Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011iaus..280p..90b&link_type=abstract
The Molecular Universe, Posters from the proceedings of the 280th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Tole
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We present an analysis of the methyl cyanide (CH_3CN) line emission observed toward the Orion KL star-forming region as part of a Herschel/HIFI spectral line survey obtained by the HEXOS key programme. Methyl cyanide is an excellent probe of the gas temperature within warm environments, since its K-ladder transitions are excited collisionally, not radiatively, and produce emission lines with energy levels up to thousands of Kelvin that are detectable in the HIFI spectra. By constructing LVG models of the line emission from CH_3CN to obtain a best fit to the observed spectra, we are able to derive physical properties (density, temperature, angular size, etc.) for distinct source components within Orion KL, including the Hot Core and Compact Ridge. In addition, we present fully sampled maps of the J=12--11 and J=13--12 K-ladder transitions of CH_3CN over a 2×2 arcmin^2 region around Orion KL, obtained with the IRAM 30m telescope as part of a 2-dimensional line survey of this source in the 1mm atmospheric window. These data trace the spatial distribution of the extended warm gas, allowing a temperature map to be derived and providing a powerful complementary approach to the analysis of the HIFI line survey data. Together, the extensive spectral and spatial coverage of these data afford a detailed view of the physical conditions of the warm and dense gas in this star-forming region.
Bell Thomas A.
Cernicharo Jose
Herschel Hexos Team
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