• DOI:10.1051/0004-6361:200810193
• Corpus ID: 16668630

Tentative detection of phosphine in IRC +10216

@article{Agundez2008TentativeDO,
  title={Tentative detection of phosphine in IRC +10216},
  author={Marcelino Ag'undez and Jos{\'e} Cernicharo and Juan R. Pardo and Michel Gu'elin and Thomas G. Phillips},
  journal={Astronomy and Astrophysics},
  year={2008},
  volume={485}
}

• M. Ag'undez, J. Cernicharo, +2 authors T. Phillips
• Published 28 May 2008
• Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics

Aims.
The JK = 10−0_0 rotational transition of phosphine (PH_3) at 267 GHz has been tentatively identified with a TMB ~ 40 mK spectral line observed with the IRAM 30-m telescope in the C-star envelope IRC +10216.
Methods.
A radiative transfer model was used to fit the observed line profile.
Results.
The derived PH_3 abundance relative to H_2 is 6 × 10^−9, although it may have a large uncertainty due to the lack of knowledge about the spatial distribution of this species. If our identification is correct, it implies that PH3 has a similar abundance to what is reported for HCP in this source and that these two molecules (HCP and PH_3) together take up about 5% of phosphorus in IRC +10216. The abundance of PH_3, like that of other hydrides in this source, is not well explained by conventional gas-phase LTE and non-LTE chemical models, and may imply formation on grain surfaces.