Gas phase production of NHD2 in L134N

Abstract

We show analytically that large abundances of NH2D and NHD2 can be produced by gas phase chemistry in the interiors of cold dense clouds. The calculated fractionation ratios are in good agreement with the values that have been previously determined in L134N and suggest that triply-deuterated ammonia could be detectable in dark clouds. Grain surface reactions may lead to similar NH2D and NHD2 enhancements but, we argue, are unlikely to contribute to the deuteration observed in L134N.

6 pages, 2 figures, uses psfig.sty and emulateapj.sty, to appear in Astrophysical Journal, vol 553

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