Agúndez, M., Cernicharo, José, Guélin, M., Kahane, C., Roueff, E., Klos, J.,, Aoiz, F. J., Lique, F., Marcelino, N., Goicoechea, J. R., González García, M., Gottlieb, C. A., McCarthy, Michael C., and Thaddeus, P. 2010. "Astronomical identification of CN-, the smallest observed molecular anion." Astronomy and Astrophysics, 517 L2.
We present the first astronomical detection of a diatomic negative ion, the cyanide anion CN-, and quantum mechanical calculations of the excitation of this anion by means of collisions with para-H2. The anion CN- is identified by observing the J = 2-1 and J = 3-2 rotational transitions in the C-star envelope IRC 10216 with the IRAM 30-m telescope. The U-shaped line profiles indicate that CN-, like the large anion C6H-, is formed in the outer regions of the envelope. Chemical and excitation model calculations suggest that this species forms from the reaction of large carbon anions with N atoms, rather than from the radiative attachment of an electron to CN, as is the case for large molecular anions. The unexpectedly high abundance derived for CN-, 0.25% relative to CN, indicates that its detection in other astronomical sources is likely. A parallel search for the small anion C2H- remains inconclusive, despite the previous tentative identification of the J = 1-0 rotational transition. The abundance of C2H- in IRC 10216 is found to be vanishingly small, in IRC 10216 is found to be vanishingly small, 2H. Based on observations carried out with the IRAM 30-m telescope. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain).Appendix is only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
