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. 2013 Dec 13;342(6164):1343-5.
doi: 10.1126/science.1243582.

Detection of a noble gas molecular ion, 36ArH+, in the Crab Nebula

M J Barlow  1 , B M Swinyard, P J Owen, J Cernicharo, H L Gomez, R J Ivison, O Krause, T L Lim, M Matsuura, S Miller, G Olofsson, E T Polehampton
Affiliations
Free article

Detection of a noble gas molecular ion, 36ArH+, in the Crab Nebula

M J Barlow et al. Science. .
Free article

Abstract

Noble gas molecules have not hitherto been detected in space. From spectra obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory, we report the detection of emission in the 617.5- and 1234.6-gigahertz J = 1-0 and 2-1 rotational lines of (36)ArH(+) at several positions in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant known to contain both molecular hydrogen and regions of enhanced ionized argon emission. Argon-36 is believed to have originated from explosive nucleosynthesis in massive stars during core-collapse supernova events. Its detection in the Crab Nebula, the product of such a supernova event, confirms this expectation. The likely excitation mechanism for the observed (36)ArH(+) emission lines is electron collisions in partially ionized regions with electron densities of a few hundred per centimeter cubed.

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