Speaker
Nick Tothill
(Western Sydney University)
Description
Cosmic rays are important drivers of molecular gas ionisation, and molecular gas ionisation is in turn a diagnostic of cosmic ray astrophysics. Although DCO+ is widely regarded as the most useful molecular tracer of cosmic ray ionisation, HCO+ is far more accessible to telescopes. A large-scale programme of HCO+ mapping of sites of interest in the Milky Way will therefore lay the groundwork for the greater understanding of the role of cosmic rays in the interstellar medium that we will derive from CTA. We have completed one run on ATCA, using it as 5 separate telescopes, and have more time scheduled this winter. We show preliminary results of our mapping programme.
Primary author
Nick Tothill
(Western Sydney University)
