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Phosphorus-bearing molecules in solar-type star-forming regions: first PO detection

Lefloch, B; Vastel, C; Viti, S; Jimenez-Serra, I; Codella, C; Podio, L; Ceccarelli, C; ... Bachiller, R; + view all (2016) Phosphorus-bearing molecules in solar-type star-forming regions: first PO detection. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 462 (4) pp. 3937-3944. 10.1093/mnras/stw1918. Green open access

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Abstract

As part of the Large Program Astrochemical Surveys At IRAM, we have used the IRAM 30 m telescope to lead a systematic search for the emission of rotational transitions of P-bearing species between 80 and 350 GHz towards L1157-B1, a shock position in the solar-type star-forming region L1157. We report the detection of several transitions of PN and, for the first time, of pre-biotic molecule PO. None of these species are detected towards the driving protostar of the outflow L1157-mm. Analysis of the line profiles shows that PN arises from the outflow cavity, where SiO, a strong shock tracer, is produced. Radiative transfer analysis yields an abundance of 2.5 × 10−9 and 0.9 × 10−9 for PO and PN, respectively. These results imply a strong depletion (≈100) of phosphorus in the quiescent cloud gas. Shock modelling shows that atomic N plays a major role in the chemistry of PO and PN. The relative abundance of PO and PN brings constraints both on the duration of the pre-shock phase, which has to be ∼106 yr, and on the shock parameters. The maximum temperature in the shock has to be larger than 4000 K, which implies a shock velocity of 40 km s−1.

Type: Article
Title: Phosphorus-bearing molecules in solar-type star-forming regions: first PO detection
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stw1918
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1918
Language: English
Additional information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Keywords: astrochemistry, stars: formation, ISM: abundances, ISM: jets and outflows, ISM: molecules
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1529846
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