by Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers identified many of the icy building blocks of life in the gas and dust swirling around two infant stars, or “protostars.” The molecules seen range from relatively simple molecules such as methane to complex compounds such as acetic acid and ethanol.
It was previously predicted that complex organic molecules (COMs) were in icy solid form around protostars that had not yet begun to form planets around them. This prediction, however, arose from Earth-based laboratory experiments. The theory has been tentatively confirmed in the past using space telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope itself. The JWST found various ices in the darkest and coldest regions of a molecular cloud as part of the JWST Early Release Science Ice Age program.
But thanks to observations of the clouds around the protostars IRAS23385 and IRAS 2A, taken with JWST’s highly sensitive Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) as part of the James Webb Observations of Young ProtoStars (JOYS+) program, the presence of the this legacy exists now. confirmed.
Of particular interest for future studies will be the matter around the low-mass protostar IRAS 2A, which may have been similar to our sun – when the sun was in its early stages over 4.6 billion years ago , that is This means that the same chemical ices identified around IRAS 2A were probably present in the early stages of the development of our own solar system, and eventually found their way to the primitive Earth.
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“This result contributes to one of the long-standing questions in astrochemistry,” team leader and Leiden University researcher Will Rocha said in a statement. “What is the origin of COMs in space? Are they formed in the gas phase or in ice? The detection of COMs in ice suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on cold dust grain surfaces can build complex types of molecules.”
Familiar molecules around distant stars
It is worth noting that COMs have technically been detected around protostars before, but in the form of hot gas. Research has suggested that these gases are formed when the solid ice is directly transformed into such a gas, leaving the liquid phase behind. This is a process called “sublimation.”
Depending on these icy COMs, however, could help to better understand the origin of even larger molecules in space.
In addition, scientists are keen to better understand how molecules like COM are delivered to planets in the late evolutionary stages of protons, when these giant babies have gathered enough mass from their environment to fuse hydrogen into helium. to encourage in their hearts.
One suggestion is that because icy materials are more easily transported through planetary disks than gases, COMs could be incorporated into comet formation as solid material. Those comets could then collide with forming planets to deliver these COMs, potentially allowing life as we know it to flourish.
“All these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually new planetary systems when the icy material is transported into the planet-forming disks as the protostellar system evolves,” said JOYS+ program coordinator and Leiden University researcher Ewine Dishoeck.
The ice team identified acetaldehyde, ethanol (what we call alcohol), methyl formate and acetic acid, which is the acid found in vinegar. The team also saw less complex molecules in the form of ice including methane, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde and formic acid, which is the molecule that makes bee stings painful.
The detection of sulfur dioxide could be very useful in understanding the formation of habitable planets around stars. This is due to research that suggested that this compound, composed of sulfur and oxygen, as well as other sulfur-containing compounds, played an important role in driving metabolic reactions on primitive Earth.
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The team also detected negative ions, which are atoms with an excess of electrons, in the clouds of gas and dust surrounding these protons, which may be important in the formation of salts that help develop chemical complexity at high temperatures. The discovery of these ions suggests that ices around these protons may be more complex in composition than previously thought, making them important targets for future research.
“We look forward to following this astrochemical trail step by step with more JWST data in the coming years,” concluded Dishoeck.
The team’s research has been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
