Phosphorous chemistry in the shocked region L1157 B1

TL;DR

This study models phosphorous chemistry in shock regions, showing how P-bearing species' abundances depend on initial elemental abundances and shock conditions, aligning with observations of L1157 B1.

Contribution

It provides a detailed chemical model of phosphorous species in shock regions, highlighting the sensitivity to initial elemental abundances and specific chemical reactions.

Findings

Reproduces observed PN abundance and non-detection of PO in L1157 B1.

Shows P-chemistry depends on N and O chemistry, especially N atom destruction pathways.

Identifies key reactions affecting P chemistry in shock environments.

Abstract

We study the evolution of phosphorous-bearing species in one-dimensional C-shock models. We find that the abundances of P-bearing species depend sensitively on the elemental abundance of P in the gas phase and on the abundance of N atoms in the pre-shock gas. The observed abundance of PN and the non-detection of PO towards L1157 B1 are reproduced in C-shock models with shock velocity v=20km s-1 and pre-shock density n(H2) =10^4 - 10^5, if the elemental abundance of P in the gas phase is 10^-9 and the N-atom abundance is n(N)/nH - 10^-5 in the pre-shock gas. We also find that P-chemistry is sensitive to O- and N-chemistry, because N atoms are destroyed mainly by OH and NO. We identify the reactions of O-bearing and N-bearing species that significantly affect P chemistry.