On the Detection of SO+ in Extragalactic Sources

S. Muller, A. Beelen, M. Guélin, S. Aalto, J. H. Black, F. Combes, S. J. Curran, P. Theule, and S. N. Longmore
used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to study the molecular content of a foreground galaxy at z = 0.89 (FG0.89 consisting of two subsources, FG0.89SW and FG0.89NO) in absorption toward the quasar PKS 1830-211:
Molecules at //z// = 0.89: A 4-mm-Rest-Frame Absorption-Line Survey toward PKS 1830-211
Astron. Astrophys. 535, (2011) Art. No. A103.
SO+ was identified by its J = 3/2 – 1/2 transition of the lower energy fine structure component 2Π1/2 with rest frequencies of 69.4 and 69.8 GHz because of the Λ-doubling. The lower frequency e component was blended with the F = 5/2 – 3/2 hyperfine component of the 2Π1/2, J = 3/2 – 1/2, f transition of NS. The different contributions could be disentangled because of the well-resolved hyperfine structure of NS.


Contributor(s): H. S. P. Müller; 5, 2012