Proyecto de Investigación: EMERGENCIA Y EVOLUCION DE LA COMPLEJIDAD QUIMICA EN EL ESPACIO
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PID2022-136814NB-I00
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Strong parameter hierarchy in the interstellar phosphorus chemical network
(Frontiers in Bioscience Publications, 2025-07-30) Marina, Fernández-Ruz; Jimenez-Serra, Izaskun; Castro, Mario; Ruiz-Bermejo, Marta; Aguirre, Jacobo; European Research Council (ERC); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN); Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Phosphorus-bearing molecules are fundamental for life on Earth, yet their astrochemical origins remain poorly understood. Their formation in the interstellar medium has been challenging to elucidate due to limited spectroscopic detections and the reliance on theoretical models that depend on numerous kinetic parameters whose values are very uncertain. Multi-parameter models often suffer from “sloppiness”, where many parameter combinations exhibit negligible influence on model outcomes, while a few dominate system behavior. In this study, we introduce the Fisher Information Spectral Reduction (FISR) algorithm, a novel and computationally efficient method to reduce the complexity of such sloppy models. Our approach exposes the strong parameter hierarchy governing these systems by identifying and eliminating parameters associated with insensitive directions in the parameter space. Applying this methodology to the phosphorus astrochemistry network, we reduce the number of reaction rate coefficients from 14 to 3, pinpointing the key reactions and kinetic parameters responsible for forming PO and PN, the main phosphorus-bearing molecules typically detected in interstellar space. The simplified model retains its predictive accuracy, offering deeper insights into the mechanisms driving phosphorus chemistry in the interstellar medium. This methodology is applicable to multi-parameter models of any kind and, specifically in astrochemistry, facilitates the development of simpler, more realistic and interpretable models to effectively guide targeted observational efforts.
Detection of the elusive dangling OH ice features at ~2.7 μm in Chamaeleon I with JWST NIRCam
(Nature Publishing Group, 2024-09-01) Noble, Jennifer; Fraser, Helen; Smith, Z. L.; Dartois, E.; Boogert, A. C. A.; Cuppen, Herma; Dickinson, Hugh J.; Dulieu, F.; Egami, E.; Erkal, Jessica; Giuliano, B. M.; Husquinet, Basile; Lamberts, T.; Maté, B.; McClure, Melissa; Palumbo, M. E.; Shimonishi, T.; Sun, F.; Bergner, Jennifer; Brown, Wendy; Caselli, P.; Congiu, E.; Drozdovskaya, Maria Nikolayevna; Herrero, V. J.; Ioppolo, Sergio; Jimenez-Serra, Izaskun; Linnartz, Harold; Melnick, G. J.; McGuire, Brett; Oberg, Karin; Perotti, G.; Qasim, D.; Rocha, Will Robson Monteiro; Urso, Riccardo Giovanni
Ascertaining the morphology and composition of the icy mantles covering dust grains in dense, cold regions of the interstellar medium is essential to developing accurate astrochemical models, determining conditions for ice formation, constraining chemical interactions in and on icy grains and understanding how ices withstand space radiation. The widely observed infrared spectroscopic signature of H2O ice at ~3 μm discriminates crystalline from amorphous structures in interstellar ices. Weaker bands seen only in laboratory ice spectra at ~2.7 μm, termed ‘dangling OH’ (dOH), are attributed to water molecules not fully bound to neighbouring water molecules and are often considered as tracing the degree of ice compaction. We exploit the high sensitivity of JWST NIRCam to detect two dOH features at 2.703 and 2.753 μm along multiple lines of sight probing the dense cloud Chamaeleon I, attributing these signatures to unbound dOH in cold water ice and dOH in interaction with other molecular species. These detections open a path to using the dOH features as tracers of the formation, composition, morphology and evolution of icy grains during the star and planet formation process.
Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization of Interstellar Candidate Ethynyl Thiocyanate: HCCSCN
(IOP Publishing, 2024-11-14) Alonso, Elena Rita; Insausti, Aran; Kolesniková, Lucie; León, Iker; McGuire, Brett A.; Shingledecker, Christopher N.; Agúndez, Marcelino ; Cernicharo, José; Rivilla, Victor M.; Cabezas, Carlos ; Jimenez-Serra, Izaskun; Martín-Pintado, Jesús; Guillemin, Jean Claude; National Science Foundation (NSF); Junta de Castilla y León; European Commission (EC); El Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)
This work aims to spectroscopically characterize and provide for the first time direct experimental frequencies of the ground vibrational state and two excited states of the simplest alkynyl thiocyanate (HCCSCN) for astrophysical use. Both microwave (8-16 GHz) and millimeter-wave regions (50-120 GHz) of the spectrum have been measured and analyzed in terms of Watson’s semirigid rotor Hamiltonian. A total of 314 transitions were assigned to the ground state of HCCSCN, and a first set of spectroscopic constants have been accurately determined. Spectral features of the molecule were then searched for in Sgr B2(N), NGC 6334I, G+0.693−0.027, and TMC-1 molecular clouds. Upper limits to the column density are provided.
Magnetic field morphology and evolution in the Central Molecular Zone and its effect on gas dynamics
(EDP Sciences, 2024-11-22) Tress, Robin; Sormani, Mattia Carlo; Girichidis, P.; Glover, Simon; Klessen, Ralf Stephan; Smith, Rowan; Sobacchi, E.; Armillotta, Lucia; Barnes, A. T.; Battersby, C.; Bogue, Kamran R. J.; Brucy, Noé; Colzi, Laura; Federrath, C.; García, Pablo; Ginsburg, A.; Göller, Junia Aletta Beatrix; Hatchfield, H. P.; Henkel, C.; Hennebelle, P.; Henshaw, J. D.; Hirschmann, M.; Hu, Y.; Kauffmann, J.; Kruijssen, J. M. D.; Lazarian, A.; Lipman, Dani R.; Longmore, S. N.; Morris, Mark; Nogueras Lara, Francisco; Petkova, Maya A.; Pillai, Thushara; Rivilla, Victor M.; Sanchez-Monge, Alvaro; Soler, Juan Diego; Whitworth, David; Zhang, Qizhou; European Research Council (ERC); Royal Society; National Science Foundation (NSF); Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC); European Commission (EC); Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Chinese Academy of Science (CAS); Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT); Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu INSTITUTO DE CIENCIAS DEL ESPACIO, CEX2020-001058-M
The interstellar medium in the Milky Way’s Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is known to be strongly magnetised, but its large-scale morphology and impact on the gas dynamics are not well understood. We explore the impact and properties of magnetic fields in the CMZ using three-dimensional non-self gravitating magnetohydrodynamical simulations of gas flow in an external Milky Way barred potential. We find that: (1) The magnetic field is conveniently decomposed into a regular time-averaged component and an irregular turbulent component. The regular component aligns well with the velocity vectors of the gas everywhere, including within the bar lanes. (2) The field geometry transitions from parallel to the Galactic plane near ɀ = 0 to poloidal away from the plane. (3) The magneto-rotational instability (MRI) causes an in-plane inflow of matter from the CMZ gas ring towards the central few parsecs of 0.01−0.1 M⊙ yr−1 that is absent in the unmagnetised simulations. However, the magnetic fields have no significant effect on the larger-scale bar-driven inflow that brings the gas from the Galactic disc into the CMZ. (4) A combination of bar inflow and MRI-driven turbulence can sustain a turbulent vertical velocity dispersion of σɀ = 5 km s−1 on scales of 20 pc in the CMZ ring. The MRI alone sustains a velocity dispersion of σɀ ≃ 3 km s−1. Both these numbers are lower than the observed velocity dispersion of gas in the CMZ, suggesting that other processes such as stellar feedback are necessary to explain the observations. (5) Dynamo action driven by differential rotation and the MRI amplifies the magnetic fields in the CMZ ring until they saturate at a value that scales with the average local density as B ≃ 102 (n/103 cm−3)0.33 µG. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results within the observational context in the CMZ.
Expanding the C3H6O2 isomeric interstellar inventory: Discovery of lactaldehyde and methoxyacetaldehyde in G+0.693-0.027
(EDP Sciences, 2026-02-23) Sanz-Novo, Miguel; Rivilla, Victor M.; Jimenez-Serra, Izaskun; Colzi, Laura; Zeng, Shaoshan; Megías, Andrés; San Andrés, David; López-Gallifa, Álvaro; Martínez-Henares, Antonio; Fried, Zachary; McGuire, Brett; Martin Ruiz, Sergio; Requena Torres, Miguel Angel; Tercero, Belén; de Vicente, Pablo; Kolesniková, Lucie; Alonso, Elena Rita; Cocinero, E. J.; Guillemin, Jean-Claude; Kleiner, I.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España); Comunidad de Madrid; Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES); Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC); Gobierno Vasco; Instituto Geográfico Español (IGN); European Commission (EC); Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737
Aims. The tentative detection of 3-hydroxypropanal (HO(CH2)2C(O)H) toward the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027 prompts a systematic survey in this source aimed at detecting all C3H6O2 isomers with available spectroscopy.
Methods. We used an ultra-deep broadband spectral survey of G+0.693-0.027, carried out with the Yebes 40 m and IRAM 30 m telescopes, to conduct the astronomical search.
Results. We report the first interstellar detection of lactaldehyde (CH3CH(OH)C(O)H) and methoxyacetaldehyde (CH3OCH2C(O)H), together with the second detections (i.e., confirmation) of methyl acetate (CH3C(O)OCH3) and hydroxyacetone (CH3C(O)CH2OH), and new detections in this source of both anti - and g auche - conformers of ethyl formate (CH3CH2OC(O)H; the latter being tentative). For these species, we derived a fractional abundance relative to H2 of ~(0.81, 0.24, 16, 1.6, 1.3, 1.4) × 10−10, respectively. In contrast, neither propionic acid, CH3CH2C(O)OH, nor glycidol, c-CH2OCHCH2OH (i.e., the most and the least stable species within the C3H6O2 family, respectively) were detected, and we provide upper limits on their fractional abundances of ≤1.5 × 10−10 and ≤3.7 × 10−11. Interestingly, all C3H6O2 isomers can be synthesized through radical-radical reactions on the surface of dust grains, ultimately tracing back to CO as the parent molecule. We suggest that formation of the detected isomers is mainly driven by successive hydrogenation of CO, producing CH3OH and CH3CH2OH as the primary parent species. Conversely, propionic acid is thought to originate from the oxygenation of CO via the HOCO intermediate, which help us rationalize its non-detection. Overall, our findings notably expand the known chemical inventory of the interstellar medium and provide direct observational evidence that increasingly complex chemistry involving O-bearing species occurs in space.
