Detection of glycolaldehyde towards the solar-type protostar NGC1333 IRAS2A

Abstract

Glycolaldehyde is a key molecule in the formation of biologically relevant molecules such as ribose. We report its detection with the Plateau de Bure interferometer towards the Class 0 young stellar object NGC1333 IRAS2A, which is only the second solar-type protostar for which this prebiotic molecule is detected. Local thermodynamic equilibrium analyses of glycolaldehyde, ethylene glycol (the reduced alcohol of glycolaldehyde) and methyl formate (the most abundant isomer of glycolaldehyde) were carried out. The relative abundance of ethylene glycol to glycolaldehyde is found to be ~5 -higher than in the Class 0 source IRAS 16293-2422 (~1), but comparable to the lower limits derived in comets ($\ge$3-6). The different ethylene glycol-to-glycolaldehyde ratios in the two protostars could be related to different CH3OH:CO compositions of the icy grain mantles. In particular, a more efficient hydrogenation on the grains in NGC 1333 IRAS2A would favor the formation of both methanol and ethylene glycol. In conclusion, it is possible that, like NGC 1333 IRAS2A, other low-mass protostars show high ethylene glycol-to-glycolaldehyde abundance ratios. The cometary ratios could consequently be inherited from earlier stages of star formation, if the young Sun experienced conditions similar to NGC1333 IRAS2A.

11 pages, 5 figures, accepted in A&A

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• The largest oxigen bearing organic molecule repository
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• Seeds Of Life In Space (SOLIS): The organic composition diversity at 300--1000 au scale in Solar-type star forming regions
• The formation of ethylene glycol and other complex organic molecules in star-forming regions
• Formation of Glycerol through Hydrogenation of CO ice under Prestellar Core Conditions
• Formation of COMs through CO hydrogenation on interstellar grains
• Chemical complexity induced by efficient ice evaporation in the Barnard 5 molecular cloud
• The complex chemistry of outflow cavity walls exposed: the case of low-mass protostars
• Glycolaldehyde in Perseus young solar analogs
• Laboratory measurements and astronomical search for cyanomethanimine
• Widespread Presence of Glycolaldehyde and Ethylene Glycol Around Sagittarius B2
• Chemistry in a forming protoplanetary disk: main accretion phase
• Characterising the physical and chemical properties of a young Class 0 protostellar core embedded in the Orion B9 filament