2012/09/07 by Brett A. McGuire, Ryan A. Loomis, Cameron M. Charness +6 · 2 citations
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/758/2/l33
Accepted in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 13 pages, 2 figures, generated using AAS LaTeX Macros v 5.2
arxiv created 2012/09/07 · openalex publication_date 2012/10/01 · arxiv updated 2015/06/11 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
In this work, we identify carbodiimide (HNCNH), which is an isomer of the well-known interstellar species cyanamide (NH 2 CN), in weak maser emission, using data from the Green Bank Telescope PRIMOS survey toward Sgr B2(N). All spectral lines observed are in emission and have energy levels in excess of 170 K, indicating that the molecule likely resides in relatively hot gas that characterizes the denser regions of this star-forming region. The anticipated abundance of this molecule from ice mantle experiments is ∼10% of the abundance of NH 2 CN, which in Sgr B2(N) corresponds to ∼2 × 10 13 cm −2 . Such an abundance results in transition intensities well below the detection limit of any current astronomical facility and, as such, HNCNH could only be detected by those transitions which are amplified by masing.