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Scientific article
English

Interstellar silicon-nitrogen chemistry. 4. Which reaction paths to HSiN and HNSi ? : an extensive ab initio investigation with crucial consequences for molecular astrophysics

Published inThe journal of physical chemistry. A, vol. 101, no. 3, p. 299-309
Publication date1997
Abstract

In order to provide a possible explanation for the lack of detection of both HSiN and HNSi in the interstellar medium, an ab initio study of the Si+ + NH3 reaction is presented: it includes accurate energetic considerations and sketches dynamics discussions as well. It is unambiguously concluded that the X1A1 ground state of the SiNH2+ cation is the only exit channel of this reaction assuming interstellar conditions. The rotational and vibrational constants of this species are reported to stimulate its experimental and astrophysical searches. Upon dissociative recombination, it is likely that SiNH2+ can evolve toward HNSi: unfortunately, the dramatic weakness of the dipole moment of the latter species (0.05 D) makes it an unlikely candidate for today's radiotelescopes. At variance with HNSi, the high dipole moment value of HSiN (4.5 D) would make it a much more attractive candidate for astrophysical searches, but under interstellar conditions, we show that it can derive neither from the unimolecular HNSi ↔ HSiN equilibration nor from the Si+ + NH3, N + SiH3+ or N+ + SiH3 reactions as sometimes incorrectly stated in the astrophysical models that deduce interstellar silicon chemistry from that of carbon. Throughout this study, the very hazardous character of conclusions deduced from isoelectronic considerations should be considered as the leading feature: the finishing stroke to such isoelectronic analogies is given by our study of the H+ + HNSi ↔ HSiN + H+ reactions which leads to the conclusion that HSiN might be unlikely to survive interstellar hydrogenation processes.

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Citation (ISO format)
PARISEL, Olivier, HANUS, Marc, ELLINGER, Yves. Interstellar silicon-nitrogen chemistry. 4. Which reaction paths to HSiN and HNSi ? : an extensive ab initio investigation with crucial consequences for molecular astrophysics. In: The journal of physical chemistry. A, 1997, vol. 101, n° 3, p. 299–309. doi: 10.1021/jp9618441
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ISSN of the journal1089-5639
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