Detection of (15)NNH+ in L1544: non-LTE modelling of dyazenilium hyperfine line emission and accurate (14)N/(15)N values

TL;DR

This study measures the nitrogen isotopic ratio in interstellar N2H+ in L1544, revealing a significant (15)N depletion inconsistent with current models, suggesting nitrogen may be sequestered onto dust grains.

Contribution

It provides the first accurate (14)N/(15)N ratio for N2H+ in a starless core using non-LTE modelling and hyperfine line analysis, challenging existing nitrogen chemistry theories.

Findings

(14)N/(15)N ratio ~ 1000 +/- 200 in L1544

(15)N is depleted in N2H+ compared to models

Suggests (15)N preferentially depletes onto dust grains

Abstract

Samples of pristine Solar System material found in meteorites and interplanetary dust particles are highly enriched in (15)N. Conspicuous nitrogen isotopic anomalies have also been measured in comets, and the (14)N/(15)N abundance ratio of the Earth is itself larger than the recognised pre-solar value by almost a factor of two. Ion--molecules, low-temperature chemical reactions in the proto-solar nebula have been repeatedly indicated as responsible for these (15)N-enhancements. We have searched for (15)N variants of the N2H+ ion in L1544, a prototypical starless cloud core which is one of the best candidate sources for detection owing to its low central core temperature and high CO depletion. The goal is the evaluation of accurate and reliable (14)N/(15)N ratio values for this species in the interstellar gas. A deep integration of the (15)NNH+ (1-0) line at 90.4 GHz has been obtained with the IRAM 30 m telescope. Non-LTE radiative transfer modelling has been performed on the J=1-0 emissions of the parent and (15)N-containing dyazenilium ions, using a Bonnor--Ebert sphere as a model for the source. A high-quality fit of the N2H+ (1--0) hyperfine spectrum has allowed us to derive a revised value of the N2H+ column density in L1544. Analysis of the observed N(15)NH+ and (15)NNH+ spectra yielded an abundance ratio N[N(15)NH+]/N[(15)NNH+] = 1.1 +/- 0.3. The obtained (14)N/(15)N ratio is ~ 1000 +/- 200, suggestive of a sizeable (15)N depletion in this molecular ion. Such a result is not consistent with the prediction of present nitrogen chemical models. As chemical models predict large (15)N fractionation of N2H+, we suggest that (15)N(14)N, or (15)N in some other molecular form, is preferentially depleted onto dust grains.