of the observed high-excitation CH3OH spots correspond well to the expected Keplerian velocity around a central object with 15M⊙consistent with the mass estimate based on the bolometric luminosity of the source. We propose a picture where the CH3OH emission peaks trace the accretion shocks around the centrifugal barrier, pinpointing the interaction region between the collapsing envelope and an accretion disc. The physical properties of the accretion disc inferred from these observations suggest a specific angular momentum several times higher than typically observed towards low-mass protostars. This is consistent with a scenario of global collapse setting on at larger scales that could carry a more significant amount of kinetic energy compared to the core-collapse models of low-mass star formation. Furthermore, our results suggest that vibrationally excited HC3N emission could be a new tracer for compact accretion discs around high-mass protostars.

SMA Spectral Line Survey of the Proto-Planetary Nebula CRL 618

AbstractCarbon-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars are major sources of gas and dust in the interstellar medium. During the brief (∼1000 yr) period in the evolution from AGB to the Planetary Nebula (PN) stage, the molecular composition evolves from mainly diatomic and small polyatomic species to more complex molecules. Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we have carried out a spectral line survey of CRL 618, covering a frequency range of 281.9 to 359.4 GHz. More than 1000 lines were detected in the ∼60 GHz range, most of them assigned to HC3N and c-C3H2, and their isotopologues. About 200 lines are unassigned. Lines of CO, HCO+, and CS show the fast outflow wings, while the majority of line emission arises from a compact region of ∼1” diameter. We have analyzed the lines of HC3N, c-C3H2, CH3CN, and their isotopologues with rotation temperature diagrams.

A Thorough View of the Nuclear Region of NGC 253: Combined Herschel, SOFIA, and APEX Data Set

Abstract We present a large set of spectral lines detected in the 40″ central region of the starburst galaxy NGC 253. Observations were obtained with the three instruments SPIRE, PACS, and HIFI on board the Herschel Space Observatory, upGREAT on board the SOFIA airborne observatory, and the ground-based Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope. Combining the spectral and photometry products of SPIRE and PACS, we model the dust continuum spectral energy distribution (SED) and the most complete 12CO line SED reported so far toward the nuclear region of NGC 253. The properties and excitation of the molecular gas were derived from a three-component non-LTE radiative transfer model, using the SPIRE 13CO lines and ground-based observations of the lower-J 13CO and HCN lines, to constrain the model parameters. Three dust temperatures were identified from the continuum emission, and three components are needed to fit the full CO line SED. Only the third CO component (fitting mostly the HCN and PACS 12CO lines) is consistent with a shock-/mechanical-heating scenario. A hot core chemistry is also argued as a plausible scenario to explain the high-J 12CO lines detected with PACS. The effect of enhanced cosmic-ray ionization rates, however, cannot be ruled out and is expected to play a significant role in the diffuse and dense gas chemistry. This is supported by the detection of ionic species like OH+ and H2O+, as well as the enhanced fluxes of the OH lines with respect to those of H2O lines detected in both PACS and SPIRE spectra.

Widespread HCN maser emission in carbon-rich evolved stars

Context.HCN is a major constituent of the circumstellar envelopes of carbon-rich evolved stars, and rotational lines from within its vibrationally excited states probe parts of these regions closest to the stellar surface. A number of such lines are known to show maser action. Historically, in one of them, the 177 GHzJ= 2 → 1 line in thel-doubled bending mode has been found to show relatively strong maser action, with results only published for a single object, the archetypical high-mass loss asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star IRC+10216.Aims.To examine how common 177 GHz HCN maser emission is, we conducted an exploratory survey for this line toward a select sample of carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars that are observable from the southern hemisphere.Methods.We used the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment 12 meter submillimeter Telescope (APEX) equipped with a new receiver to simultaneously observe threeJ= 2 → 1 HCN rotational transitions, the (0, 11c, 0) and (0, 11d, 0)l-doublet components, and the line from the (0,0,0) ground state.Results.The (0, 11c, 0) maser line is detected toward 11 of 13 observed sources, which all show emission in the (0,0,0) transition. In most of the sources, the peak intensity of the (0, 11c, 0) line rivals that of the (0,0,0) line; in two sources, it is even stronger. Except for the object with the highest mass-loss rate, IRC+10216, the (0, 11c, 0) line covers a smaller velocity range than the (0,0,0) line. The (0, 11d, 0) line, which is detected in four of the sources, is much weaker than the other two lines and covers a velocity range that is smaller yet, again except for IRC+10216. Compared to its first detection in 1989, the profile of the (0, 11c, 0) line observed toward IRC+10216 looks very different, and we also appear to see variability in the (0,0,0) line profile (at a much lower degree). Our limited information on temporal variabilitydisfavors a strong correlation of maser and stellar continuum flux.Conclusions.Maser emission in the 177 GHzJ= 2 → 1 (0, 11c, 0) line of HCN appears to be common in carbon-rich AGB stars. Like for other vibrationally excited HCN lines, our observations indicate that the origin of these lines is in the acceleration zone of the stellar outflow in which dust is forming. For all the stars toward which we detect the maser line, the number of photons available at 7 and 14μm, corresponding to transitions to vibrationally excited states possibly involved in its pumping, is found to be far greater than that of the maser photons, which makes radiative pumping feasible. Other findings point to a collisional pumping scheme, however.

Retrieval of haze properties and HCN concentrations from the three-micron spectrum of Titan

The 3 µm spectrum of Titan contains line emission and absorption as well as a significant haze continuum. The line emission has been previously analyzed in the literature, but that analysis has not properly included the influence of haze on the line emission. We report a new analysis of the 3 µm HCN emission spectrum using radiative transfer equations that include scattering and absorption by molecules and haze particles at altitudes lower than 500 km, where the influence of haze on the emergent spectrum becomes significant. Taking advantage of the dominance of resonant single scattering in the HCN ν3 fundamental and of the moderate haze optical thickness of the atmosphere around 3 µm, we adopt single dust and molecular scattering and present a formulation for the radiative transfer process. We evaluate the quantitative influence of haze scattering on the emission line intensities, and derive vertically-resolved single scattering albedos of the haze from model fits. We also present the resulting concentrations of HCN for altitudes below 500 km, where we find that the haze scattering significantly influences the retrieval of the concentrations of HCN. We conclude that the formulation we present is useful for the analysis of the HCN line emission from Titan and other similar hazy planetary or celestial objects.

First Measurement of the 14N/15N Ratio in the Analog of the Sun Progenitor OMC-2 FIR4

Abstract We present a complete census of the 14N/15N isotopic ratio in the most abundant N-bearing molecules toward the cold envelope of the protocluster OMC-2 FIR4, the best known Sun progenitor. To this scope, we analyzed the unbiased spectral survey obtained with the IRAM 30 m telescope at 3, 2, and 1 mm. We detected several lines of CN, HCN, HNC, HC3N, N2H+, and their respective 13C and 15N isotopologues. The lines’ relative fluxes are compatible with LTE conditions, and moderate line opacities have been corrected via a population diagram method or theoretical relative intensity ratios of the hyperfine structures. The five species lead to very similar 14N/15N isotopic ratios, without any systematic difference between amine- and nitrile-bearing species as previously found in other protostellar sources. The weighted average of the 14N/15N isotopic ratio is 270 ± 30. This 14N/15N value is remarkably consistent with the [250–350] range measured for the local galactic ratio but significantly differs from the ratio measured in comets (around 140). High-angular resolution observations are needed to examine whether this discrepancy is maintained at smaller scales. In addition, using the CN, HCN, and HC3N lines, we derived a 12C/13C isotopic ratio of 50 ± 5.

High Dense Gas Fraction in Intensely Star-forming Dusty Galaxies

Abstract We present ALMA and VLA observations of the dense molecular gas tracers HCN, HCO+, and HNC in two lensed, high-redshift starbursts selected from the Herschel-ATLAS survey: H-ATLAS J090740.0−004200 (SDP.9, ) and H-ATLAS J091043.1−000321 (SDP.11, ). In SDP.9 we have detected all transitions and also HCN(1–0) and HCO+(1–0). In SDP.11 we have detected HCN(3–2) and HCO+(3–2). The amplification factors for both galaxies have been determined from subarcsecond-resolution CO and dust emission observations carried out with NOEMA and the SMA. The HNC(1–0)/HCN(1–0) line ratio in SDP.9 suggests the presence of photon-dominated regions, as happens in most local (U)LIRGs. The CO, HCN, and HCO+ spectral line energy distribution (SLEDs) of SDP.9 are compatible to those found for many local, IR-bright galaxies, indicating that the molecular gas in local and high-redshift dusty starbursts can have similar excitation conditions. We obtain that the correlation between total IR ( ) and dense line ( ) luminosity in SDP.9 and SDP.11 and local star-forming galaxies can be represented by a single relation. We argue that the scatter of the correlation, together with the lack of sensitive dense molecular gas tracer observations for a homogeneous sample of high-redshift galaxies, prevents us from distinguishing differential trends with redshift. Our results suggest that the intense star formation found in some high-redshift, dusty, luminous starbursts is associated with more massive dense molecular gas reservoirs and higher dense molecular gas fractions.

The Role of the CMB in Redshift Related Departures from the Gao–Solomon Relation

Abstract A strong correlation between the far-IR and HCN(1−0) line luminosities, known as the Gao–Solomon relation, has been observed to hold over more than 10 orders of magnitude in the local universe. Departures from this relation at redshifts ≳1.5 have been interpreted as evidence for increased dense gas star formation efficiency in luminous galaxies during the period of peak of star formation in the history of the universe. We examine whether the offsets from the relation can be explained by the hotter Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at high redshift, which, due to a loss of contrast against the hotter background, reduces the observable molecular-line flux far more significantly than the far-IR continuum bands. Simple line-of-sight modeling argues for highly significant departures from the Gao–Solomon relation at high redshift for kinetic temperatures ∼15 K, while more complex toy-galaxy models based on NGC 1068 suggest a much weaker effect with the galaxy integrated HCN line flux falling by only 10% at z = 3, within the intrinsic scatter of the relation. We conclude that, while the CMB is unlikely to explain the deviations reported in the literature, it may introduce a second-order effect on the relation by raising the low-luminosity end of the Gao–Solomon relation in cooler galaxies. A similar examination of the CO-IR relation finds tantalizing signs of the CMB having a measurable effect on the integrated CO emission in high-redshift galaxies, but these signs cannot be confirmed with the current data.

ALMA Multiple-transition Molecular Line Observations of the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy IRAS 20551–4250: Different HCN, HCO+, and HNC Excitation, and Implications for Infrared Radiative Pumping

Abstract We present our ALMA multi-transition molecular line observational results for the ultraluminous infrared galaxy IRAS 20551−4250, which is known to contain a luminous buried active galactic nucleus and shows detectable vibrationally excited (v 2 = 1f) HCN and HNC emission lines. The rotational J = 1–0, 4–3, and 8–7 of HCN, , and HNC emission lines were clearly detected at a vibrational ground level (v = 0). Vibrationally excited (v 2 = 1f) J = 4–3 emission lines were detected for HCN and HNC, but not for . Their observed flux ratios further support our previously obtained suggestion, based on J = 3–2 data, that (1) infrared radiative pumping plays a role in rotational excitation at v = 0, at least for HCN and HNC, and (2) HCN abundance is higher than and HNC. The flux measurements of the isotopologue H13CN, , and HN13C J = 3–2 emission lines support the higher HCN abundance scenario. Based on modeling with collisional excitation, we constrain the physical properties of these line-emitting molecular gases, but find that higher HNC rotational excitation than HCN and is difficult to explain, due to the higher effective critical density of HNC. We consider the effects of infrared radiative pumping using the available 5–30 μm infrared spectrum and find that our observational results are well-explained if the radiation source is located at 30–100 pc from the molecular gas. The simultaneously covered very bright CO J = 3–2 emission line displays a broad emission wing, which we interpret as being due to molecular outflow activity with the estimated rate of .

Molecular-cloud-scale Chemical Composition. II. Mapping Spectral Line Survey toward W3(OH) in the 3 mm Band

Abstract To study a molecular-cloud-scale chemical composition, we conducted a mapping spectral line survey toward the Galactic molecular cloud W3(OH), which is one of the most active star-forming regions in the Perseus arm. We conducted our survey through the use of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope, and observed the area of 16′ × 16′, which corresponds to 9.0 pc × 9.0 pc. The observed frequency ranges are 87–91, 96–103, and 108–112 GHz. We prepared the spectrum averaged over the observed area, in which eight molecular species (CCH, HCN, HCO+, HNC, CS, SO, C18O, and 13CO) are identified. On the other hand, the spectrum of the W3(OH) hot core observed at a 0.17 pc resolution shows the lines of various molecules such as OCS, H2CS CH3CCH, and CH3CN in addition to the above species. In the spatially averaged spectrum, emission of the species concentrated just around the star-forming core, such as CH3OH and HC3N, is fainter than in the hot core spectrum, whereas emission of the species widely extended over the cloud such as CCH is relatively brighter. We classified the observed area into five subregions according to the integrated intensity of 13CO, and evaluated the contribution to the averaged spectrum from each subregion. The CCH, HCN, HCO+, and CS lines can be seen even in the spectrum of the subregion with the lowest 13CO integrated intensity range (<10 K km s−1). Thus, the contributions of the spatially extended emission is confirmed to be dominant in the spatially averaged spectrum.

ALMA multiline observations toward the central region of NGC 613

Abstract We report ALMA observations of molecular gas and continuum emission in the 90 and 350 GHz bands toward a nearby Seyfert galaxy, NGC 613. Radio continuum emissions were detected at 95 and 350 GHz from both the circumnuclear disk (CND) (r ≲ 90 pc) and a star-forming ring (250 ≲ r ≲ 340 pc), and the 95 GHz continuum was observed to extend from the center at a position angle of 20° ± 8°. The archival 4.9 GHz data and our 95 GHz data show spectral indices of α ≲ −0.6 and −0.2 along the jets and in the star-forming ring; these can be produced by synchrotron emission and free–free emission, respectively. In addition, we detected the emission of CO(3–2), HCN(1–0), HCN(4–3), HCO+(1–0), HCO+(4–3), CS(2–1), and CS(7–6) in both the CND and the ring. The rotational temperatures and column densities of molecules derived from J = 1–0 and 4–3 lines of HCN and HCO+ and J = 2–1 and 7–6 of CS in the CND and ring were derived. Furthermore, a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model revealed that the kinetic temperature of Tk = 350–550 K in the CND is higher than Tk = 80–300 K in the ring, utilizing the intensity ratios of HCN, HCO+, and CS. The star-formation efficiency in the CND is almost an order of magnitude lower than those at the spots in the star-forming ring, while the dominant activity of the central region is star formation rather than active galactic nuclei. We determined that the large velocity dispersion of CO extending towards the north side of the CND and decomposing into blueshifted and redshifted features is probably explained by the effect of the radio jets. These results strongly suggest that the jets heat the gas in the CND, in which the feedback prevents star formation.

Molecular Line Emission as a Tool for Galaxy Observations (LEGO)

Trends observed in galaxies, such as the Gao \& Solomon relation, suggest a linear relation between the star formation rate and the mass of dense gas available for star formation. Validation of such relations requires the establishment of reliable methods to trace the dense gas in galaxies. One frequent assumption is that the HCN ($J=1$--0) transition is unambiguously associated with gas at $\rm{}H_2$ densities $\gg{}10^4~\rm{}cm^{-3}$. If so, the mass of gas at densities $\gg{}10^4~\rm{}cm^{-3}$ could be inferred from the luminosity of this emission line, $L_{\rm{}HCN\,(1\text{--}0)}$. Here we use observations of the Orion~A molecular cloud to show that the HCN ($J=1$--0) line traces much lower densities $\sim{}10^3~\rm{}cm^{-3}$ in cold sections of this molecular cloud, corresponding to visual extinctions $A_V\approx{}6~\rm{}mag$. We also find that cold and dense gas in a cloud like Orion produces too little HCN emission to explain $L_{\rm{}HCN\,(1\text{--}0)}$ in star--forming galaxies, suggesting that galaxies might contain a hitherto unknown source of HCN emission. In our sample of molecules observed at frequencies near 100~GHz (also including $\rm{}^{12}CO$, $\rm{}^{13}CO$, $\rm{}C^{18}O$, CN, and CCH), $\rm{}N_2H^+$ is the only species clearly associated with rather dense gas.

Some problems in interpretation of the New Horizons observations of Pluto's atmosphere

Here I briefly discuss the following problems related to Pluto's atmosphere: (1) restrictions to LTE in the rotational lines of H2O and HCN above 700 km that affect thermal balance of the atmosphere; (2) contradictions in the estimates of H2O influx from ablation of the interplanetary dust; (3) great difference between the haze volume surface area in the LORRI and MVIC observations and that in the UV solar occultations and the models, including significant corrections to sticking coefficients of C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and HCN in condensation, and (4) Triton's thermosphere during the Voyager 2 flyby.

Monitor Variability of Millimeter Lines in IRC+10216

Abstract A single dish monitoring of millimeter maser lines SiS J = 14-13 and HCN ν 2 = 1 f J = 3-2 and several other rotational lines is reported for the archetypal carbon star IRC+10216. Relative line strength variations of 5% ∼ 30% are found for eight molecular line features with respect to selected reference lines. Definite line-shape variations are found in limited velocity intervals of the SiS and HCN line profiles. The asymmetrical line profiles of the two lines are mainly due to the varying components. The dominant varying components of the line profiles have similar periods and phases to the IR light variation, though both quantities show some degree of velocity dependence; there is also variability asymmetry between the blue and red line wings of both lines. Combining the velocities and amplitudes with a wind velocity model, we suggest that the line profile variations are due to SiS and HCN masing lines emanating from the wind acceleration zone. The possible link of the variabilities to thermal, dynamical, and/or chemical processes within or under this region is also discussed.

ALMA Observations of Asymmetric Molecular Gas Emission from a Protoplanetary Disk in the Orion Nebula

Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of molecular line emission from d216-0939, one of the largest and most massive protoplanetary disks in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We model the spectrally resolved HCO+ (4–3), CO (3–2), and HCN (4–3) lines observed at 0.″5 resolution to fit the temperature and density structure of the disk. We also weakly detect and spectrally resolve the CS (7–6) line but do not model it. The abundances we derive for CO and HCO+ are generally consistent with expected values from chemical modeling of protoplanetary disks, while the HCN abundance is higher than expected. We dynamically measure the mass of the central star to be , which is inconsistent with the previously determined spectral type of K5. We also report the detection of a spatially unresolved high-velocity blueshifted excess emission feature with a measurable positional offset from the central star, consistent with a Keplerian orbit at 60 ± 20 au. Using the integrated flux of the feature in HCO+ (4–3), we estimate the total H2 gas mass of this feature to be at least , depending on the assumed temperature. The feature is due to a local temperature and/or density enhancement consistent with either a hydrodynamic vortex or the expected signature of the envelope of a forming protoplanet within the disk.

High Dense Gas Fraction in a Gas-rich Star-forming Galaxy at z = 1.2∗

Abstract We report observations of dense molecular gas in the star-forming galaxy EGS 13004291 (z = 1.197) using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. We tentatively detect HCN and HNC emission when stacked together at significance, yielding line luminosities of K km s−1 pc2 and K km s−1 pc2, respectively. We also set 3σ upper limits of <7–8 ×109 K km s−1 pc2 on the , ), and HC3N(J = 20 → 19) line luminosities. We serendipitously detect CO emission from two sources at and in the same field of view. We also detect CO( ) emission in EGS 13004291, showing that the excitation in the previously detected CO( ) line is subthermal ( ). We find a line luminosity ratio of / = 0.17 ± 0.07, as an indicator of the dense gas fraction. This is consistent with the median ratio observed in galaxies ( / = 0.16 ± 0.07) and nearby ULIRGs ( / = 0.13 ± 0.03), but higher than that in local spirals ( / = 0.04 ± 0.02). Although EGS 13004291 lies significantly above the galaxy main sequence at , we do not find an elevated star formation efficiency (traced by / ) as in local starbursts, but a value consistent with main-sequence galaxies. The enhanced dense gas fraction, the subthermal gas excitation, and the lower than expected star formation efficiency of the dense molecular gas in EGS 13004291 suggest that different star formation properties may prevail in high-z starbursts. Thus, using / as a simple recipe to measure the star formation efficiency may be insufficient to describe the underlying mechanisms in dense star-forming environments inside the large gas reservoirs.