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Paper: Observation of Interstellar H_3+ Using Subaru IRCS: the Galactic Center
Volume: 289, The Proceedings of the IAU 8th Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, Volume I
Page: 189
Authors: Goto, M.; McCall, B. J.; Geballe, T. R.; Usuda, T.; Kobayashi, N.; Terada, H.; Oka, T.
Abstract: The high resolution infrared absorption spectrum of H_3+ has been observed towards the luminous Galactic center sources GCS 3-2 and GC IRS 3. With the wide wavelength coverage of Subaru IRCS, six absorption lines of H_3+ have been detected from 3.5 to 4.0 micro m, three of which are new. In particular the R(3, 3)^l transition arising from the metastable (3, 3) level has been detected, indicating the existence of a high temperature cloud. At least four velocity components are found in the H_3+ absorption profile. The observations have revealed a striking difference between the absorption profiles of H_3+ and CO, demonstrating the complementary nature of the H_3+ and CO as astrophysical probes.
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