Year: 1988
Type: article
Abstract: Recent work on the vacuum ultraviolet absorption spectrum of CO by Letzelter et al. and Yoshino et al. has clarified the nature of its photodissociation processes. The application of these spectroscopic data to the description of the photodissociation of interstellar CO and its principal isotopic varieties 13CO, C18O, and 13C18O is discussed. The unattenuated photodissociation rate of interstellar CO is ≡2 × 10-10s-1, more than an order of magnitude larger than the value used in previous models. The new treatment of the CO photodissociation has been incorporated into detailed models of the structure and chemistry of interstellar clouds. 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. The model results are compared with a variety of observational data on both the CO and C abundances in such clouds.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/166877
Authors: Ewine F. van Dishoeck, John H. Black
Institutions: Princeton University, University of Arizona
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2032832347