Nitrogen fractionation in high-mass star-forming cores across the Galaxy

TL;DR

This study investigates nitrogen isotope ratios in 87 high-mass star-forming cores across the Galaxy, revealing a linear and parabolic galactocentric trend consistent with chemical evolution models and providing new local nitrogen ratio estimates.

Contribution

It provides the largest statistical analysis of nitrogen fractionation in high-mass star-forming regions, establishing new galactic trends and local nitrogen isotope ratios.

Findings

Nitrogen isotope ratios are centered around the Proto-Solar value.

A linear galactocentric trend of N-15/N-14 ratio was identified.

A parabolic trend better fits the data beyond 8 kpc.

Abstract

The fractionation of nitrogen (N) in star-forming regions is a poorly understood process. To put more stringent observational constraints on the N-fractionation, we have observed with the IRAM-30m telescope a large sample of 66 cores in massive star-forming regions. We targeted the (1-0) rotational transition of HN$^{13}$C, HC$^{15}$N, H$^{13}$CN and HC$^{15}$N, and derived the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio for both HCN and HNC. We have completed this sample with that already observed by Colzi et al. (2018), and thus analysed a total sample of 87 sources. The $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratios are distributed around the Proto-Solar Nebula value with a lower limit near the terrestrial atmosphere value ($\sim$272). We have also derived the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio as a function of the Galactocentric distance and deduced a linear trend based on unprecedented statistics. The Galactocentric dependences that we have found are consistent, in the slope, with past works but we have found a new local $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N value of $\sim$400, i.e. closer to the Prosolar Nebula value. A second analysis was done, and a parabolic Galactocentric trend was found. Comparison with Galactic chemical evolution models shows that the slope until 8 kpc is consistent with the linear analysis, while the flattening trend above 8 kpc is well reproduced by the parabolic analysis.