Submillimeter wavelength molecular spectroscopy of the Orion molecular cloud

White, Glenn J.; Avery, L. W.; Richardson, K. J. and Lesurf, J. C. G. (1986). Submillimeter wavelength molecular spectroscopy of the Orion molecular cloud. The Astrophysical Journal, 302 pp. 701–710.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/164031

Abstract

A submillimeter wavelength spectroscopic study of the Orion molecular cloud has been made in the J = 4-3 HCN, H¹³CN, HCO⁺, H¹³CO⁺, and J = 7-6 CS molecular transitions. Densities of up to a few times 10⁶ cm^-3 are found coupled with high inferred brightness temperatures, indicating kinetic temperatures of 120 K. Evidence for lower densities in the surrounding ambient molecular cloud is presented along with maps of HCN and HCO⁺ emission. The maps indicate different spatial distributions in the two lines. The abundances of HCN and HCO⁺ in the plateau source are found to be enhanced relative to those in the surrounding molecular cloud, and there is a suggestion that a number of small-angular-diameter clumps may be present. The present observations do not confirm the previously reported detection of CO⁺ in the interstellar medium.

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