Astronomers
have discovered a 'hot molecular core', a cocoon of molecules
surrounding a newborn massive star, for the first time outside our
Galaxy. The discovery, which marks the first important step for
observational studies of extragalactic hot molecular cores and
challenges the hidden chemical diversity of our universe.
The scientists from Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, the National Astronomical Observatory of
Japan, and the University of Tsukuba, used the Atacama Large
Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe a newborn star
located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest neighbors of
our Galaxy. As a result, a number of radio emission lines from various
molecular gas are detected, which indicates the presence of a hot
molecular core associated with the observed newborn star.
The observations have revealed that the hot molecular core in the Large
Magellanic Cloud shows significantly different chemical compositions as
compared to similar objects in our Galaxy. In particular, the results
suggest that simple organic molecules such as methanol are deficient in
this galaxy, suggesting a potential difficulty in producing large
organic species indispensable for the birth of life.
The research team suggests that the unique galactic environment of the Large Magellanic Cloud affects the formation processes of molecules around a newborn star, and this results in the observed unique chemical compositions.
"This is the first detection of an extragalactic hot molecular core, and it demonstrates the great capability of new generation telescopes to study astrochemical phenomena beyond our Galaxy," said Dr. Takashi Shimonishi, an astronomer at Tohoku University, Japan, and the paper's lead author. "The observations have suggested that the chemical compositions of materials that form stars and planets are much more diverse than we expected. "
It is known that various complex organic molecules, which have a connection to prebiotic molecules formed in space, are detected from hot molecular cores in our Galaxy. It is, however, not yet clear if such large and complex molecules exist in hot molecular cores in other galaxies. The newly discovered hot molecular core is an excellent target for such a study, and further observations of extragalactic hot molecular cores will shed light on the chemical complexities of our universe.
http://iopscience.iop.org/artic…/10.3847/0004-637X/…/72/meta
The research team suggests that the unique galactic environment of the Large Magellanic Cloud affects the formation processes of molecules around a newborn star, and this results in the observed unique chemical compositions.
"This is the first detection of an extragalactic hot molecular core, and it demonstrates the great capability of new generation telescopes to study astrochemical phenomena beyond our Galaxy," said Dr. Takashi Shimonishi, an astronomer at Tohoku University, Japan, and the paper's lead author. "The observations have suggested that the chemical compositions of materials that form stars and planets are much more diverse than we expected. "
It is known that various complex organic molecules, which have a connection to prebiotic molecules formed in space, are detected from hot molecular cores in our Galaxy. It is, however, not yet clear if such large and complex molecules exist in hot molecular cores in other galaxies. The newly discovered hot molecular core is an excellent target for such a study, and further observations of extragalactic hot molecular cores will shed light on the chemical complexities of our universe.
http://iopscience.iop.org/artic…/10.3847/0004-637X/…/72/meta
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