The detection of the hydroxyl cation (OH+) was reported in 2010 by
Wyrowski et al. toward the star-forming
Sgr B2(M) region, the
"main" part of the
cloud. The identification was made using the 12-m Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment
(APEX) telescope at
Llano de Chajnantor in Chile at
15,700 ft. It was subsequently
detected toward the HII region
G10.6-0.4 by
Gerin et al., toward various translucent clouds by
Krełowski et al., toward diffuse cloud
W49A
by Neufeld et al., and toward the extragalactic sources
NGC 4418 and
Arp 220 by
González-Alfonso et al.
The hydroxyl cation is unstable and
very reactive, in part because it is a diradical with two
unpaired electrons.
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