Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space
Producción Científica A quarter century after the detection of the last interstellar carboxylic acid, acetic acid (CH3COOH), we report the discovery of a new one, the cis-trans form of carbonic acid (HOCOOH), toward the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027. HOCOOH stands as the first inters...
Published in: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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ftunivvalladolid:oai:uvadoc.uva.es:10324/61053 2023-09-26T15:17:06+02:00 Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space Sanz Novo, Miguel Rivilla, Víctor M. Jiménez Serra, Izaskun Martín Pintado, Jesús Colzi, Laura Zeng, Shaoshan Megías, Andrés López Gallifa, Álvaro Martínez Henares, Antonio Massalkhi, Sarah Tercero, Belén Vicente, Pablo de Martín, Sergio Andrés, David San Requena Torres, Miguel A. 2023 application/pdf https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/61053 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 eng eng IOP Publishing American Astronomical Society https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 The Astrophysical Journal, 2023, Volume 954, Number 1 0004-637X https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/61053 3 1 The Astrophysical Journal 954 1538-4357 Atribución 4.0 Internacional info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ © 2023 The Authors Ácido carbónico (HOCOOH) Carbonic acid (HOCOOH) Interstellar molecule Molécula interestelar 21 Astronomía y Astrofísica info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2023 ftunivvalladolid https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 2023-08-29T23:28:10Z Producción Científica A quarter century after the detection of the last interstellar carboxylic acid, acetic acid (CH3COOH), we report the discovery of a new one, the cis-trans form of carbonic acid (HOCOOH), toward the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027. HOCOOH stands as the first interstellar molecule containing three oxygen atoms and the third carboxylic acid detected so far in the interstellar medium. Albeit the limited available laboratory measurements (up to 65 GHz), we have also directly identified several pairs of unblended lines in the astronomical data (between 75 and 120 GHz), which allowed us to slightly improve the set of spectroscopic constants. We derive a column density for cis-trans HOCOOH of N = (6.4 ± 0.4) × 1012 cm−2, which yields an abundance with respect to molecular H2 of 4.7 × 10−11. Meanwhile, the extremely low dipole moment (about 15 times lower) of the lower-energy conformer, cis-cis HOCOOH, precludes its detection. We obtain an upper limit to its abundance with respect to H2 of ≤1.2 × 10−9, which suggests that cis-cis HOCOOH might be fairly abundant in interstellar space, although it is nearly undetectable by radio astronomical observations. We derive a cis-cis/cis-trans ratio of ≤25, consistent with the smaller energy difference between both conformers compared with the relative stability of trans- and cis-formic acid. Finally, we compare the abundance of these acids in different astronomical environments, further suggesting a relationship between the chemical content found in the interstellar medium and the chemical composition of the minor bodies of the solar system, which could be inherited during the star formation process. Universidad de Valladolid. Beca postdoctoral Margarita Salas Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2020-117742GB-I00) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (proyectos RYC2020-029387-I y PID2019-105552RB-C41) Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (proyecto 20225AT015) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (proyecto ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Carbonic acid UVaDOC - Repositorio Documental de la Universidad de Valladolid Margarita ENVELOPE(-68.000,-68.000,-68.500,-68.500) Salas ENVELOPE(-58.417,-58.417,-63.550,-63.550) The Astrophysical Journal 954 1 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UVaDOC - Repositorio Documental de la Universidad de Valladolid |
op_collection_id |
ftunivvalladolid |
language |
English |
topic |
Ácido carbónico (HOCOOH) Carbonic acid (HOCOOH) Interstellar molecule Molécula interestelar 21 Astronomía y Astrofísica |
spellingShingle |
Ácido carbónico (HOCOOH) Carbonic acid (HOCOOH) Interstellar molecule Molécula interestelar 21 Astronomía y Astrofísica Sanz Novo, Miguel Rivilla, Víctor M. Jiménez Serra, Izaskun Martín Pintado, Jesús Colzi, Laura Zeng, Shaoshan Megías, Andrés López Gallifa, Álvaro Martínez Henares, Antonio Massalkhi, Sarah Tercero, Belén Vicente, Pablo de Martín, Sergio Andrés, David San Requena Torres, Miguel A. Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
topic_facet |
Ácido carbónico (HOCOOH) Carbonic acid (HOCOOH) Interstellar molecule Molécula interestelar 21 Astronomía y Astrofísica |
description |
Producción Científica A quarter century after the detection of the last interstellar carboxylic acid, acetic acid (CH3COOH), we report the discovery of a new one, the cis-trans form of carbonic acid (HOCOOH), toward the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027. HOCOOH stands as the first interstellar molecule containing three oxygen atoms and the third carboxylic acid detected so far in the interstellar medium. Albeit the limited available laboratory measurements (up to 65 GHz), we have also directly identified several pairs of unblended lines in the astronomical data (between 75 and 120 GHz), which allowed us to slightly improve the set of spectroscopic constants. We derive a column density for cis-trans HOCOOH of N = (6.4 ± 0.4) × 1012 cm−2, which yields an abundance with respect to molecular H2 of 4.7 × 10−11. Meanwhile, the extremely low dipole moment (about 15 times lower) of the lower-energy conformer, cis-cis HOCOOH, precludes its detection. We obtain an upper limit to its abundance with respect to H2 of ≤1.2 × 10−9, which suggests that cis-cis HOCOOH might be fairly abundant in interstellar space, although it is nearly undetectable by radio astronomical observations. We derive a cis-cis/cis-trans ratio of ≤25, consistent with the smaller energy difference between both conformers compared with the relative stability of trans- and cis-formic acid. Finally, we compare the abundance of these acids in different astronomical environments, further suggesting a relationship between the chemical content found in the interstellar medium and the chemical composition of the minor bodies of the solar system, which could be inherited during the star formation process. Universidad de Valladolid. Beca postdoctoral Margarita Salas Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2020-117742GB-I00) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación (proyectos RYC2020-029387-I y PID2019-105552RB-C41) Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) (proyecto 20225AT015) Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (proyecto ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sanz Novo, Miguel Rivilla, Víctor M. Jiménez Serra, Izaskun Martín Pintado, Jesús Colzi, Laura Zeng, Shaoshan Megías, Andrés López Gallifa, Álvaro Martínez Henares, Antonio Massalkhi, Sarah Tercero, Belén Vicente, Pablo de Martín, Sergio Andrés, David San Requena Torres, Miguel A. |
author_facet |
Sanz Novo, Miguel Rivilla, Víctor M. Jiménez Serra, Izaskun Martín Pintado, Jesús Colzi, Laura Zeng, Shaoshan Megías, Andrés López Gallifa, Álvaro Martínez Henares, Antonio Massalkhi, Sarah Tercero, Belén Vicente, Pablo de Martín, Sergio Andrés, David San Requena Torres, Miguel A. |
author_sort |
Sanz Novo, Miguel |
title |
Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
title_short |
Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
title_full |
Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
title_fullStr |
Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
title_full_unstemmed |
Discovery of the Elusive Carbonic Acid (HOCOOH) in Space |
title_sort |
discovery of the elusive carbonic acid (hocooh) in space |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/61053 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-68.000,-68.000,-68.500,-68.500) ENVELOPE(-58.417,-58.417,-63.550,-63.550) |
geographic |
Margarita Salas |
geographic_facet |
Margarita Salas |
genre |
Carbonic acid |
genre_facet |
Carbonic acid |
op_relation |
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 The Astrophysical Journal, 2023, Volume 954, Number 1 0004-637X https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/61053 3 1 The Astrophysical Journal 954 1538-4357 |
op_rights |
Atribución 4.0 Internacional info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ © 2023 The Authors |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace523 |
container_title |
The Astrophysical Journal |
container_volume |
954 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
3 |
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1778138457411944448 |