The spatial distribution of an aromatic molecule, C6H5CN, in the cold dark cloud TMC-1

Abstract

We present a highly sensitive 2D line survey of TMC-1 obtained with the Yebes 40m radio telescope in the Q-band (31.13-49.53 GHz). These maps cover a region of 320 arcsec x 320 arcsec centred on the position of the QUIJOTE line survey with a spatial sampling of 20 arcsec. The region covering 240 arcsec x 240 arcsec, where a longer integration time was used, shows a homogenous sensitivity of 2-4 mK across the band. We present in this work the first determination of the spatial extent of benzonitrile (C6H5CN), which follows that of cyanopolyynes rather well, but differs significantly from that of the radicals CnH and CnN. We definitively conclude that aromatic species in TMC-1 are formed from chemical reactions involving smaller species in the densest zones of the cloud.

Accepted for publication in A&A Letters

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• Doubly substituted isotopologues of HCCCN in TMC-1: Detection of D13CCCN, DC13CCN, DCC13CN, DCCC15N, H13C13CCN, H13CC13CN, HC13C13CN, HCC13C15N, and HC13CC15N
• Rotational excitation of interstellar benzonitrile by helium atoms
• A search for the three isomers of cyano-1,3-butadiene in TMC-1: Implications for bottom-up routes involving 1,3-butadiene
• CN and CCH derivatives of ethylene and ethane: Confirmation of the detection of CH${}_3$CH${}_2$CCH in TMC-1
• First detection of HS2 in a cold dark cloud
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