The Cygnus Allscale Survey of Chemistry and Dynamical Environments: CASCADE III. The large scale distribution of DCO+, DNC and DCN in the DR21 filament

TL;DR

This study maps the large-scale distribution of deuterated molecules DCO+, DNC, and DCN in the DR21 filament, revealing morphological differences, anti-correlations with temperature, and potential as tracers for physical conditions in star-forming regions.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale spatial analysis of deuterated molecules in the Cygnus-X region, highlighting their distribution, relationships, and implications for physical diagnostics.

Findings

DCO+ is the most extended deuterated molecule in the region.

Deuteration ratios are around 0.01 for DNC and DCN, and 0.005 for DCO+.

Anti-correlations exist between deuteration ratios and dust temperature or N(H2).

Abstract

Deuterated molecules and their molecular D/H-ratios (RD(D)) are important diagnostic tools to study the physical conditions of star-forming regions. The degree of deuteration, RD(D), can be significantly enhanced over the elemental D/H-ratio depending on physical parameters. Within the Cygnus Allscale Survey of Chemistry and Dynamical Environments (CASCADE), we aim to explore the large-scale distribution of deuterated molecules in the nearby Cygnus-X region. We focus on the analysis of large-scale structures of deuterated molecules in the filamentary region hosting the prominent Hii region DR21 and DR21(OH). Here we discuss the HCO+, HNC and HCN molecules and their deuterated isotopologues DCO+, DNC and DCN. The spatial distributions of integrated line emissions from DCO+, DNC, and DCN reveal morphological differences. DCO+ displays the most extended emission, characterized by several prominent peaks. Likewise, DNC exhibits multiple peaks, although its emission appears less extended compared to DCO+. In contrast to the extended emission of DCO+ and DNC, DCN appears the least extended, with distinct peaks. Focusing only on the regions where all three molecules are observed, the mean deuteration ratios for each species are 0.01 for both DNC and DCN, and = 0.005 for DCO+. Anti-correlations are found with deuterated molecules and dust temperature or N(H2). The strongest anti-correlation is found with RD(DCO+) and N(H2). The anti-correlation of RD(DCO+) and N(H2) is suggested to be a result of a combination of an increased photodissociation degree and shocks. A strong positive correlation between the ratio of integrated intensities of DCN and DNC with their 13C-isotopologues, are found in high column density regions. The positive relationship between the ratios implies that the D-isotopologue of the isomers could potentially serve as a tracer for the kinetic gas temperature.