Astrophysical detection of the helium hydride ion HeH+
@article{Gsten2019AstrophysicalDO, title={Astrophysical detection of the helium hydride ion HeH+}, author={Rolf G{\"u}sten and Helmut Wiesemeyer and David A. Neufeld and Karl M. Menten and Urs U. Graf and Karl Jacobs and Bernd Klein and O. Ricken and Christophe Risacher and J{\"u}rgen Stutzki}, journal={Nature}, year={2019}, volume={568}, pages={357-359} }
During the dawn of chemistry1,2, when the temperature of the young Universe had fallen below some 4,000 kelvin, the ions of the light elements produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis recombined in reverse order of their ionization potential. With their higher ionization potentials, the helium ions He2+ and He+ were the first to combine with free electrons, forming the first neutral atoms; the recombination of hydrogen followed. In this metal-free and low-density environment, neutral helium atoms…
108 Citations
Comprehensive Chemistry of HeH+ in the Early Universe
- PhysicsThe Astrophysical Journal
- 2021
The recent detection of the helium hydride ion (HeH+) in the planetary nebula NGC 7027 has inspired studies revisiting the dominant processes for its formation and destruction. Because radiative…
Quantum-state–selective electron recombination studies suggest enhanced abundance of primordial HeH+
- PhysicsScience
- 2019
The stability of HeH+ to electron bombardment in a cryogenic storage ring suggests its enhanced primordial abundance and a pronounced decrease of the electron recombination rates for the lowest rotational states of the helium hydride ion, compared with previous measurements at room temperature.
Rydberg States of H3 and HeH as Potential Coolants for Primordial Star Formation.
- PhysicsThe journal of physical chemistry. A
- 2021
The salient considerations are reviewed and some new ideas are presented, based on recent spectroscopic observations of neutral H3 Rydberg electronic state emission in the mid-infrared region, regarding the age of the universe are presented.
Insights Into Chemical Reactions at the Beginning of the Universe: From HeH+ to H3 +
- PhysicsFrontiers in Chemistry
- 2021
This study has tried to mimic the conditions in the early Universe to show how the recombination process would have led to the formation of the first ever formed diatomic species of the Universe: HeH+, as well as the subsequent processes that would have lead to the creation of the simplest triatomic species: H3 +.
Exploring the Possibility of Identifying Hydride and Hydroxyl Cations of Noble Gas Species in the Crab Nebula Filament
- PhysicsThe Astrophysical Journal
- 2020
The first identification of the argonium ion ( ) toward the Crab Nebula supernova remnant was proclaimed by Herschel in the submillimeter and far-infrared domains. Very recently, the discovery of the…
Introduction to astrochemistry: chemical evolution from interstellar clouds to star and planet formation
- PhysicsContemporary Physics
- 2019
That helium hydride, HeH+, should exist in astrophysical plasma was just an idea to begin with [1]. The odds that this super-ancient molecule – the first ever to have been synthesised after the Big…
First molecule still animates astronomers
- PhysicsScience
- 2019
Study of the helium hydride ion under conditions designed to mimic those of the early Universe offers insight into the chemical composition of the Universe before formation of the first stars.
Thermal and resonant emission of dark age halos in the rotational lines of HeH+
- PhysicsPhysical Review D
- 2020
We analyse the thermal emission and resonant scattering of CMB radiation from the dark ages halos in the rotational lines of the helium hydride ion (HeH$^{+}$), one of the first chemical compounds in…
Detection of Vibrational Emissions from the Helium Hydride Ion (HeH+) in the Planetary Nebula NGC 7027
- PhysicsThe Astrophysical Journal
- 2020
We report the detection of emission in the v = 1 − 0 P(1) (3.51629 μm) and P(2) (3.60776 μm) rovibrational lines of the helium hydride cation (HeH+) from the planetary nebula NGC 7027. These…
A Molecular Candle Where Few Molecules Shine: HeHHe+
- PhysicsMolecules
- 2020
The present study provides new insights into HeHHe+ possible formation mechanisms as well as marked stability, along with the decisive role of anharmonic zero-point energies.
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 38 REFERENCES
The Dawn of Chemistry
- Physics
- 2013
Within the precise cosmological framework provided by the Λ-cold dark matter model and standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the chemical evolution of the pregalactic gas can now be followed with…
The Deuterium Chemistry of the Early Universe
- Physics
- 1998
The chemistry of deuterium, as well as that of hydrogen and helium, in the postrecombination era of the expanding early universe is presented. A thorough survey of all potentially important gas-phase…
Search for hydrogen-helium molecular species in space
- Physics
- 2017
Context. Helium, the second most abundant element in the Universe, with a relative abundance of He/H ~ 1/10, has never been observed in any other form than that of a neutral atom (He) or an ion (He +…
Identification of features due to H3 + in the infrared spectrum of supernova 1987A
- Physics, ChemistryNature
- 1992
THE molecular ion H3 + occupies a central position in theoretical models of interstellar chemistry1,2. It forms readily in hydrogen-rich interstellar gas clouds when ionized H2 reacts with neutral…
Ion chemistry in the early universe - Revisiting the role of HeH+ with new quantum calculations
- Chemistry, Physics
- 2011
Aims. The role of HeH + has been newly assessed with the aid of newly calculated rates which use entirely ab initio methods, thereby allowing us to compute more accurately the relevant abundances…
The formation and destruction of HeH/+/ in astrophysical plasmas
- Physics
- 1982
A discussion is presented of the formation and destruction mechanisms of the molecular ion HeH/sup +/ in astrophysical plasmas. Calculations are made of the steady state abundance of HeH/sup +/ in…
Emission of HeH + in Nebulae
- Physics
- 1993
The formation and destruction processes of HeH + in nebulae are discussed, and calculations of the abundances of HeH + are presented. It is shown that for effective temperatures of the ionizing…
DISSOCIATIVE RECOMBINATION MEASUREMENTS OF HCl+ USING AN ION STORAGE RING
- Physics
- 2013
We have measured dissociative recombination (DR) of HCl+ with electrons using a merged beams configuration at the TSR heavy-ion storage ring located at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in…
Molecules in planetary nebulae
- Physics
- 1978
It is shown that significant abundances of simple molecules, like H/sub 2/, H/sub 2//sup +/, HeH/sup +/, OH, and CH/sup +/, can exist in the transition zones of ionized nebulae. The dominant…
Photodissociation and radiative association of HeH+ in the metastable triplet state.
- PhysicsThe journal of physical chemistry. A
- 2013
It is shown that the photodissociation cross sections depend strongly on the initial vibrational state and that the effects of excited electronic states and nonadiabatic couplings cannot be neglected.