Non--LTE Excitation of H$_2$ in Magnetised Molecular Shocks

Abstract

The observed H$_2$ line ratios in OMC--1 and IC443 are not satisfactorily explained by conventional shock excitation models. We consider the microscopic collisional processes implicit in ambipolar diffusion models of magnetised C-shocks and show that non-LTE level populations and emission line ratios are an inevitable consequence of such models. This has important implications for the use of molecular hydrogen lines as diagnostics of shock models in molecular clouds.