A friendly molecule called ortho-benzene is a key player.
Currently, there are two leading theories about how abundant hydrocarbons and other ringed compounds materialized in gas clouds. One posits that carbon-bearing molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — which are thought to be important precursors to more complex molecules — were inherited and broken down from earlier stages of cloud evolution. The second theory suggests that large molecules built up in-situ from smaller, simpler elements.
Bouwman's team used an astrochemical model to see how ortho-benzene reactions form bigger molecules in deep space. They simulated reactions happening in TMC-1 by plugging in the amounts of different elements gathered from recent observations targeting the gas cloud. According to the study, these simulations with ortho-benzene as the prime candidate were an"excellent reproduction" of complex compounds like 1-ethynyl cyclopentadiene, and in similar concentrations spotted by astronomers in TMC-1 using telescopes.
"Our findings may just change the view on what ingredients we have in the first place to form new stars and new planets," Bouwman said.
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