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The ALMA-PILS survey: Formaldehyde deuteration in warm gas on small scales toward IRAS 16293-2422 B

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Abstract · v1

[abridged] The enhanced degrees of deuterium fractionation observed in envelopes around protostars demonstrate the importance of chemistry at low temperatures, relevant in pre- and protostellar cores. formaldehyde is an important species in the formation of methanol and more complex molecules. Here, we present the first study of formaldehyde deuteration on small scales around the prototypical low-mass protostar IRAS 16293-2422 using high spatial and spectral resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations. Numerous isotopologues of formaldehyde are detected, among them H2_2C17^{17}O, and D213_2^{13}CO for the first time in the ISM. The large range of upper energy levels covered by the HDCO lines help constrain the excitation temperature to 106±\pm13 K. Using the derived column densities, formaldehyde shows a deuterium fractionation of HDCO/H2_2CO=6.5±\pm1%, D2_2CO/HDCO=12.8−4.1+3.3^{+3.3}_{-4.1}%, and D2_2CO/H2_2CO=0.6(4)±\pm0.1%. The isotopic ratios derived are 16^{16}O/18^{18}O=805, 18^{18}O/17^{17}O=3.2 and 12^{12}C/13^{13}C=56. The HDCO/H2_2CO ratio is lower than found in previous studies, highlighting the uncertainties involved in interpreting single dish observations of the inner warm regions. The D2_2CO/HDCO ratio is only slightly larger than the HDCO/H2_2CO ratio. This is consistent with formaldehyde forming in the ice as soon as CO has frozen onto the grains, with most of the deuteration happening towards the end of the prestellar core phase. A comparison with available time-dependent chemical models indicates that the source is in the early Class 0 stage.

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