A deep Search for Ethylene Glycol and Glycolonitrile in the V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Fadul, Abubakar M. A., Schwarz, Kamber R., Suhasaria, Tushar, Calahan, Jenny K., Huang, Jane, Hoff, Merel L. R. van 't
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Fadul, Abubakar M. A.
Schwarz, Kamber R.
Suhasaria, Tushar
Calahan, Jenny K.
Huang, Jane
Hoff, Merel L. R. van 't
author_facet Fadul, Abubakar M. A.
Schwarz, Kamber R.
Suhasaria, Tushar
Calahan, Jenny K.
Huang, Jane
Hoff, Merel L. R. van 't
contents Ethylene glycol ($\mathrm{(CH_2OH)_2}$, hereafter EG) and Glycolonitrile ($\mathrm{HOCH_2CN}$, hereafter GN) are considered molecular precursors of nucleic acids. EG is a sugar alcohol and the reduced form of Glycolaldehyde ($\mathrm{CH_2(OH)CHO}$, hereafter GA). GN is considered a key precursor of adenine formation (nucleotide) and can be a precursor of glycine (amino acid). Detections of such prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium are increasingly common. How much of this complexity endures to the planet formation stage, and thus is already present when planets form, remains largely unknown. Here we report Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) observations in which we tentatively detect EG and GN in the protoplanetary disk around the outbursting protostar V883 Ori. The observed EG emission is best reproduced by a column density of $\mathrm{3.63^{+0.11}_{-0.12} \times 10^{16} \; cm^{-2}}$ and a temperature of at least 300 K. The observed GN emission is best reproduced by a column density of $\mathrm{3.37^{+0.09}_{-0.09} \times 10^{16} \; cm^{-2}}$ and a temperature of $88^{+1.2}_{-1.2}$ K. Comparing the abundance of EG and GN relative to methanol in V883 Ori with other objects, V883 Ori falls between hot cores and comets in terms of increasing complexity. This suggests that the build up of prebiotic molecules continues past the hot core phase into the epoch of planet formation. Nascent planets in such environments may inherit essential building blocks for life, enhancing their potential habitability. Further observations of this protoplanetary disk at higher spectral resolution are required to resolve blended lines and to confirm these tentative detection.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_14905
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A deep Search for Ethylene Glycol and Glycolonitrile in the V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk
Fadul, Abubakar M. A.
Schwarz, Kamber R.
Suhasaria, Tushar
Calahan, Jenny K.
Huang, Jane
Hoff, Merel L. R. van 't
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Ethylene glycol ($\mathrm{(CH_2OH)_2}$, hereafter EG) and Glycolonitrile ($\mathrm{HOCH_2CN}$, hereafter GN) are considered molecular precursors of nucleic acids. EG is a sugar alcohol and the reduced form of Glycolaldehyde ($\mathrm{CH_2(OH)CHO}$, hereafter GA). GN is considered a key precursor of adenine formation (nucleotide) and can be a precursor of glycine (amino acid). Detections of such prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium are increasingly common. How much of this complexity endures to the planet formation stage, and thus is already present when planets form, remains largely unknown. Here we report Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) observations in which we tentatively detect EG and GN in the protoplanetary disk around the outbursting protostar V883 Ori. The observed EG emission is best reproduced by a column density of $\mathrm{3.63^{+0.11}_{-0.12} \times 10^{16} \; cm^{-2}}$ and a temperature of at least 300 K. The observed GN emission is best reproduced by a column density of $\mathrm{3.37^{+0.09}_{-0.09} \times 10^{16} \; cm^{-2}}$ and a temperature of $88^{+1.2}_{-1.2}$ K. Comparing the abundance of EG and GN relative to methanol in V883 Ori with other objects, V883 Ori falls between hot cores and comets in terms of increasing complexity. This suggests that the build up of prebiotic molecules continues past the hot core phase into the epoch of planet formation. Nascent planets in such environments may inherit essential building blocks for life, enhancing their potential habitability. Further observations of this protoplanetary disk at higher spectral resolution are required to resolve blended lines and to confirm these tentative detection.
title A deep Search for Ethylene Glycol and Glycolonitrile in the V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.14905