2004/03/31 by C. Vastel, T. G. Phillips, H. Yoshida · 4 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/421265
published as Astrophys.J. 606 (2004) L127-L130 · 13 pages; accepted in ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2004/04/07 · openalex publication_date 2004/04/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The 692 GHz para ground-state line of D 2 H + has been detected at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory toward the prestellar core 16293E. The derived D 2 H + abundance is comparable to that of H 2 D + , as determined by observations of the 372 GHz line of ortho-H 2 D + . This is an observational verification of recent theoretical predictions, developed to explain the large deuteration ratios observed in cold, high-density regions of the interstellar medium associated with low-mass prestellar cores and protostars. This detection confirms expectations that the multiply deuterated forms of H were missing factors of earlier models. The inclusion of D 2 H + and D in the models leads to predictions of higher values of the D/H ratio in the gas phase.