Importance of Surface Morphology in Interstellar H 2 Formation

Detailed laboratory experiments on the formation of HD from atom recombination on amorphous solid water films show that this process is extremely efficient in a temperature range of 8 to 20 kelvin, temperatures relevant for H 2 formation on dust grain surfaces in the interstellar medium (ISM). The f...

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Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 302; no. 5652; pp. 1943 - 1946
Main Authors Hornekær, L., Baurichter, A., Petrunin, V. V., Field, D., Luntz, A. C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 12.12.2003
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Summary:Detailed laboratory experiments on the formation of HD from atom recombination on amorphous solid water films show that this process is extremely efficient in a temperature range of 8 to 20 kelvin, temperatures relevant for H 2 formation on dust grain surfaces in the interstellar medium (ISM). The fate of the 4.5 electron volt recombination energy is highly dependent on film morphology. These results suggest that grain morphology, rather than the detailed chemical nature of the grain surface, is most important in determining the energy content of the H 2 as it is released from the grain into the ISM.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1090820