Detection of New Methylamine (CH${}_3$NH${}_2$) Sources: Candidates for Future Glycine Surveys

Abstract

It has been a long-standing problem to detect interstellar glycine (NH${}_2$CH${}_2$COOH), the simplest amino acid, in studying a possible relation between the Universe and origin of life. In the last about 40 years all surveys of glycine failed, and it would be an alternative strategy to search for precursor(s) to glycine. Such studies of precursors would be crucial prior to conducting sensitive surveys by ALMA. Laboratory studies have suggested that CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ is a possible precursor to glycine. Further theoretical study also suggested that the CH${}_2$NH${}_2$ radical that can be formed from CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ through photodissociation can be a good precursor to glycine. Thus we observed CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ towards several hot core sources by using the Nobeyama 45m radio telescope, and succeeded in finding a new CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ source, G10.47+0.03, with its fractional abundance of 2.4+-0.6x10^{-8}; at the time of writing, this source is the most abundant source of CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ ever known. We also found another new source of CH${}_3$NH${}_2$, NGC6334F, however, the detection may be tentative since the signal-to-noise ratios are not sufficient to claim secure detection. Detailed analysis of the detected data revealed the detection of the hyperfine components of CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ for the first time. We found that the observed abundance of CH${}_3$NH${}_2$ agrees fairly well with the theoretically predicted value by Garrod (2013). Detectability of interstellar glycine is discussed.

27 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables, submitted to the Publications of Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ)

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• Survey Observations of a Possible Glycine Precursor, Methanimine (CH${}_2$NH)
• Methylamine and other simple N-bearing species in the hot cores NGC 6334I MM1-3
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Cited by in corpus (21)

• Astrochemistry During the Formation of Stars
• Complex organic molecules in the Galactic Centre: the N-bearing family
• A non-energetic mechanism for glycine formation in the interstellar medium
• Probing the chemical complexity of amines in the ISM: detection of vinylamine (C${}_2$H${}_3$NH${}_2$) and tentative detection of ethylamine (C${}_2$H${}_5$NH${}_2$)
• Identification of pre-biotic molecules containing Peptide-like bond in a hot molecular core, G10.47+0.03
• N-bearing complex organics toward high-mass protostars: Constant ratios pointing to formation in similar pre-stellar conditions across a large mass range
• Amides inventory towards the G+0.693-0.027 molecular cloud
• Identification of interstellar amino acetonitrile in the hot molecular core G10.47+0.03: Possible glycine survey candidate for the future
• Investigating the hot molecular core, G10.47+0.03: A pit of nitrogen-bearing complex organic molecules
• Detection of interstellar cyanamide (NH${}_2$CN) towards the hot molecular core G10.47+0.03
• Synthesis of the first nitrogen-heterocycles in interstellar ice analogs containing methylamine (CH${}_3$NH${}_2$) exposed to UV radiation: Formation of trimethylentriamine (TMT, c-(-CH${}_2$-NH)${}_3$) and hexamethylentetramine (HMT, (CH${}_2$)${}_6$N${}_4$)
• Detection of possible glycine precursor molecule methylamine towards the hot molecular core G358.93$-$0.03 MM1
• Detection of complex nitrogen-bearing molecule ethyl cyanide towards the hot molecular core G10.47+0.03
• Rotation-tunneling spectrum and astrochemical modeling of dimethylamine, CH${}_3$NHCH${}_3$, and searches for it in space
• The salty emission of the intermediate-mass AGB star OH 30.1 -0.7
• Detection and prebiotic chemistry of possible glycine precursor molecule methylenimine towards the hot molecular core G10.47+0.03
• Investigating the impact of reactions of C and CH with molecular hydrogen on a glycine gas-grain network
• ACA observation and chemical modelling of phosphorus nitride (PN) towards the hot molecular cores G10.47+0.03 and G31.41+0.31
• Millimeter-wave spectrum of 2-propanimine
• Possibility of Concentration of Non-volatile Species near the Surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• First detection of methyl formate in the hot molecular core IRAS 18566+0408