Shock enhancement of HCO/+/

In the shocked gas associated with the supernova remnant IC 443, it is found that the HCO(+)/CO abundance is approximately 0.004. This is about 100 times greater than in the unshocked gas in this source where the ratio is typical of molecular clouds. This increase contradicts some current models for shock chemistry which predict a decrease of HCO(+) behind shock fronts.