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We have observed five sulphur-bearing molecules in foreground diffuse molecular clouds lying along the sight-lines to five bright continuum sources. We have used the GREAT instrument on SOFIA to observe the SH 1383 GHz 2Π3/2 ← = 5/2 = 3/2 lambda doublet toward the star-forming regions W31C, G29.96-0.02, G34.3+0.1, W49N and W51, detecting foreground absorption towards all five sources; and the EMIR receivers on the IRAM 30 m telescope at Pico Veleta to detect the H2S 110-101 (169 GHz), CS J = 2-1 (98 GHz) and SO 32-21 (99 GHz) transitions. Upper limits on the H3S+ 10-00 (293 GHz) transition were also obtained at the IRAM 30 m. In nine foreground absorption components detected towards these sources, the inferred column densities of the four detected molecules showed relatively constant ratios, with N(SH)/N(H2S) in the range 1.1-3.0, N(CS)/N(H2S) in the range 0.32-0.61, and N(SO)/N(H2S) in the range 0.08-0.30. The column densities of the sulphur-bearing molecules are very well correlated amongst themselves, moderately well correlated with CH (a surrogate tracer for H2), and poorly correlated with atomic hydrogen. The observed SH/H2 ratios - in the range 5 to 26 × 10-9 - indicate that SH (and other sulphur-bearing molecules) account for «1% of the gas-phase sulphur nuclei. The observed abundances of sulphur-bearing molecules, however, greatly exceed those predicted by standard models of cold diffuse molecular clouds, providing further evidence for the enhancement of endothermic reaction rates by elevated temperatures or ion-neutral drift. We have considered the observed abundance ratios in the context of shock and turbulent dissipation region (TDR) models. Using the TDR model, we find that the turbulent energy available at large scale in the diffuse ISM is sufficient to explain the observed column densities of SH and CS. Standard shock and TDR models, however, fail to reproduce the column densities of H2S and SO by a factor of about 10; more elaborate shock models - in which account is taken of the velocity drift, relative to H2, of SH molecules produced by the dissociative recombination of H3S+ - reduce this discrepancy to a factor ~3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We describe the assignment of a previously unidentified interstellar absorption line to ArH+ and discuss its relevance in the context of hydride absorption in diffuse gas with a low H2 fraction. The confidence of the assignment to ArH+ is discussed, and the column densities are determined toward several lines of sight. The results are then discussed in the framework of chemical models, with the aim of explaining the observed column densities. Methods. We fitted the spectral lines with multiple velocity components, and determined column densities from the line-to-continuum ratio. The column densities of ArH+ were compared to those of other species, tracing interstellar medium (ISM) components with different H2 abundances. We constructed chemical models that take UV radiation and cosmic ray ionization into account. Results. Thanks to the detection of two isotopologues, 36ArH+ and 38ArH+, we are confident about the carrier assignment to ArH+. NeH+ is not detected with a limit of [NeH+]/[ArH+] = 0.1. The derived column densities agree well with the predictions of chemical models. ArH+ is a unique tracer of gas with a fractional H2 abundance of 10-4 - 10-3 and shows little correlation to H2O+, which traces gas with a fractional H2 abundance of ˜0.1. Conclusions. A careful analysis of variations in the ArH+, OH+, H2O+, and HF column densities promises to be a faithful tracer of the distribution of the H2 fractional abundance by providing unique information on a poorly known phase in the cycle of interstellar matter and on its transition from atomic diffuse gas to dense molecular gas traced by CO emission. Abundances of these species put strong observational constraints upon magnetohydrodynamical (MHD)simulations of the interstellar medium, and potentially could evolve into a tool characterizing the ISM. Paradoxically, the ArH+ molecule is a better tracer of almost purely atomic hydrogen gas than Hi itself, since Hi can also be present in gas with a significant molecular content, but ArH+singles out gas that is >99.9% atomic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Excitation of far-infrared and submillimetric molecular lines may originate from nonreactive collisions, chemical formation, or far infrared, near-infrared, and optical fluorescences. As a template, we investigate the impact of each of these processes on the excitation of the methylidyne cation CH+ and on the intensities of its rotational transitions recently detected in emission in dense photodissociation regions (PDRs) and in planetary nebulae. Methods. We have developed a nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium excitation model that includes the entire energy structure of CH+, i.e. taking into account the pumping of its vibrational and bound and unbound electronic states by near-infrared and optical photons. The model includes the theoretical cross-sections of nonreactive collisions with H, H2, He, and e-, and a Boltzmann distribution is used to describe the probability of populating the excited levels of CH+ during its chemical formation by hydrogenation of C+. To confirm our results we also performed an extensive analytical study, which we use to predict the main excitation process of several diatomic molecules, namely HF, HCl, SiO, CS, and CO. Results. At densities nH = 104 cm-3, the excitation of the rotational levels of CH+ is dominated by the radiative pumping of its electronic, vibrational, and rotational states if the intensities of the radiation field at ~0.4, ~4, and ~300 μm are stronger than 105, 108, and 104 times those of the local interstellar radiation field (ISRF). Below these values, the chemical pumping is the dominant source of excitation of the J > 1 levels, even at high kinetic temperatures (~1000 K). The far-infrared emission lines of CH+ observed in the Orion Bar and the NGC 7027 PDRs are consistent with the predictions of our excitation model assuming an incident far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation field of ~3×104 (in Draine's unit) and densities of ~5×104 and ~2×105 cm-3. In the case of NGC 7027, the estimate of the density is 10 to 100 times lower than those deduced by traditional excitation codes. Applying our model to other X1∑+ ground state diatomic molecules, we find that HF, and SiO and HCl are the species the most sensitive to the radiative pumping of their vibrational and bound electronic states. In both cases, the minimal near-infrared and optical/ultraviolet radiation field intensities required to modify their rotational level populations are ~103 times those of the local ISRF at densities nH = 104 cm-3. All these results point towards interstellar and circumstellar media with densities lower than previously established and cast doubts on the clumpiness of well-studied molecular clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of the Herschel key programme PRISMAS, we have used the Herschel/HIFI instrument to observe interstellar nitrogen hydrides along the sight-lines towards eight high-mass star-forming regions in order to elucidate the production pathways leading to nitrogen-bearing species in diffuse gas. Here, we report observations towards W49N of the NH N = 1-0, J = 2-1, and J = 1-0, ortho-NH2 NKa,KcJ = 11,13/2-00,01/2, ortho-NH3 JK = 10-00 and 20-10, para-NH3 JK = 21-11 transitions, and unsuccessful searches for NH+. All detections show absorption by foreground material over a wide range of velocities, as well as absorption associated directly with the hot-core source itself. As in the previously published observations towards G10.6-0.4, the NH, NH2 and NH3 spectra towards W49N show strikingly similar and non-saturated absorption features. We decompose the absorption of the foreground material towards W49N into different velocity components in order to investigate whether the relative abundances vary among the velocity components, and, in addition, we re-analyse the absorption lines towards G10.6-0.4 in the same manner. Abundances, with respect to molecular hydrogen, in each velocity component are estimated using CH, which is found to correlate with H2 in the solar neighbourhood diffuse gas. The analysis points to a co-existence of the nitrogen hydrides in diffuse or translucent interstellar gas with a high molecular fraction. Towards both sources, we find that NH is always at least as abundant as both o-NH2 and o-NH3, in sharp contrast to previous results for dark clouds. We find relatively constant N(NH)/N(o-NH3) and N(o-NH2)/N(o-NH3) ratios with mean values of 3.2 and 1.9 towards W49N, and 5.4 and 2.2 towards G10.6-0.4, respectively. The mean abundance of o-NH3 is ~2 × 10-9 towards both sources. The nitrogen hydrides also show linear correlations with CN and HNC towards both sources, and looser correlations with CH. The upper limits on the NH+ abundance indicate column densities ≤2-14% of N(NH), which is in contrast to the behaviour of the abundances of CH+ and OH+ relative to the values determined for the corresponding neutrals CH and OH. Surprisingly low values of the ammonia ortho-to-para ratio are found in both sources, ≈ 0.5-0.7 ± 0.1, in the strongest absorption components. This result cannot be explained by current models as we had expected to find a value of unity or higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of interstellar mercapto radicals (SH) along the sight-line to the submillimeter continuum source W49N. We have used the GREAT instrument on SOFIA to observe the 1383 GHz ²Π3/2 J = 5/2 ← 3/2 lambda doublet in the upper sideband of the Li receiver. The resulting spectrum reveals SH absorption in material local to W49N, as well as in foreground gas, unassociated with W49N, that is located along the sight-line. For the foreground material at velocities in the range 37-44 km s-1 with respect to the local standard of rest, we infer a total SH column density ∼4.6 x 1012 cm-2, corresponding to ass abundance of ∼7 x 10-9 relative to H2, and yielding an SH/H2S abundance ratio ∼0.13. The observed SH/H2S abundance ratio is much smaller than that predicted by standard models for the production of SH and H2S in turbulent dissipation regions and shocks, and suggests that the endothermic neutral-neutral reaction SH + H2 + H2S + H must be enhanced along with the ion-neutral reactions believed to produce CH+ and SW in diffuse molecular clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]