Molecular abundances and low-mass star formation. 1: Si- and S-bearing species toward IRAS 16293-2422

Abstract

Results from millimeter and submillimeter spectral line surveys of the protobinary source Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) 16293-2422 are presented. Here we outline the abundances of silicon- and sulfur-containing species. A combination of rotation diagram and full statistical equilibrium/radiative transfer calculations is used to constrain the physical conditions toward IRAS 16293 and to construct its beam-averaged chemical composition over a 10 to 20 sec (1600 to 3200 AU) scale. The chemical complexity as judged by species such as SiO, OCS, and H2S, is intermediate between that of dark molecular clouds such as L134N and hot molecular cloud cores such as Orion KL. From the richness of the spectra compared to other young stellar objects of similar luminosity, it is clear that molecular abundances do not scale simply with mass; rather, the chemistry is a strong function of evolutionary state, i.e., age.