2012ApJ...747..140S

We have observed the HN¹³C J = 1-0 and DNC J = 1-0 lines toward 18 massive clumps, including infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) and high-mass protostellar objects (HMPOs), by using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope. We have found that the HN¹³C emission is stronger than the DNC emission toward all of the observed sources. The averaged DNC/HNC ratio is indeed lower toward the observed high-mass sources (0.009±0.005) than toward the low-mass starless and star-forming cores (0.06). The kinetic temperature derived from the NH₃(J, K) = (1, 1) and (2, 2) line intensities is higher toward the observed high-mass sources than toward the low-mass cores. However, the DNC/HNC ratio of some IRDCs involving the Spitzer 24 µm sources is found to be lower than that of HMPOs, although the kinetic temperature of the IRDCs is lower than that of the HMPOs. This implies that the DNC/HNC ratio does not depend only on the current kinetic temperature. With the aid of chemical model simulations, we discuss how the DNC/HNC ratio decreases after the birth of protostars. We suggest that the DNC/HNC ratio in star-forming cores depends on the physical conditions and history in their starless-core phase, such as its duration time and the gas kinetic temperature.