The C$^{14}$N/C$^{15}$N Ratio in Diffuse Molecular Clouds

TL;DR

This study reports the first detection of C$^{15}$N in diffuse molecular clouds, providing a new measurement of the nitrogen isotope ratio in the local interstellar medium using archival spectral data.

Contribution

It presents the first detection and measurement of C$^{15}$N in diffuse clouds, establishing a baseline for nitrogen isotope ratios in the local interstellar medium.

Findings

C$^{15}$N detected at >4σ in three lines of sight.

Mean C$^{14}$N/C$^{15}$N ratio is 274±18.

Results consistent with previous millimeter-wave observations.

Abstract

We report the first detection of C$^{15}$N in diffuse molecular gas from a detailed examination of CN absorption lines in archival VLT/UVES spectra of stars probing local diffuse clouds. Absorption from the C$^{15}$N isotopologue is confidently detected (at $\gtrsim4\sigma$) in three out of the four directions studied and appears as a very weak feature between the main $^{12}$CN and $^{13}$CN absorption components. Column densities for each CN isotopologue are determined through profile fitting, after accounting for weak additional line-of-sight components of $^{12}$CN, which are seen in the absorption profiles of CH and CH$^+$ as well. The weighted mean value of C$^{14}$N/C$^{15}$N for the three sight lines with detections of C$^{15}$N is $274\pm18$. Since the diffuse molecular clouds toward our target stars have relatively high gas kinetic temperatures and relatively low visual extinctions, their C$^{14}$N/C$^{15}$N ratios should not be affected by chemical fractionation. The mean C$^{14}$N/C$^{15}$N ratio that we obtain should therefore be representative of the ambient $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio in the local interstellar medium. Indeed, our mean value agrees well with that derived from millimeter-wave observations of CN, HCN, and HNC in local molecular clouds.