Efficient formation route of the prebiotic molecule formamide on interstellar dust grains

Dulieu, F.; Nguyen, Thanh Tu; Congiu, E.; Baouche, S.; Taquet, V.

doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slz013

Cited by 39 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The production of NH 2 CHO in the ISM has been the subject of debate in recent years. Some groups have proposed that NH 2 CHO is formed on the surface of dust grains (Fedoseev et al, 2016;Dulieu et al, 2019), while others suggest that NH 2 CHO is produced by pure gas-phase reactions such as NH 2 + H 2 CO / NH 2 CHO + H (Skouteris et al, 2017). Alternatively, Quénard et al (2018) have proposed that the production of NH 2 CHO may be a combination of the two processes (gas-phase and grain surfaces), each of them dominating at different physical regimes.…”

Section: Comparison With the Com Content In Cometsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward the RNA-World in the Interstellar Medium—Detection of Urea and Search of 2-Amino-oxazole and Simple Sugars

et al. 2020

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In the past decade, astrochemistry has witnessed an impressive increase in the number of detections of complex organic molecules. Some of these species are of prebiotic interest such as glycolaldehyde, the simplest sugar, or aminoacetonitrile, a possible precursor of glycine. Recently, we have reported the detection of two new nitrogen-bearing complex organics, glycolonitrile and Z-cyanomethanimine, known to be intermediate species in the formation process of ribonucleotides within theories of a primordial RNA-world for the origin of life. In this study, we present deep and high-sensitivity observations toward two of the most chemically rich sources in the galaxy: a giant molecular cloud in the center of the Milky Way (G 1 0.693-0.027) and a proto-Sun (IRAS16293-2422 B). Our aim is to explore whether the key precursors considered to drive the primordial RNA-world chemistry are also found in space. Our high-sensitivity observations reveal that urea is present in G + 0.693-0.027 with an abundance of *5 • 10-11. This is the first detection of this prebiotic species outside a star-forming region. Urea remains undetected toward the proto-Sun IRAS16293-2422 B (upper limit to its abundance of £2 • 10-11). Other precursors of the RNA-world chemical scheme such as glycolaldehyde or cyanamide are abundant in space, but key prebiotic species such as 2-amino-oxazole, glyceraldehyde, or dihydroxyacetone are not detected in either source. Future more sensitive observations targeting the brightest transitions of these species will be needed to disentangle whether these large prebiotic organics are certainly present in space.

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Section: Comparison With the Com Content In Cometsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward the RNA-World in the Interstellar Medium—Detection of Urea and Search of 2-Amino-oxazole and Simple Sugars

et al. 2020

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“…Interstellar complex organic molecules are thought to be the building blocks of more complex prebiotic compounds (Dulieu et al 2019). Organic molecules are known to exist in star-forming regions and in protoplanetary disks where planets are formed (Herbst & van Dishoeck 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gas-phase laboratory formation of large, astronomically relevant PAH-organic molecule clusters

Yang

Zhang

et al. 2021

A&A

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules may play an essential role in the prebiotic compound evolution network in interstellar clouds. In this work, an experimental study of large, astronomically relevant PAH-organic molecule clusters is presented. With the initial molecular precursors dicoronylene (DC; C 48 H 20 )-pyroglutamic acid (Pga, C 5 H 7 NO 3 ), DC-proline (Pro; C 5 H 9 NO 2 ), and DC-pyroglutaminol (Pgn; C 5 H 9 NO 2 ), our experiments indicate that PAH-organic molecule cluster cations (e.g., (Pga) (1−2) C 48 H n + , (Pro) (1−2) C 48 H n + , and (Pgn) (1−6) C 48 H n + ) and carbon cluster-organic molecule cluster cations (e.g., (Pga)C 48 + , (Pro) (1−2) C 48 + , and (Pgn) (1−6) C 48 +) are gradually formed through an ion-molecule collision reaction pathway in the presence of a strong galactic interstellar radiation field. These laboratory studies provide a gas-phase growth route toward the formation of complex prebiotic compounds in a bottom-up growth process, as well as insight into their chemical-evolution behavior in the interstellar medium.

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“…Based on experimental and theoretical studies, it has been proposed that NH 2 CHO forms in the gas phase by a series of ionmolecule and neutral-neutral reaction channels (Quan & Herbst 2007;Halfen et al 2011;Redondo et al 2013Redondo et al , 2014Spezia et al 2016;Garrod et al 2008;Barone et al 2015). On the other hand, solid NH 2 CHO has been shown to form in interstellar ice analog mixtures via energetic processing, which is induced by several agents such as electrons, ions, ultraviolet (UV), vacuumultraviolet (VUV), and H atoms (e.g., Bernstein et al 1997;Muñoz Caro & Schutte 2003;Gerakines et al 2004;Raunier et al 2004;Jones et al 2011;Jheeta et al 2013;Bergantini et al 2014;Kaňuchová et al 2016;Urso et al 2017;Dulieu et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Destruction route of solid-state formamide by thermal H atoms

Suhasaria

Mennella

2020

A&A

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Context. Formamide (NH2CHO) is one of the simplest “CHON” molecules that has been observed in different environments in space. In star-forming regions, its abundance in the gas phase is correlated to isocyanic acid (HNCO), indicating a chemical relation between the two species. Many studies have investigated the different routes for the transformation of the two species from one to the other. Aims. We carry out an experimental analysis on the interaction of atomic H at 300 K with solid NH2CHO to probe whether HNCO can form. Methods. The effects of H atom irradiation on NH2CHO have been analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Results. During irradiation, a decrease in the band intensity of the C–H, C=O, and N–H modes of NH2CHO with a simultaneous increase in the N=C=O band intensity of HNCO is observed, indicating a transformation of NH2CHO to HNCO. The corresponding destruction and formation cross-sections have been estimated from the trend of the normalized column densities as a function of the H atom fluence. The transformation follows a three-step reaction sequence driven by H atom exothermic abstractions that also induce sputtering of the products. No bands of aminomethanol were detected. Conclusions. The interaction of H atoms with NH2CHO in space can be one of the promising mechanisms to explain the chemical relation between NH2CHO and HNCO. In addition, the comparison of our results with those of other energetic processing agents suggests that H atoms play a crucial role in the destruction of NH2CHO ice in dense regions of the interstellar medium.

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Efficient formation route of the prebiotic molecule formamide on interstellar dust grains

Cited by 39 publications

References 33 publications

Toward the RNA-World in the Interstellar Medium—Detection of Urea and Search of 2-Amino-oxazole and Simple Sugars

Toward the RNA-World in the Interstellar Medium—Detection of Urea and Search of 2-Amino-oxazole and Simple Sugars

Gas-phase laboratory formation of large, astronomically relevant PAH-organic molecule clusters

Destruction route of solid-state formamide by thermal H atoms

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