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The Destruction of Molecular Hydrogen

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Book cover The First Stars

Part of the book series: ESO ASTROPHYSICS SYMPOSIA ((ESO))

  • 36 Accesses

Abstract.

We examine the chemical reactions responsible for destroying the main primordial coolant, H2, and show that the most important reaction at low temperature is collisional dissociation by neutral hydrogen. Since the formation rate is proportional to the ionization fraction, while the destruction rate is not, this has the consequence of significantly limiting the amount of H2 that can form in low ionization gas, and hence the ability of such gas to cool.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, EH9 3HJ, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh

    Simon Glover

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  1. Simon Glover
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Achim Weiss Tom G. Abel Vanessa Hill

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Glover, S. The Destruction of Molecular Hydrogen. In: Weiss, A., Abel, T.G., Hill, V. (eds) The First Stars. ESO ASTROPHYSICS SYMPOSIA. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10719504_47

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10719504_47

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-67222-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46461-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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