The ortho-to-para ratio of interstellar NH$_2$: Quasi-classical trajectory calculations and new simulations

TL;DR

This study investigates the ortho-to-para ratio of interstellar NH$_2$ using recent Herschel observations, astrochemical modeling, and quasi-classical trajectory calculations to explain observed variations and their relation to temperature and chemical processes.

Contribution

The paper introduces new quasi-classical trajectory calculations of the H-exchange reaction NH$_2$ + H, demonstrating its barrierless nature and impact on NH$_2$ OPR in interstellar environments.

Findings

OPR varies between below and above the thermal limit of three.

H-exchange reactions are efficient at interstellar temperatures.

Models explain OPR values in relation to temperature and chemical processes.

Abstract

Based on recent $Herschel$ results, the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) of NH$_2$ has been measured towards the following high-mass star-forming regions: W31C (G10.6-0.4), W49N (G43.2-0.1), W51 (G49.5-0.4), and G34.3+0.1. The OPR at thermal equilibrium ranges from the statistical limit of three at high temperatures to infinity as the temperature tends toward zero, unlike the case of H$_{2}$. Depending on the position observed along the lines-of-sight, the OPR was found to lie either slightly below the high temperature limit of three (in the range $2.2-2.9$) or above this limit ($\sim3.5$, $\gtrsim 4.2$, and $\gtrsim 5.0$). In low temperature interstellar gas, where the H$_{2}$ is para-enriched, our nearly pure gas-phase astrochemical models with nuclear-spin chemistry can account for anomalously low observed NH$_2$-OPR values. We have tentatively explained OPR values larger than three by assuming that spin thermalization of NH$_2$ can proceed at least partially by H-atom exchange collisions with atomic hydrogen, thus increasing the OPR with decreasing temperature. In this paper, we present quasi-classical trajectory calculations of the H-exchange reaction NH$_2$ + H, which show the reaction to proceed without a barrier, confirming that the H-exchange will be efficient in the temperature range of interest. With the inclusion of this process, our models suggest both that OPR values below three arise in regions with temperatures $\gtrsim20-25$~K, depending on time, and values above three but lower than the thermal limit arise at still lower temperatures.