The Rate of the Reaction between C_2 H and C_2 H_2 at Interstellar Temperatures
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Date
1997-11-01
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American Astronomical Society
Abstract
The reaction between the radical C_2 H and the stable hydrocarbon C_2 H_2 is one of the simplest neutral-neutral hydrocarbon reactions in chemical models of dense interstellar clouds and carbon-rich circumstellar shells. Although known to be rapid at temperatures ≥300 K, the reaction has yet to be studied at lower temperatures. We present here ab initio calculations of the potential surface for this reaction and dynamical calculations to determine its rate at low temperature. Despite a small potential barrier in the exit channel, the calculated rate is large, showing that this reaction and, most probably, more complex analogs contribute to the formation of complex organic molecules in low-temperature sources.
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Keywords
ISM: abundances, ISM: clouds, ISM: molecules, molecular processes
Citation
Eric Herbst and David E. Woon, "The Rate of the Reaction between C2H and C2H2 at Interstellar Temperatures," The Astrophysical Journal 489, no. 1 (1997), doi:10.1086/304786