The CS J = 2-1 emission line at 98 GHz has been searched for in 10 diffuse molecular clouds. CS column densities are derived by performing statistical equilibrium calculations for the rotational... Show moreThe CS J = 2-1 emission line at 98 GHz has been searched for in 10 diffuse molecular clouds. CS column densities are derived by performing statistical equilibrium calculations for the rotational population distribution which includes collisional excitation by electrons as well as by neutral species. Because CS has a large dipole moment, the electron collisions completely dominate the CS excitation in diffuse clouds, where the electron fraction is high. This result suggests that, in general, molecules with large dipole moments may be relatively more detectable by millimeter emission in diffuse clouds than in dense clouds. A detailed model of the gas-phase sulfur chemistry in diffuse clouds is developed to interpret the observations. Show less
Optical absorption-line techniques have been applied to the study of a number of translucent molecular clouds in which the total column densities are large enough that substantial molecular... Show moreOptical absorption-line techniques have been applied to the study of a number of translucent molecular clouds in which the total column densities are large enough that substantial molecular abundances can be maintained. Results are presented for a survey of absorption lines of interstellar C2, CH, and CN. Detections of CN through the A 2Pi-X 2Sigma(+) (1,O) and (2,O) bands of the red system are reported and compared with observations of the violet system for one line of sight. The population distributions in C2 provide diagnostic information on temperature and density. The measured column densities of the three species can be used to test details of the theory of molecule formation in clouds where photoprocesses still play a significant role. The C2 and CH column densities are strongly correlated with each other and probably also with the H2 column density. In contrast, the CN column densities are found to vary greatly from cloud to cloud. The observations are discussed with reference to detailed theoretical models. Show less
Recent work on the vacuum UV absorption spectrum of CO to the description of the photodissociation of interstellar CO and its principal isotopic varieties is discussed. The effects of line... Show moreRecent work on the vacuum UV absorption spectrum of CO to the description of the photodissociation of interstellar CO and its principal isotopic varieties is discussed. The effects of line broadening, self-shielding, shielding by H and H2, and isotope-selective shielding are examined as functions of depth into interstellar clouds. The photodissociation rates of the isotopic species are larger than that of (C-12)O inside the clouds by up to one to two orders of magnitude. A simple approximation to the attenuation by line absorption is given in tabular form. Computed abundances of CO and related species C and C+ are presented for a variety of interstellar clouds ranging from diffuse clouds to dense photodissociation regions. Several series of models of translucent clouds are presented which illustrate how the CO abundance increases rapidly with total cloud thickness. The variations of the isotopic abundances with depth and their sensitivity to temperature and total cloud thickness are explored in detail. Show less
The effects of the presence of a substantial component of large molecules on the chemistry of diffuse molecular clouds are explored, and detailed models of the zeta Persei and zeta Ophiuchi clouds... Show moreThe effects of the presence of a substantial component of large molecules on the chemistry of diffuse molecular clouds are explored, and detailed models of the zeta Persei and zeta Ophiuchi clouds are constructed. The major consequence is a reduction in the abundances of singly charged atomic species. The long-standing discrepancy between cloud densities inferred from rotational and fine-structure level populations and from the ionization balance can be resolved by postulating a fractional abundance of large molecules of 1 x 10 to the -7th for zeta Persei and 6 x 10 to the -7th for zeta Ophiuchi. If the large molecules are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) containing about 50 carbon atoms, they contain 1 percent of the carbon in zeta Persei and 7 percent in zeta Ophiuchi. Other consequences of the possible presence of PAH molecules are discussed. Show less
