On the possibility of detecting solid O2 in interstellar grain mantles
Abstract
The possibility of detecting solid O2 and its photolysis product O3 on interstellar grains is explored, and the spectral characteristics of these molecules in various ices are presented. It is shown that forbidden transition of solid O2 in interstellar grains at about 1551/cm can be detected if the abundance of water ice is not too high and thus shielding spectroscopically the band of solid O2. Interstellar molecular cloud grains in an evolved phase, which have a large amount of O2 due to accretion and solid state processes, could satisfy these conditions. If O2 is a dominant species in grain mantles in the line of sight, an optical depth of about 0.01 can be expected in objects like NGC 7538/IRS 9.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- July 1992
- Bibcode:
- 1992A&A...260..431E
- Keywords:
-
- Interstellar Matter;
- Oxygen;
- Solidified Gases;
- Astronomical Models;
- Ozone;
- Astrophysics