Jérémy Bourgalais

The C(3P) + NH3 Reaction in Interstellar Chemistry. I. Investigation of the Product Formation Channels

The product formation channels of ground state carbon atoms, C(3P), reacting with ammonia, NH3, have been investigated using two complementary experiments and electronic structure calculations. Reaction products are detected in a gas flow tube experiment (330 K, 4 Torr) using tunable VUV photoionization coupled with time of flight mass spectrometry. Temporal profiles of the species formed and photoionization spectra are used to identify primary products of the C + NH3 reaction. In addition, H-atom formation is monitored by VUV laser induced fluorescence from room temperature to 50 K in a supersonic gas flow generated by the Laval nozzle technique. Electronic structure calculations are performed to derive intermediates, transition states and complexes formed along the reaction coordinate. The combination of photoionization and laser induced fluorescence experiments supported by theoretical calculations indicate that in the temperature and pressure range investigated, the H + H2CN production channel represents 100% of the product yield for this reaction. Kinetics measurements of the title reaction down to 50 K and the effect of the new rate constants on interstellar nitrogen hydride abundances using a model of dense interstellar clouds are reported in paper II.

THE C(3P) + NH3 REACTION IN INTERSTELLAR CHEMISTRY. II. LOW TEMPERATURE RATE CONSTANTS AND MODELING OF NH, NH2, AND NH3 ABUNDANCES IN DENSE INTERSTELLAR CLOUDS

A continuous supersonic flow reactor has been used to measure rate constants for the C(3P) + NH3 reaction over the temperature range 50–296 K. C(3P) atoms were created by the pulsed laser photolysis of CBr4. The kinetics of the title reaction were followed directly by vacuum ultra-violet laser induced fluorescence of C(3P) loss and through H(2S) formation. The experiments show unambiguously that the reaction is rapid at 296 K, becoming faster at lower temperatures, reaching a value of (1.8 ± 0.2) × 10‑10 cm3 molecule‑1 s‑1 at 50 K. As this reaction is not currently included in astrochemical networks, its influence on interstellar nitrogen hydride abundances is tested through a dense cloud model including gas–grain interactions. In particular, the effect of the ortho-to-para ratio of H2, which plays a crucial role in interstellar NH3 synthesis, is examined.