Cosmic-ray-induced photodestruction of interstellar molecules in dense clouds

Abstract

The ultraviolet spectrum of radiation generated by cosmic rays insidedense molecular clouds is presented, and the resulting rates of photodissociationfor a variety of interstellar molecules are estimated. The effectsof this radiation on the chemistry of dense molecular clouds arediscussed, and it is argued that the cosmic-ray-induced photons willsignificantly inhibit the production of complex molecular species.