Strong CH+ J = 1-0 emission and absorption in DR21

Abstract

We report the first detection of the ground-state rotational transition of the methylidyne cation CH+ towards the massive star-forming region DR 21 with the HIFI instrument onboard the Herschel satellite. The line profile exhibits a broad emission line, in addition to two deep and broad absorption features associated with the DR 21 molecular ridge and foreground gas. These observations allow us to determine a 12CH+J = 1-0 line frequency of ν = 835 137 ± 3 MHz, in good agreement with a recent experimental determination. We estimate the CH+ column density to be a few 1013 cm-2 in the gas seen in emission, and >1014 cm-2 in the components responsible for the absorption, which is indicative of a high line of sight average abundance [CH+] /[H] > 1.2 × 10-8. We show that the CH + column densities agree well with the predictions of state-of-the-art C-shock models in dense UV-illuminated gas for the emission line, and with those of turbulent dissipation models in diffuse gas for the absorption lines. © 2010 ESO.