GBT19A-463
Confirming selective collisional-pumped excitation of ethanimine in G+0.693
Abstract
Ethanimine (CH3CHNH) is a prebiotic molecule that has been proposed as a key species for the formation of amino acids like alanine. We have confirmed the presence of this molecule in the quiescent molecular cloud G+0.693 in the Galactic Center using data from our GBT/IRAM 30m survey. The analysis of the data suggests very peculiar excitation conditions of this molecule, out of LTE. The quiescent (non star-forming) nature of G+0.693 is an important advantage to discern between different possible excitation mechanisms. We propose a selective collisional-pumping excitation, triggered by the presence of widespread shocks in the cloud. This DDT proposal has the goal of robustly confirming this proposed excitation model. We stress that the selective collisional pumping would have critical implications for the future detections of new prebiotic complex molecules in the ISM and in the determination of their molecular abundances.
Investigators
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Miguel Angel Requena-Torres | Maryland, University of; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas |
| Shaoshan Zeng | Riken's institute & centers |
| Luca Bizzocchi | Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik; Bologna, Universita degli Studi di; Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa |
| Sergio Martin | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian; Institut de Radio Astronomique Millimétrique; Instituto de RadioAstronomia Milimetrica ; European Southern Observatory |
| Izaskun Jimenez-Serra | Centro de Astrobiología |
| Victor M. Rivilla * | Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica; Centro de Astrobiología |
| Mattia Melosso | Bologna, Universita degli Studi di |
| Jesus Martin-Pintado | Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial |
* indicates the PI