Scientists Detect Rare Type of Wood Alcohol in Space
As part of the ALMA COMPASS Large program, an international research team has detected a rare form of methanol in space for the first time.
Scientists have recently detected a rare form of wood alcohol, called fully deuterated methanol, in space for the first time. This molecule, known as CD3OD, was discovered around the protostar IRAS4A2, a young star located 1,000 light-years away in the Perseus molecular cloud. The discovery of CD3OD challenges current chemical models, which cannot account for the high abundance of this molecule around the protostar.
The research was led by Arnaud Belloche and his team from various institutes, including the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The detection of CD3OD, a form of methanol with hydrogen atoms replaced by deuterium (heavy hydrogen), could provide insights into the chemical evolution of molecules during star and planet formation.
The study, published in the current issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics, also detected several other spectral lines that are yet to be identified. The team is currently working on laboratory data to confirm their findings and understand the unknown process driving the formation of fully deuterated methanol.
Written by urgent.news from Universe Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
