OBSERVATIONS OF $C_3H_2 (2_{12}-1_{01})$ TOWARD THE SAGITTARIUS A MOLECULAR CLOUD

  • LEE C. W. (Department of Earth Science, Pusan National University) ;
  • MINH Y. C. (Daeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory, KAO) ;
  • IRVINE W. M. (Five College Astronomy Observatory and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Massachusetts)
  • Published : 1993.04.01

Abstract

We have mapped the $C_3H_2\;2_{12}-1_{01}$ transition line toward the Sgr A molecular cloud on a 1' grid spacing and derived $C_3H_2$ column densities of $3\~7\times10^{14}\;cm^{-2}$ for molecular clouds of Sgr A. The fractional abundances of $C_3H_2$ relative to $H_2$ are obtained to be $3\~6\times10^{-9}$, which are slightly lower than that for the cold dark cloud TMC-1 but are enhanced by factors of 5-60 compared to those for Sgr B2 and the Orion extended ridge. We also estimate from the $C_3H_2$ column densities total masses of $\~10^6\; M_\bigodot$ for two clouds (M - 0.13 - 0.08 and M - 0.02 - 0.07), which are thought to be close to the virial equilibrium. We suggest that the large abundance of $C_3H_2$ in Sgr A may be partly due to the activities of the Galactic center.

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