화학공학소재연구정보센터
Science, Vol.342, No.6164, 1343-1345, 2013
Detection of a Noble Gas Molecular Ion, (ArH+)-Ar-36, in the Crab Nebula
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- and 1234.6-gigahertz J = 1-0 and 2-1 rotational lines of (ArH+)-Ar-36 at several positions in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant known to contain both molecular hydrogen and regions of enhanced ionized argon emission. Argon-36 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 (ArH+)-Ar-36 emission lines is electron collisions in partially ionized regions with electron densities of a few hundred per centimeter cubed.