Interstellar SiO as a tracer of high-temperature chemistry.
The J = 2-1 transition of SiO has been searched for toward both hot and cold molecular gas.  SiO was not detected toward the dark clouds TMC-1, L134 N, and B335, down to column density upper limits of N < 2-4 x 10(10) cm-2.  The species, however, has been observed toward all sources with a kinetic temperature greater than or equal to 30 K, with the largest column densities (N approximately 10(13)-10(17) cm-2) measured in the warmest (TK > or  = 100 K) material.  The abundance of SiO, relative to HCN, is found to be approximately 0.1-1 in the massive star-forming regions toward Orion and NGC 7538; toward the dark clouds, the upper limits to this ratio is less than 0.0002-0.004.  A similar enhancement in the warmer regions is reflected in the SiO/H2 ratio as well.  A linear relation was found between the natural log of the SiO concentration and 1/TK, suggesting that the species' formation involves a chemically specific process that contains an activation barrier of approximately 90 K.  SiO was also found to be underabundant with respect to SO in cold clouds, with SiO/SO < 1/1000, versus SiO/SO > or =, measured in Orion-KL.  The formation of SiO is therefore linked closely to the local gas kinetic temperature, rather than the oxygen abundance, and its synthesis is likely to involve high-temperature gas-phase reactions.  The species thus may serve as an unambiguous indicator of high-temperature or "shock" chemistry.
Ziurys
L M
LM
Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, University of Massachusetts, USA.
Friberg
P
P
Irvine
W M
WM
D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006358:Hot Temperature; D010100:Oxygen; D012825:Silicon; D017655:Silicon Compounds; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
D017655:Silicon Compounds; D010100:Oxygen; D012825:Silicon