molecules:ism:n2 [CDMS classic documentation]

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===== On the Detection of the Nitrogen Molecule, N2, in the ISM =====

D. C. Knauth, B.-G. Andersson, S. R. McCandliss, and H. W. Moos\\
reported on\\
**[[https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02614|The Interstellar N<sub>2</sub> Abundance Towards HD 124314 from Far-Ultraviolet Observations]]**\\
//Nature// **429**, 636–638 (2004).\\
The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (Fuse) was used to identify N<sub>2</sub> in the diffuse medium toward the slightly reddened star HD 124314, which is also known as IRAS 14111–6127, via its c'<sub>4</sub> – X electronic transition at 95.86 nm and the c<sub>3</sub> – X transition at 96.03 nm. The material is considered to be diffuse rather than translucent because of the slight reddening of the star. However, the derived fractional abundance of N<sub>2</sub> with respect to H<sub>2</sub> is about 3.3 × 10<sup>–7</sup>, two orders of magnitude higher than predictions from diffuse ISM models from that time. On the other hand, the column density is slightly less than that of CO on the same line of sight, and the deduced temperature is identical to that of the cold H<sub>2</sub> component (about 38 K). Moreover, similar observations of NH also yielded relative abundances much higher than predicted by diffuse ISM models.\\
See also the **news and views** contribution by\\
T. P. Snow,\\
**[[https://doi.org/10.1038/429615a|Molecular Nitrogen in Space]]**\\
//Nature// **429**, 615–616 (2004).

The same authors reported on the\\
**[[https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006ASPC..348..421K|Discovery of Interstellar N<sub>2</sub>]]**\\
Proceedings of the "Astrophysics in the Far Ultraviolet: Five Years of Discovery with FUSE" Conference, 2–6 Aug, 2004, Victoria, BC, Canada; ASP Conference Series, Vol. 348, 421–423.\\
Besides their observations mentioned above, they report on N<sub>2</sub> detection toward 20 Aql, aka HD 179406, however, with a fractional abundance wrt H<sub>2</sub> almost one order of magnitude less than toward HD 124314.


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Contributor(s): H. S. P. Müller; 11, 2016

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