Discovery of interstellar mercapto radicals (SH) with the GREAT
  instrument on SOFIA
  We report the first detection of interstellar mercapto radicals, obtained
along the sight-line to the submillimeter continuum source W49N. We have used
the GREAT instrument on SOFIA to observe the 1383 GHz Doublet Pi 3/2 J = 5/2 -
3/2 lambda doublet in the upper sideband of the L1 receiver. The resultant
spectrum reveals SH absorption in material local to W49N, as well as in
foreground gas, unassociated with W49N, that is located along the sight-line.
For the foreground material at velocities in the range 37 - 44 km/s with
respect to the local standard of rest, we infer a total SH column density ~ 2.6
E+12 cm-2, corresponding to an abundance of ~ 7 E-9 relative to H2, and
yielding an SH/H2S abundance ratio ~ 0.13. The observed SH/H2S abundance ratio
is much smaller than that predicted by standard models for the production of SH
and H2S in turbulent dissipation regions and shocks, and suggests that the
endothermic neutral-neutral reaction SH + H2 -> H2S + H must be enhanced along
with the ion-neutral reactions believed to produce CH+ and SH+ in diffuse
molecular clouds.
