Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21733101r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #331.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The astronomical molecular inventory currently stands at 169 detected species and their corresponding isotopologues. Yet, given this vast molecular inventory, the formation mechanisms of even the simplest molecular species detected in these varied environments are still not well understood. Molecular isomers are also prevalent in astronomical environments and may play a role in determining the formation route of molecules in space. Molecular isomers contain the same atoms yet have different structures. Recently, Lattelais et al. 2009, suggested that the isomer with the lowest zero point bonding energy (ie, the most stable isomer) should be the most abundant, and thus most easily detected in astronomical environments. We explored this theory using the C3H2O isomers. C3H2O forms three structural isomers; propadienione (CH2CCO), propynal (HCCCHO) and cyclopropenone (c-C3H2O), each with increasing bonding energy, respectively. We searched existing broadband spectral line surveys in the ISM and compared that to laboratory spectra and also simulated chemical reactions to form the C3H2O isomers using Gaussian09. All spectral explorations resulted in less then convincing proof of the presence of the two lowest energy isomers in the ISM, yet cyclopropenone is readily detected and confirmed. More observations are needed to solidify conclusions. However, the evidence is building that the lowest energy C3H2O isomers are not present in the ISM. This supports the conclusion that the formation chemistry is more important than relative molecular stability in determining the abundance of molecules in astronomical environments.
Pulliam Robin
Remijan Anthony
Robertson Amy
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