Laboratory Studies of the H2 Production Mechanism Which Led to the Formation of the First Stars

Details Laboratory Studies of the H2 Production Mechanism Which Led to the Formation of the First Stars Laboratory Studies of the H2 Production Mechanism Which Led to the Formation of the First Stars

May 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21440301m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #214, #403.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.666

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Scientific paper

The dominant formation mechanism of H2 molecules during the epoch of formation for the first stars and protogalaxies is the associative detachment (AD) reaction H + H- forming H2 + e-. Published values for this process differ by almost an order of magnitude. These uncertainties limit our ability to reliably model this epoch of the universe. For example, recent studies have shown that the effect of these uncertainties is particularly large for protogalaxies forming in previously ionized regions, affecting predictions of whether or not a given protogalaxy can cool and condense within a Hubble time and altering the strength of the ultraviolet background that is required to prevent collapse. We have built a novel apparatus at the Columbia University Astrophysics Laboratory to study this reaction. Beginning with an anion beam, we use an IR laser to neutralize 10% of the beam by photodetachment to generate a self-merged, anion-neutral beams arrangement. Laboratory energies are in the keV range. Because the beams co-propagate, center-of-mass energies from the meV to keV range will be achievable. We observe the AD reaction by detecting the fast H2+ ions formed through ionizing collisions of the AD-generated H2 with He gas. Here we present our recent results and discuss our future plans. This work has been supported in part by the NSF Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Instrument Development program.

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