2018 Census of Interstellar, Circumstellar, Extragalactic, Protoplanetary Disk, and Exoplanetary Molecules

Abstract

To date, 204 individual molecular species, comprised of 16 different elements, have been detected in the interstellar and circumstellar medium by astronomical observations. These molecules range in size from two atoms to seventy, and have been detected across the electromagnetic spectrum from cm-wavelengths to the ultraviolet. This census presents a summary of the first detection of each molecular species, including the observational facility, wavelength range, transitions, and enabling laboratory spectroscopic work, as well as listing tentative and disputed detections. Tables of molecules detected in interstellar ices, external galaxies, protoplanetary disks, and exoplanetary atmospheres are provided. A number of visual representations of this aggregate data are presented and briefly discussed in context.

Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements

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• Detection of the Aromatic Molecule Benzonitrile ($c$-C${}_6$H${}_5$CN) in the Interstellar Medium
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• Possible thermochemical disequilibrium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet GJ 436b
• Discovery of the Interstellar Chiral Molecule Propylene Oxide (CH${}_3$CHCH${}_2$O)
• The cometary composition of a protoplanetary disk as revealed by complex cyanides
• Complex organic molecules in protoplanetary disks
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• Detection of C5N- and vibrationally excited C6H in IRC +10216
• A 2 mm spectral line survey of the starburst galaxy NGC 253
• Experimental evidence for Glycolaldehyde and Ethylene Glycol formation by surface hydrogenation of CO molecules under dense molecular cloud conditions
• Detection of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a hot Jupiter
• Simultaneous Detection of Water, Methane and Carbon Monoxide in the Atmosphere of Exoplanet HR8799b
• Atom addition reactions in interstellar ice analogues
• Discovery of Interstellar Propylene (CH_2CHCH_3): Missing Links in Interstellar Gas-Phase Chemistry
• High-Resolution Spectroscopic Detection of TiO and Stratosphere in the Day-side of WASP-33b
• Discovery of Fulminic Acid, HCNO, in Dark Clouds
• New molecules in IRC+10216: confirmation of C${}_5$S and tentative identification of MgCCH, NCCP, and SiH${}_3$CN
• Molecular oxygen in the rho Ophiuchi cloud
• A global analysis of Spitzer and new HARPS data confirms the loneliness and metal-richness of GJ 436 b
• Resolving the chemistry in the disk of TW Hydrae I. Deuterated species
• Confirmation of circumstellar phosphine
• Detection of E-cyanomethanimine towards Sagittarius B2(N) in the Green Bank Telescope PRIMOS Survey
• The formation of ethylene glycol and other complex organic molecules in star-forming regions
• Organic Molecules in the Galactic Center. Hot Core Chemistry without Hot Cores
• First Detection of the Simplest Organic Acid in a Protoplanetary Disk
• Detection of interstellar hydrogen peroxide
• Detecting Weak Spectral Lines in Interferometric Data through Matched Filtering
• Herschel observations of EXtraordinary Sources: Analysis of the full Herschel/HIFI molecular line survey of Sagittarius B2(N)
• Lambda = 3 mm line survey of nearby active galaxies
• Discovery of SiCSi in IRC+10216: A missing link between gas and dust carriers of SiC bonds
• Discovery of interstellar ketenyl (HCCO), a surprisingly abundant radical
• A Search for Propylene Oxide and Glycine in Sagittarius B2 (LMH) and Orion
• Discovery of Interstellar CF+
• ALMA Detection of Interstellar Methoxymethanol (CH${}_3$OCH${}_2$OH)
• A Search for Biomolecules in Sagittarius B2 (LMH) with the ATCA
• Precise dipole moment and quadrupole coupling constants of benzonitrile
• Discovery of interstellar isocyanogen (CNCN): further evidence that dicyanopolyynes are abundant in space
• First detection of interstellar S2H
• Hot Gaseous Coronae around Spiral Galaxies: Probing the Illustris Simulation
• High-precision C17O, C18O and C16O measurements in young stellar objects: analogues for CO self-shielding in the early solar system
• Discovery of the ubiquitous cation NS+ in space confirmed by laboratory spectroscopy
• The Spitzer-IRS spectrum of SMP LMC 11
• First detection of H${}_2$S in a protoplanetary disk. The dense GG Tau A ring
• Direct evidence of multiple reservoirs of volatile nitrogen in a protosolar nebula analogue
• The Detection of Hot Cores and Complex Organic Molecules in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• An ALMA Early Science survey of molecular absorption lines toward PKS1830-211 -- Analysis of the absorption profiles
• Tentative detection of phosphine in IRC+10216
• The Razor's Edge of Collapse: The Transition Point from Lognormal to Powerlaw in Molecular Cloud PDFs
• Discovery of the elusive radical NCO and confirmation of H2NCO+ in space
• Detection of the hydroperoxyl radical HO2 toward ρOph A: Additional constraints on the water chemical network
• Detection of interstellar HCS and its metastable isomer HSC: new pieces in the puzzle of sulfur chemistry
• Trans-cis molecular photoswitching in interstellar Space
• Non-Detection of HC${}_{11}$N toward TMC-1: Constraining the Chemistry of Large Carbon-Chain Molecules
• Detection of Interstellar HC${}_5$O in TMC-1 with the Green Bank Telescope
• Detection of extragalactic H3O+
• The Interstellar Medium of IRAS 08572+3915 NW: H3+ and Warm High Velocity CO
• Deep K-band observations of TMC-1 with the Green Bank Telescope: Detection of HC7O, non-detection of HC11N, and a search for new organic molecules
• Detection of chloronium and measurement of the 35Cl/37Cl isotopic ratio at z=0.89 toward PKS1830-211
• Complex organic molecules in diffuse clouds along the line of sight to Sgr B2
• Detection of CO+ in the nucleus of M82
• Clear and Cloudy Exoplanet Forecasts for JWST: Maps, Retrieved Composition and Constraints on Formation with MIRI and NIRCam
• CO${}_2$ Infrared Phonon Modes in Interstellar Ice Mixtures
• Chemistry of a newly detected circumbinary disk in Ophiuchus
• Detection of CH+, SH+, and their 13C- and 34S- isotopologues toward PKS1830-211
• Constraints on metal oxide and metal hydroxide abundances in the winds of AGB stars - Potential detection of FeO in R Dor
• The Search for a Complex Molecule in a Selected Hot Core Region: A Rigorous Attempt to Confirm trans-Ethyl Methyl Ether toward W51 e1/e2

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• Discovery of the Pure Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Indene ($c$-C${}_9$H${}_8$) with GOTHAM Observations of TMC-1
• The cold interstellar medium of galaxies in the Local Universe
• Water in star-forming regions (WISH): Physics and chemistry from clouds to disks as probed by Herschel spectroscopy
• Re-exploring Molecular Complexity with ALMA (ReMoCA): Interstellar detection of urea
• Discovery in space of ethanolamine, the simplest phospholipid head group
• Binding energies of interstellar molecules on crystalline and amorphous models of water ice by ab-initio calculations
• The Perseus ALMA Chemistry Survey (PEACHES). I. The Complex Organic Molecules in Perseus Embedded Protostars
• Early Science from GOTHAM: Project Overview, Methods, and the Detection of Interstellar Propargyl Cyanide (HCCCH${}_2$CN) in TMC-1
• The complex chemistry of hot cores in Sagittarius B2(N): Influence of cosmic-ray ionization and thermal history
• Complex organic molecules in low-mass protostars on solar system scales -- I. Oxygen-bearing species
• Prebiotic precursors of the primordial RNA world in space: Detection of NH${}_2$OH
• The Composition and Chemistry of Titan's Atmosphere
• ALCHEMI: an ALMA Comprehensive High-resolution Extragalactic Molecular Inventory. Survey presentation and first results from the ACA array
• Reactivity of HCO with CH3 and NH2 on Water Ice Surfaces. A Comprehensive Accurate Quantum Chemistry Study
• Aromatics and Cyclic Molecules in Molecular Clouds: A New Dimension of Interstellar Organic Chemistry
• Precision frequency-comb terahertz spectroscopy on pure quantum states of a single molecular ion
• Evolution and Mass Loss of Cool Ageing Stars: a Daedalean Story
• Chemical desorption versus energy dissipation: insights from ab-initio molecular dynamics of HCO formation
• Volatile species in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko -- investigating the link from the ISM to the terrestrial planets
• Gas-phase formation of acetaldehyde: review and new theoretical computations
• An unbiased ALMA spectral survey of the LkCa 15 and MWC 480 protoplanetary disks
• The GUAPOS project II. A comprehensive study of peptide-like bond molecules
• Chemical complexity in high-mass star formation: An observational and modeling case study of the AFGL 2591 VLA 3 hot core
• Detection of Interstellar HC${}_4$NC and an Investigation of Isocyanopolyyne Chemistry under TMC-1 Conditions
• The Case of H${}_2$C${}_3$O Isomers, Revisited: Solving the Mystery of the Missing Propadienone
• Coexistence and Spectrum Sharing Above 100 GHz
• A twist on the reaction of the CN radical with methylamine in the interstellar medium: new hints from a state-of-the-art quantum-chemical study
• Orion Source I's disk is salty
• Reducing the complexity of chemical networks via interpretable autoencoders
• Far-infrared laboratory spectroscopy of aminoacetonitrile and first interstellar detection of its vibrationally excited transitions
• The Role of State-of-the-Art Quantum-Chemical Calculations in Astrochemistry: Formation Route and Spectroscopy of Ethanimine as a Paradigmatic Case
• Methanimine as a key precursor of imines in the interstellar medium: the case of propargylimine
• Machine Learning of Interstellar Chemical Inventories
• Experimental energy levels of 12C14N through MARVEL analysis
• The quest for a plausible formation route of formyl cyanide in the interstellar medium: a state-of-the-art quantum-chemical and kinetic approach
• Cometary glycolaldehyde as a source of pre-RNA molecules
• A Long-lived Sharp Disruption on the Lower Clouds of Venus
• Infrared spectra of complex organic molecules in astronomically relevant ice matrices. III. Methyl formate and its tentative solid-state detection
• Quantifying the chemical desorption of H${}_2$S and PH${}_3$ from amorphous water ice surfaces
• Synthesis of complex organic molecules in soft x-ray irradiated ices
• Study of Fischer-Tropsch Type reactions on chondritic meteorites
• Is there any linkage between interstellar aldehyde and alcohol?
• Complex Organic Molecules in Star-Forming Regions of the Magellanic Clouds
• Isotope-specific reactions of acetonitrile (CH3CN) with trapped, translationally cold CCl+
• Dark Dust and single-cloud sightlines in the ISM
• The Sub-millimeter Rotational Spectrum of Ethylene Glycol up to 890 GHz and Application to ALMA Band 10 Spectral Line Data of NGC 6334I
• The First Mid-Infrared Detection of HNC in the Interstellar Medium: Probing the Extreme Environment Towards the Orion Hot Core
• Searches for Interstellar HCCSH and H${}_2$CCS
• Interstellar glycolamide: A comprehensive rotational study and an astronomical search in Sgr B2(N)
• Clustered star formation at early evolutionary stages. Physical and chemical analysis of the young star-forming regions ISOSS J22478+6357 and ISOSS J23053+5953
• Thermal radiative cooling of carbon cluster cations C${}_N^{+}$, $N=9,11,12,17-27$
• A new multi-beam apparatus for the study of surface chemistry routes to formation of complex organic molecules in space
• Millimeter- and submillimeter-wave spectroscopy of thioformamide and interstellar search toward Sgr B2(N)
• Chemical modeling of the complex organic molecules in the extended region around Sagittarius B2
• Laboratory rotational spectroscopy of acrylamide and search for acrylamide and propionamide toward Sgr B2(N) with ALMA
• Methoxymethanol Formation Starting from CO-Hydrogenation
• Single-atom catalysis in space: Computational exploration of Fischer Tropsch reactions in astrophysical environments
• Sensitivity of gas-grain chemical models to surface reaction barriers: Effect from a key carbon-insertion reaction, C + H${}_2$ $\to$ CH${}_2$
• Classification of X-ray Flare Driven Chemical Variability in Protoplanetary Disks
• Investigating the hot molecular core, G10.47+0.03: A pit of nitrogen-bearing complex organic molecules
• Optical tweezers in a dusty universe
• The emergence of interstellar molecular complexity explained by interacting networks
• Linking ice and gas in the Lambda Orionis Barnard 35A cloud
• Molecules in the carbon-rich protoplanetary nebula CRL 2688
• ALMA Detection of Vibrationally Excited ($v{}_{\mathrm{t}}=1,2$) Acetic Acid toward NGC 6334I
• Diatomic rovibronic transitions as potential probes for proton-to-electron mass ratio across cosmological time
• Carbon Chain Chemistry in Hot-Core Regions around Three Massive Young Stellar Objects Associated with 6.7 GHz Methanol Masers
• The First Detection of CH${}_2$CN in a Protoplanetary Disk
• Cascade infrared thermal photon emission
• Chemistry Along Accretion Streams in a Viscously-Evolving Protoplanetary Disk
• Molecular gas in 21 and 30 micron sources: the 2\,mm and 1.3\,mm spectra of IRAS\,21318+5631 and 22272+5435
• Chempl: a playable package for modeling interstellar chemistry
• Molecules in the peculiar age-defying source IRAS 19312+1950
• A spectral survey of CH3CCH in the Hot Molecular Core G331.512-0.103
• Knowledge Gaps in the Cometary Spectra of Oxygen-Bearing Molecular Cations
• The Fundamental Vibrational Frequencies and Spectroscopic Constants of the Dicyanoamine Anion, NCNCN${}^{-}$ (C${}_2$N${}_3^{-}$): Quantum Chemical Analysis for Astrophysical and Planetary Environments
• Vibrational and Rotational Spectral Data for Possible Interstellar Detection of AlH${}_3$OH${}_2$, SiH${}_3$OH, and SiH${}_3$NH${}_2$
• Rotational spectrum of isotopic methyl mercaptan, (13)CH3SH, in the laboratory and towards Sagittarius B2(N2)
• λ = 2 mm spectroscopy observations toward the circumnuclear disk of NGC 1068
• The physical and chemical structure of high-mass star-forming regions. Unraveling chemical complexity with the NOEMA large program "CORE"
• Rotational spectroscopic study and astronomical search for propiolamide in Sgr B2(N)
• High-resolution millimeter-wave spectroscopy of CH${}_2$DCl: paving the way for future astronomical observations of chloromethane isotopologues
• Mapping the aliphatic hydrocarbon content of interstellar dust in the Galactic plane
• Laboratory observation and astronomical search of 1-cyano propargyl radical, HCCCHCN
• Physicochemical models: source-tailored or generic?
• Extensive ro-vibrational analysis of deuterated-cyanoacetylene (DC${}_3$N) from millimeter-wavelengths to the infrared domain
• A 3 mm Molecular Line Survey toward The C-star Envelope CIT 6
• Submillimetre and far-infrared spectroscopy of monodeuterated amidogen radical (NHD): improved rest-frequencies for astrophysical observations
• Detection of infrared fluorescence of carbon dioxide in R Leonis with SOFIA/EXES
• JWST observations of the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720) -- II. PAH emission
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• Laser Cooling Scheme for the Carbon Dimer (${}^{12}$C${}_2$)
• Long-Range Complex in the HC3N + CN Potential Energy Surface: Ab Initio Calculations and Intermolecular Potential
• Molecular line polarisation from the circumstellar envelopes of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars
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