In March 2013, the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO) acquired the European 12 m prototype antenna of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) from the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The antenna was located at the Very Large Array (VLA) site near Socorro, New Mexico. During the summer of 2013, the antenna was prepared for the move to the ARO Kitt Peak site in Arizona, and in November 2013, the actual transport began. The 97 ton antenna was transported to Arizona in two major parts: the 40 ft. reflector and the base/receiver cabin, which were reassembled in the dome at Kitt Peak in December 2013. Recommissioning began in January 2014, and “first light” observations occurred in September 2014 at 115 GHz. Scientific observations began in December 2014.

Observations have been conducted with the new 12 m antenna of the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO) at 3 mm towards the Helix Nebula. This object is the oldest known planetary nebula. The J = 1 → 0 transition of HCN at 88 GHz and two hyperfine components of the N = 1 → 0 line of CCH at 87 GHz were observed towards nine positions sampling different regions across the nebula. Both molecules were detected at all positions at the 5 – 30 mK intensity level. The line profiles exhibited multiple velocity components, as also seen in HCO⁺ and H₂CO towards the same positions. The widespread distribution of HCN and CCH at this late stage of stellar evolution is further evidence that polyatomic molecules are being dispersed into the ISM. It also suggests that the progenitor star in the Helix is carbon-rich.

A survey of CCH and HNC has been conducted towards a sample of ten planetary nebulae of varying ages using the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) of the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO) at 1 mm. The N = 3 → 2 transition of CCH at 262 GHz and the J = 3 → 2 line of HNC at 272 GHz were observed using the ALMA Band 6 receiver at the SMT. The molecules were detected in most of the sources where HCN and HCO⁺ had been identified in a previous survey. Molecular abundances for CCH and HNC have been determined in these nebulae, as well as [HCN]/[HNC] ratios. These observations further support the notion that the chemistry in planetary nebulae remains active despite the ultraviolet radiation field from the central white dwarf star.

The formation of silicate-based dust grains is not well constrained. Despite this, grain surface chemistry is essential to modern astrochemical formation models. In carbon-poor stellar envelopes, such as the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa), metal-bearing oxides, the building blocks of silicate grains, dominate the grain formation, and thus are a key location to study dust chemistry. TiO₂, which was only first detected in the radio recently (Kaminski et al., 2013a), has been proposed to be a critical molecule for silicate grain formation, and not oxides containing more abundant metals (eg. Si, Fe, and Mg) (Gail and Sedlmayr, 1998). In addition, other molecules, such as SO₂, have been found to trace shells produced by numerous outflows pushing through the expanding envelope, resulting in a complex velocity structure (Ziurys et al., 2007). With the advanced capabilities of ALMA, it is now possible to individually resolve the velocity structure of each of these outflows and constrain the underlying chemistry in the region. Here, we present high resolution maps of rotational transitions of several metal-bearing oxides in VY CMa from the ALMA Band 7 and Band 9 Science Verification observations. With these maps, the physical parameters of the region and the formation chemistry of metal-bearing oxides will be studied.

Using radio, microwave, sub-mm, and optical data, we analyze several lines of sight toward stars generally closer than 1 kpc on a component by component basis. We derive the component structure seen in emission from C⁺, H I, and CO and its isotopoloques, along with those for CH⁺, CH, CN, Ca II, and Ca I in absorption. We study how these tracers are related to the CO-Dark H₂ gas being probed by C⁺ emission and discuss the kinematic connections among the species. Physical conditions of the various components seen in absorption, especially density, are inferred from a simple chemical analysis based on the column densities of CH⁺, CH, and CN.

Observations of carbon chain molecules are useful in determining the number densities and temperatures of diffuse interstellar clouds. In 2003, C₃ was observed towards ten different sightlines and the rotational distributions were determined using the oscillator strengths available at that time.Adamkovics et al. Ap.J., 595, 235 (2003)he population of each rotational level was adjusted individually in order to obtain the best fit for all of the P, Q, and R branch lines. This past year, the effect of perturbing states on the C₃ spectrum was elucidated, and improved oscillator strengths determined.Schmidt et al. MNRAS, 441, 1134 (2014)ith these new values, we have redetermined the rotational distribution of C₃ in these ten sightlines, and used a rotational excitation model analogous to that of Roueff et al.Roueff et al. A&A, 384, 629 (2002)nd collisional cross sections from Smith et al.Smith et al. J. Phys. Chem. A, 118, 6351 (2014)o infer the kinetic temperatures and number densities.

---

Footnotes:

Adamkovics et al. Ap.J., 595, 235 (2003)T Schmidt et al. MNRAS, 441, 1134 (2014)W Roueff et al. A&A, 384, 629 (2002)a Smith et al. J. Phys. Chem. A, 118, 6351 (2014)t

We are nearing completion of a low-resolution 2.0-2.5 μm (4000-5000 cm⁻¹) survey of  ∼ 500 very red point-like objects in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of the Milky Way Galaxy. The goal is to find bright objects with intrinsically featureless or nearly featureless spectra that are suitable as background light sources for high-resolution infrared absorption spectroscopy of H₃⁺ and CO in the Galactic center's interstellar gas, on sightlines spread across the CMZ. Until recently very few such objects had been known outside of two clusters of hot and luminous stars close to the very center. We have used Spitzer Space Telescope 3.6-8.0-μm photometry and 2-Micron All Sky Survey 1.0-2.5-μm photometry to identify candidates with a significant probability of being stars embedded in circumstellar dust, and over the last several years have been acquiring low resolution spectra of them to determine their natures. The low resolution spectra, which encompass the wavelengths of the first overtone band heads of CO, which are prominent in cool stellar photospheres, show that by far the majority of candidates are very cool and/or highly reddened red giants, which are unsuitable as background sources because of their complex spectra . However, approximately ten percent of the candidates have featureless or nearly featureless spectra and are useful for investigations of the interstellar gas. Most of these have continua rising steeply to longer wavelengths and are luminous, dust embedded stars.

The Herschel Space Observatory has enabled the observation of CO emission lines originating in the J=5 through J=48 rotational levels. Surveys of active galaxies (e.g., starbursts, Seyferts, ULIRGs) detect emission from levels as high as J=30, but the precise excitation mechanisms responsible for producing the observed CO SLEDs (Spectral Line Energy Distribution) remain ambiguous. To better constrain the possible excitation mechanisms in extragalactic sources, we investigate the CO SLEDs arising from sources with known characteristics in the nearby Orion region. Targets include Orion-KL (high-mass star forming region containing a hot core, embedded protostars, outflows, and shocks), Orion South (high-mass star forming region containing embedded protostars, outflows, and a photodissociation region), Orion H₂ Peak 1 (molecular shock), and the Orion Bar (a photodissociation region). Emission lines from complex sources are decomposed using velocity information from high spectral resolution observations made with Herschel-HIFI (Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared). Each source and/or component is taken as a template for a particular excitation mechanism, and then applied to interpret excitation in more distant regions within the Galaxy, as well as external galaxies.

The CH⁺ ion was one of the first molecules identified in the interstellar gas over 75 years ago, and is postulated to be a key species in the initial steps of interstellar carbon chemistry. The high observed abundances of CH⁺ in the interstellar gas remain a puzzle, because the main production pathway of CH⁺, viz., C⁺ + H₂ → CH⁺ + H, is so endothermic (4640 K), that it is unlikely to proceed at the typical temperatures of molecular clouds. One way in which the high endothermicity may be overcome, is if a significant fraction of the H₂ is vibrationally excited, as is the case in molecular gas exposed to intense far-ultraviolet radiation fields. Elucidating the formation of CH⁺ in molecular clouds requires characterization of its spatial distribution, as well as that of the key participants in the chemical pathways yielding CH⁺. Here we present high-resolution spectral maps of the two lowest rotational transitions of CH⁺, the fine structure transition of C⁺, and the hyperfine-split fine structure transitions of CH in a  ∼ 3^′ ×3^′ region around the Orion Kleinmann-Low (KL) nebula, obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory's Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI).These observations were done as part of the Herschel observations of EXtraordinary sources: the Orion and Sagittarius star-forming regions (HEXOS) Key Programme, led by E. A. Bergin at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.e compare these maps to those of CH⁺ and C⁺ in the Orion Bar photodissociation region (PDR), and discuss the excitation and abundance of CH⁺ toward Orion KL in the context of chemical and radiative transfer models, which have recently been successfully applied to the Orion Bar PDR.Nagy, Z. et al. 2013, A&A 550, A96html:<hr /><h3>Footnotes: These observations were done as part of the Herschel observations of EXtraordinary sources: the Orion and Sagittarius star-forming regions (HEXOS) Key Programme, led by E. A. Bergin at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.W Nagy, Z. et al. 2013, A&A 550, A96

We have conducted the first 1 cm (27-35 GHz) line survey of the Orion-KL region by an array. With a primary beam of  ∼ 4.5 arcminutes, the survey looks at a region  ∼ 166,000 AU (0.56 pc) across. The data have a resolution of  ∼ 6 arcseconds on the sky and 97.6 kHz(1.07-0.84 km/s) in frequency. This region of frequency space is much less crowded than at 3mm or 1mm frequencies and contains the fundamental transitions of several complex molecular species, allowing us to probe the largest extent of the molecular emission. We present the initial results, and comparison to 3mm results, from several species including, dimethyl ether [(CH₃)₂O], ethyl cyanide [C₂H₅CN], acetone [(CH₃)₂CO], SO, and SO₂.

We present results from a targeted chemical search toward the prototypical shocked outflow L1157. L1157-B0, -B1, and -B2 are shocked regions within the outflow from the Class 0 low-mass protostar L1157-mm. We have mapped a variety of molecular tracers in the region with typical spatial resolutions of  ∼  3^′′ using CARMA, and find differences in the chemical makeups between shocked regions within the same precursor outflow material. We present observations of CH₃OH, HCO⁺, HCN, and the first maps of HNCO in the source. We will examine the utility of HNCO as a sensitive tracer of the shocks in this source, and finally, we will discuss what insights we can gain into the chemical evolution, and evolutionary time scales, that have given rise to the differentiation we see between the shocks.

Despite the detection of amino acids, the building blocks of the proteins that support life, in cometary and meteoritic samples, we do not yet understand the conditions under which these life-essential species have formed. Hydroxylamine (NH₂OH) is potentially a direct precursor to the formation of the amino acids glycine and alanine in the ISM, through reaction with acetic and propionic acids. Recent laboratory and modeling work has shown that there are a variety of pathways to the formation of NH₂OH in interstellar ices both efficiently and in high abundance. Here, we present the result of a deep, multi-telescope search for NH₂OH in the shocked, complex molecular source L1157. We find no evidence suggesting the presence of this important precursor, and discuss the implications of this non-detection on the reactivity of NH₂OH both within the ices, and in the gas-phase ISM. We will also discuss how these observations should inform the direction of future studies, both in the laboratory and with state-of-the-art telescopes such as ALMA.

Interferometric imaging spectroscopy of molecular clouds permits the physical and thermodynamic structure, kinematics, and chemistry of molecular clouds to be probed over a wide range of spatial scales, from entire clouds to the individual cores where stars are born. As such, it allows the study of what fundamental physical processes are at play in star formation. The CARMA Large Area Star-formation Survey (CLASSy) Key Project surveyed dense gas tracers (the HCN, HCO+, and N₂H⁺ J=1-0 emission) and dust continuum emission over 700 square arc-minutes from 3 fields in Perseus (NGC 1333, Barnard 1, and L1451) and 2 fields in Serpens (Serpens Main and Serpens South), with sensitivity to structures on spatial scales ranging from 1000 AU to several parsecs. We have used these data to characterize the importance of turbulence and magnetic fields in star formation on physical scales ranging from the largest clouds to the immediate environment of individual young stellar objects. We present results from both CLASSy and a significant extension of this project, CLASSy Prime, to more deeply survey these regions in both the same and different tracers, including several organic molecules. In particular, we focus on discrepancies between the structure of filaments seen in line emission - particularly N₂H⁺ - and the same filaments seen in dust emission, and we suggest that these might be due to excitation conditions and/or chemical effects. We also discuss how emission from the different molecules that have been observed with CLASSy Prime highlight kinematics of different substructures within these regions.

ADMIT (ALMA Data Mining Toolkit) is a toolkit for the creation and analysis of new science products from ALMA data. ADMIT is an ALMA Development Project written purely in Python. While specifically targeted for ALMA science and production use after the ALMA pipeline, it is designed to be generally applicable to radio-astronomical data. ADMIT quickly provides users with a detailed overview of their science products: line identifications, line 'cutout' cubes, moment maps, emission type analysis (e.g., feature detection), etc. Users can download the small ADMIT pipeline product ( < 20MB), analyze the results, then fine-tune and re-run the ADMIT pipeline (or any part thereof) on their own machines and interactively inspect the results. ADMIT will have both a GUI and command line interface available for this purpose. By analyzing multiple data cubes simultaneously, data mining between many astronomical sources and line transitions will be possible. Users will also be able to enhance the capabilities of ADMIT by creating customized ADMIT tasks satisfying any special processing needs. Future implementations of ADMIT may include EVLA and other instruments.