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تسجيل مستخدم جديدDetection of a Noble Gas Molecular Ion, {36}ArH^+, in the Crab Nebula
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Noble gas molecules have not hitherto been detected in space. From spectra obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory, we report the detection of emission in the 617.5 GHz and 1234.6 GHz J = 1-0 and 2-1 rotational lines of {36}ArH^+ at several positions in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant known to contain both H2 molecules and regions of enhanced ionized argon emission. {36}Ar is believed to have originated from explosive nucleosynthesis in massive stars during core-collapse supernova events. Its detection in the Crab Nebula, the product of such a supernova event, confirms this expectation. The likely excitation mechanism for the observed {36}ArH^+ emission lines is electron collisions in partially ionized regions with electron densities of a few hundred per centimeter cubed.
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We have carried out a near-infrared, narrow-band imaging survey of the Crab Nebula, in the H2 2.12 micron and Br-gamma 2.17 micron lines, using the Spartan Infrared camera on the SOAR Telescope. Over a 2.8 x 5.1 area that encompasses about 2/3 of the
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