The CHESS chemical Herschel surveys of star forming regions: Peering into the protostellar shock L1157-B1. I. Shock chemical complexity

TL;DR

This study uses Herschel's HIFI instrument to analyze the chemical complexity of the L1157-B1 protostellar shock, revealing a warm gas component and detailed molecular emissions that enhance understanding of shock chemistry in star-forming regions.

Contribution

First unbiased survey of L1157-B1 shock with Herschel, identifying multiple molecules and revealing a coexisting warm gas component in the protostellar shock.

Findings

Detection of 27 molecular lines including NH3, H2CO, CH3OH, CS, HCN, and HCO+.

Evidence of a warm (>200 K) gas component coexisting with colder gas.

Insights into shock-induced chemical processes in star-forming regions.

Abstract

We present the first results of the unbiased survey of the L1157-B1 bow shock, obtained with HIFI in the framework of the key program Chemical Herschel surveys of star forming regions (CHESS). The L1157 outflow is driven by a low-mass Class 0 protostar and is considered the prototype of the so-called chemically active outflows. The bright blue-shifted bow shock B1 is the ideal laboratory for studying the link between the hot (around 1000-2000 K) component traced by H2 IR-emission and the cold (around 10-20 K) swept-up material. The main aim is to trace the warm gas chemically enriched by the passage of a shock and to infer the excitation conditions in L1157-B1. A total of 27 lines are identified in the 555-636 GHz region, down to an average 3 sigma level of 30 mK. The emission is dominated by CO(5-4) and H2O(110-101) transitions, as discussed by Lefloch et al. (2010). Here we report on the identification of lines from NH3, H2CO, CH3OH, CS, HCN, and HCO+. The comparison between the profiles produced by molecules released from dust mantles (NH3, H2CO, CH3OH) and that of H2O is consistent with a scenario in which water is also formed in the gas-phase in high-temperature regions where sputtering or grain-grain collisions are not efficient. The high excitation range of the observed tracers allows us to infer, for the first time for these species, the existence of a warm (> 200 K) gas component coexisting in the B1 bow structure with the cold and hot gas detected from ground.