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Scientists electrocuted the "stinking water" to find the lost link of evolution.
In the cold, dusty regions between the stars, where there are no planets or light, and matter remains in the dark for years, astronomers have discovered a molecule that had not been found there before. The largest sulfur-containing compound known to science today has been recorded in the interstellar medium.
We are talking about a ring molecule of 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thion with the formula C₆H₆S. It was found in a large molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way, in the region G+0.693–0.027, located about 27 thousand light-years from Earth. This cloud is particularly interesting because star formation has not yet begun in it. There are no stars, no planets, no protoplanetary disks, just cold gas and dust. This means that complex chemistry occurs even before the appearance of star systems.
This is an important point for astrochemistry. Complex organic molecules based on carbon have long been found in space, but sulfur compounds have remained unexpectedly simple for a long time. These were usually structures of several atoms, with a maximum of 6. At the same time, sulfur chemistry in meteorites and comets in the Solar System is much richer and more complex. A logical question arose: where does it disappear between the stage of interstellar clouds and the formation of planetary bodies?
To figure this out, the researchers started not with telescopes, but with a laboratory. Instead of trying to guess which sulfur molecules might exist in space, they decided to first create such a molecule artificially, and only then look for traces of it in astronomical data. Thiophenol, a pungent liquid containing sulfur, was used as the starting material. An electric discharge of about 1000 volts was passed through it. Under the influence of energy, the molecules were destroyed and reconnected, forming new structures similar to those that can occur in the interstellar medium. A stable C₆H₆S molecule with a six-membered carbon ring and a total structure of 13 atoms appeared among the reaction products.
Next, it was necessary to understand exactly how this molecule can be seen in space. In astronomy, molecules are found not by image, but by radio spectrum. When rotating, each molecule emits radio waves of strictly defined frequencies. Using a specially assembled spectrometer, the scientists measured these frequencies for C₆H₆S with very high accuracy, up to 7 significant digits. The result is a unique radio spectral fingerprint of the compound.
With this set of frequencies, the researchers turned to data from 2 Spanish radio telescopes, IRAM 30 m and Yebes 40 m. In archival observations, the signal was detected in the spectra of the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027. It had been there before, but it simply could not be recognized because there was no laboratory standard for comparison.
The key point is that this cloud has not yet formed a single star. That is, complex sulfur-containing molecules appear already at the earliest stages of the evolution of matter, long before the birth of stars, planets, and, moreover, the Earth. In fact, the chemical "billet" for future planetary systems is formed in interstellar clouds.
This finding is important not only in itself. It creates a direct chemical bond between the interstellar medium and matter, which then ends up in comets, asteroids, and meteorites. This suggests that complex sulfur compounds are able to survive all the way from molecular clouds through the stages of star formation and the formation of planetary systems.
However, the detection of a single molecule does not solve all the issues. It is not yet known how widespread such compounds are in other regions of the galaxy and exactly how they change with the evolution of star systems. The chemistry of sulfur remains one of the most difficult topics for astrochemistry. Many molecules may simply not be detected by devices.
Further research will focus on finding even more complex sulfur-containing molecules. This work is planned to be carried out simultaneously in laboratories and in observational astronomy, gradually expanding the spectral data base and verifying which forms of sulfur chemistry actually exist in interstellar space.
Learn more: https://www.securitylab.ru/news/568558.php
In the cold, dusty regions between the stars, where there are no planets or light, and matter remains in the dark for years, astronomers have discovered a molecule that had not been found there before. The largest sulfur-containing compound known to science today has been recorded in the interstellar medium.
We are talking about a ring molecule of 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thion with the formula C₆H₆S. It was found in a large molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way, in the region G+0.693–0.027, located about 27 thousand light-years from Earth. This cloud is particularly interesting because star formation has not yet begun in it. There are no stars, no planets, no protoplanetary disks, just cold gas and dust. This means that complex chemistry occurs even before the appearance of star systems.
This is an important point for astrochemistry. Complex organic molecules based on carbon have long been found in space, but sulfur compounds have remained unexpectedly simple for a long time. These were usually structures of several atoms, with a maximum of 6. At the same time, sulfur chemistry in meteorites and comets in the Solar System is much richer and more complex. A logical question arose: where does it disappear between the stage of interstellar clouds and the formation of planetary bodies?
To figure this out, the researchers started not with telescopes, but with a laboratory. Instead of trying to guess which sulfur molecules might exist in space, they decided to first create such a molecule artificially, and only then look for traces of it in astronomical data. Thiophenol, a pungent liquid containing sulfur, was used as the starting material. An electric discharge of about 1000 volts was passed through it. Under the influence of energy, the molecules were destroyed and reconnected, forming new structures similar to those that can occur in the interstellar medium. A stable C₆H₆S molecule with a six-membered carbon ring and a total structure of 13 atoms appeared among the reaction products.
Next, it was necessary to understand exactly how this molecule can be seen in space. In astronomy, molecules are found not by image, but by radio spectrum. When rotating, each molecule emits radio waves of strictly defined frequencies. Using a specially assembled spectrometer, the scientists measured these frequencies for C₆H₆S with very high accuracy, up to 7 significant digits. The result is a unique radio spectral fingerprint of the compound.
With this set of frequencies, the researchers turned to data from 2 Spanish radio telescopes, IRAM 30 m and Yebes 40 m. In archival observations, the signal was detected in the spectra of the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027. It had been there before, but it simply could not be recognized because there was no laboratory standard for comparison.
The key point is that this cloud has not yet formed a single star. That is, complex sulfur-containing molecules appear already at the earliest stages of the evolution of matter, long before the birth of stars, planets, and, moreover, the Earth. In fact, the chemical "billet" for future planetary systems is formed in interstellar clouds.
This finding is important not only in itself. It creates a direct chemical bond between the interstellar medium and matter, which then ends up in comets, asteroids, and meteorites. This suggests that complex sulfur compounds are able to survive all the way from molecular clouds through the stages of star formation and the formation of planetary systems.
However, the detection of a single molecule does not solve all the issues. It is not yet known how widespread such compounds are in other regions of the galaxy and exactly how they change with the evolution of star systems. The chemistry of sulfur remains one of the most difficult topics for astrochemistry. Many molecules may simply not be detected by devices.
Further research will focus on finding even more complex sulfur-containing molecules. This work is planned to be carried out simultaneously in laboratories and in observational astronomy, gradually expanding the spectral data base and verifying which forms of sulfur chemistry actually exist in interstellar space.
Learn more: https://www.securitylab.ru/news/568558.php
