Physics Colloquium - Spring 2023
Isotope Ratios in Diffuse Interstellar Clouds
| When |
Mar 31, 2023
from 03:00 PM to 04:00 PM |
|---|---|
| Where | NS 112 |
| Contact Name | Jinjun Lee |
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Speaker: Steven R. Federman, Ritter Astrophysical Research Center, University of Toledo
Abstract: Diffuse interstellar clouds are a major component of the neutral gas between stars in the Milky Way and other galaxies. The atoms and molecules in this environment provide information about the nucleosynthesis of elements and their isotopes and the chemical processes affecting the isotopic variants in molecules. Work on lithium, boron, and rubidium, whose sources go beyond the fusion reactions within stellar cores, is described. Analyses are then presented on variants in CH+, CO, and CN that reveal the ambient isotope ratios for C, N, and O in the solar neighborhood and the photochemical mechanisms altering these ratios.