Modeling CO, CO$_2$ and H$_2$O ice abundances in the envelopes of young stellar objects in the Magellanic Clouds

TL;DR

This study models the ice compositions in young stellar objects in the Magellanic Clouds, revealing how metallicity, radiation, and grain temperature influence ice abundances and complex molecule formation.

Contribution

It introduces an expanded gas-grain chemical model incorporating grain size, temperature, and radiation effects to explain observed ice abundances in the Magellanic Clouds.

Findings

Metal depletion and higher grain temperatures explain ice composition differences.

Elevated grain temperatures favor CO$_2$ production over H$_2$O and CO.

Low metallicity enhances CH$_3$OH abundance, aiding complex organic molecule formation.

Abstract

Massive young stellar objects in the Magellanic Clouds show infrared absorption features corresponding to significant abundances of CO, CO$_2$ and H$_2$O ice along the line of sight, with the relative abundances of these ices differing between the Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way. CO ice is not detected towards sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud, and upper limits put its relative abundance well below sources in the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way. We use our gas-grain chemical code MAGICKAL, with multiple grain sizes and grain temperatures, and further expand it with a treatment for increased interstellar radiation field intensity to model the elevated dust temperatures observed in the MCs. We also adjust the elemental abundances used in the chemical models, guided by observations of HII regions in these metal-poor satellite galaxies. With a grid of models, we are able to reproduce the relative ice fractions observed in MC massive young stellar objects (MYSOs), indicating that metal depletion and elevated grain temperature are important drivers of the MYSO envelope ice composition. Magellanic Cloud elemental abundances have a sub-galactic C/O ratio, increasing H$_2$O ice abundances relative to the other ices; elevated grain temperatures favor CO$_2$ production over H$_2$O and CO. The observed shortfall in CO in the Small Magellanic Cloud can be explained by a combination of reduced carbon abundance and increased grain temperatures. The models indicate that a large variation in radiation field strength is required to match the range of observed LMC abundances. CH$_3$OH abundance is found to be enhanced in low-metallicity models, providing seed material for complex organic molecule formation in the Magellanic Clouds.