Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Mar 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005apj...621..348o&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 621, Issue 1, pp. 348-358.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
8
Ism: Abundances, Ism: Clouds, Ism: Molecules, Stars: Formation
Scientific paper
The dominant mechanism for the deuteration of formaldehyde in the gas phase of low-temperature interstellar cloud cores occurs via reaction with the deuterating ions H2D+, HD+2, and D+3. Until now, it has been assumed that deuteration leads to an ion that, on recombination with electrons, can produce a deuterated neutral species with a statistical branching fraction. Quantum chemical calculations reported here, however, show an entirely different picture, in which the deuteration of formaldehyde leads to the molecular ion H2COD+, where the deuterium binds only on the oxygen side of the molecule. The structure is quite stable, while an alternative structure, H2DCO+, cannot be produced in a straightforward manner. Dissociative recombination of H2COD+ to reproduce a formaldehyde structure then removes the deuteration if the dissociation is direct, i.e., it occurs without change of structure. There are several possible indirect mechanisms by which dissociative recombination can lead to HDCO, however. For example, if the direct products are HCOD+H, it is possible that subsequent isomerization to HDCO can occur, although this involved process is unlikely. Another possibility is isomerization during the actual dissociation of the H2COD intermediate. Models of deuterium fractionation in which dissociative recombination is predominantly direct are presented, and it is found that the deuterium fractionation of formaldehyde to form both HDCO and D2CO can still occur via other mechanisms, although with less efficiency than previously obtained. If the dissociative recombination is half indirect, however, then we can recover the previously calculated efficiency.
Herbst Eric
Osamura Yoshihiro
Roberts Helen
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