We aim to understand the rich chemical composition of AFGL 2591, a prototypical isolated high-mass star-forming region. Based on HIFI and JCMT data, the molecular abundances of species found in the protostellar envelope of AFGL 2591 were derived wi
th the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code RATRAN, assuming either constant values or 1D stepwise radial profiles as abundance distributions. The reconstructed 1D abundances were compared with the results of time-dependent gas-grain chemical modeling, considering ages of 10,000 to 50,000 years, cosmic-ray ionization rates of 0.5 to 50 times 10^-16 s^-1, uniformly-sized 0.1-1 micron dust grains, a dust/gas ratio of 1%, and several sets of initial molecular abundances with C/O <1 and >1. Constant abundance models give good fits to the data for CO, CN, CS, HCO+, H2CO, N2H+, C2H, NO, OCS, OH, H2CS, O, C, C+, and CH. Models with an abundance jump at 100 K give good fits to the data for NH3, SO, SO2, H2S, H2O, HCl, and CH3OH. For HCN and HNC, the best models have an abundance jump at 230 K. The time-dependent chemical model can accurately explain abundance profiles of 15 out of these 24 species. The jump-like radial profiles for key species like HCO+, NH3, and H2O are consistent with the outcome of the time-dependent chemical modeling. The best-fit model has a chemical age of 10-50 kyr, a solar C/O ratio of 0.44, and a cosmic-ray ionization rate of 5 x 10^-17 s^-1; grain properties and external UV intensity do not affect the calculated chemical structure much. We thus demonstrate that simple constant or jump-like abundance profiles agree with time-dependent chemical modeling for most key C-, O-, N-, and S-bearing molecules. The main exceptions are species with very few observed transitions (C, O, C+, and CH), with a poorly established chemical network (HCl, H2S) or whose chemistry is strongly affected by surface processes (CH3OH).
To understand the origin of water line emission and absorption during high-mass star formation, we decompose high-resolution Herschel-HIFI line spectra toward 19 high-mass star-forming regions into three distinct physical components. Protostellar env
elopes are usually seen as narrow absorptions or emissions in the H2O 1113 and 1669 GHz ground-state lines, the H2O 987 GHz excited-state line, and the H2O-18 1102 GHz ground-state line. Broader features due to outflows are usually seen in absorption in the H2O 1113 and 1669 GHz lines, in 987 GHz emission, and not seen in H2O-18, indicating a low column density and a high excitation temperature. The H2O 1113 and 1669 GHz spectra show narrow absorptions by foreground clouds along the line of sight, which have a low column density and a low excitation temperature, although their H2O ortho/para ratios are close to 3. The intensities of the H2O 1113 and 1669 GHz lines do not show significant trends with luminosity, mass, or age. In contrast, the 987 GHz line flux increases with luminosity and the H2O-18 line flux decreases with mass. Furthermore, appearance of the envelope in absorption in the 987 GHz and H2O-18 lines seems to be a sign of an early evolutionary stage. We conclude that the ground state transitions of H2O trace the outer parts of the envelopes, so that the effects of star formation are mostly noticeable in the outflow wings. These lines are heavily affected by absorption, so that line ratios of H2O involving the ground states must be treated with caution. The average H2O abundance in high-mass protostellar envelopes does not change much with time. The 987 GHz line appears to be a good tracer of the mean weighted dust temperature of the source, which may explain why it is readily seen in distant galaxies.
This paper reviews the first results of observations of H2O line emission with Herschel-HIFI towards high-mass star-forming regions, obtained within the WISH guaranteed time program. The data reveal three kinds of gas-phase H2O: `cloud water in cold
tenuous foreground clouds, `envelope water in dense protostellar envelopes, and `outflow water in protostellar outflows. The low H2O abundance (1e-10 -- 1e-9) in foreground clouds and protostellar envelopes is due to rapid photodissociation and freeze-out on dust grains, respectively. The outflows show higher H2O abundances (1e-7 -- 1e-6) due to grain mantle evaporation and (probably) neutral-neutral reactions.
The HCN, HCO+, and HNC molecules are commonly used as tracers of dense star-forming gas in external galaxies, but such observations are spatially unresolved. Reliably inferring the properties of galactic nuclei and disks requires detailed studies of
sources whose structure is spatially resolved. We compare the spatial distributions and abundance ratios of HCN, HCO+, and HNC in W49A, the most massive and luminous star-forming region in the Galactic disk, based on maps of a 2 (6.6 pc) field at 14 (0.83 pc) resolution of the J=4-3 transitions of HCN, H13CN, HC15N, HCO+, H13CO+, HC18O+ and HNC. The kinematics of the molecular gas in W49A appears complex, with a mixture of infall and outflow motions. Both the line profiles and comparison of the main and rarer species show that the main species are optically thick. Two clumps of infalling gas appear to be at ~40 K, compared to ~100 K at the source centre, and may be ~10x denser than the rest of the outer cloud. Chemical modelling suggests that the HCN/HNC ratio probes the current gas temperature, while the HCN/HCO+ ratio and the deuterium fractionation were set during an earlier, colder phase of evolution. The data suggest that W49A is an appropriate analogue of an extragalactic star forming region. Our data show that the use of HCN/HNC/HCO+ line ratios as proxies for the abundance ratios is incorrect for W49A, suggesting the same for galactic nuclei. Our observed isotopic line ratios such as H13CN/H13CO+ approach our modeled abundance ratios quite well in W49A. The 4-3 lines of HCN and HCO+ are much better tracers of the dense star-forming gas in W49A than the 1-0 lines. Our observed HCN/HNC and HCN/HCO+ ratios in W49A are inconsistent with homogeneous PDR or XDR models, indicating that irradiation hardly affects the gas chemistry in W49A. Overall, the W49A region appears to be a useful template for starburst galaxies.
The large quantity and high quality of modern radio and infrared line observations require efficient modeling techniques to infer physical and chemical parameters such as temperature, density, and molecular abundances. We present a computer program t
o calculate the intensities of atomic and molecular lines produced in a uniform medium, based on statistical equilibrium calculations involving collisional and radiative processes and including radiation from background sources. Optical depth effects are treated with an escape probability method. The program is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.sron.rug.nl/~vdtak/radex/index.shtml . The program makes use of molecular data files maintained in the Leiden Atomic and Molecular Database (LAMDA), which will continue to be improved and expanded. The performance of the program is compared with more approximate and with more sophisticated methods. An Appendix provides diagnostic plots to estimate physical parameters from line intensity ratios of commonly observed molecules. This program should form an important tool in analyzing observations from current and future radio and infrared telescopes.
