Reaction Studies of Neutral Atomic ${\rm C}$ with ${\rm H_3^+}$ using a Merged-Beams Apparatus

TL;DR

This study measures reaction rates of neutral carbon with H3+ ions using a novel merged-beams apparatus, providing data crucial for understanding organic molecule formation in space, with results differing from existing models.

Contribution

It introduces a new merged-beams experimental setup and provides the first cross section and rate coefficient data for C + H3+ reactions relevant to astrochemistry.

Findings

Measured reaction cross sections for CH+ and CH2+ formation.

Derived thermal rate coefficients across a wide temperature range.

Found discrepancies with existing astrochemical models for these reactions.

Abstract

We have investigated the chemistry of ${\rm C + H_3^+}$ forming CH$^+$, CH$_2^+$, and CH$_3^+$. These reactions are believed to be some of the key gas-phase astrochemical processes initiating the formation of organic molecules in molecular clouds. For this work we have constructed a novel merged fast-beams apparatus which overlaps a beam of molecular ions onto a beam of ground-term neutral atoms. Here we present cross section data for forming CH$^+$ and CH$_2^+$ at collision energies from $\approx 9$ meV to $\approx20$ and 3 eV, respectively. Using these data we have derived thermal rate coefficients for reaction temperatures from $\approx72$ K to $\approx2.3 \times 10^5$ and $3.4 \times 10^4$ K, respectively. For the formation of CH$_3^+$ we are able only to put an upper limit on the rate coefficient. Our results for CH$^+$ and CH$_2^+$ are in good agreement with the mass-scaled results from a previous ion trap study of ${\rm C + D_3^+}$ at a reaction temperature of $\sim 1000$ K. At molecular cloud temperatures our thermal rate coefficient for forming CH$^+$ lies a factor of $\sim 2-4$ below the Langevin rate coefficient currently given in astrochemical databases and below the published semi-classical calculations. Our results for CH$_2^+$ formation are a factor of $\sim 26$ above the semi-classical results. Astrochemical databases do not currently include this channel.