Abstract
Work on the chemical evolution of pre-biotic molecules remains incomplete since the major obstacle is the lack of adequate knowledge of rate coefficients of various reactions which take place in interstellar conditions. In this work, we study the possibility of forming three pyrimidine bases, namely, cytosine, uracil and thymine in interstellar regions. Our study reveals that the synthesis of uracil from cytosine and water is quite impossible under interstellar circumstances. For the synthesis of thymine, reaction between uracil and \(:\mathrm{CH}_{2}\) is investigated. Since no other relevant pathways for the formation of uracil and thymine were available in the literature, we consider a large gas-grain chemical network to study the chemical evolution of cytosine in gas and ice phases. Our modeling result shows that cytosine would be produced in cold, dense interstellar conditions. However, presence of cytosine is yet to be established. We propose that a new molecule, namely, \(\mathrm{C}_{4}\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{OH}_{5}\) could be observable in the interstellar region. \(\mathrm{C}_{4}\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{OH}_{5}\) is a precursor (Z isomer of cytosine) of cytosine and far more abundant than cytosine. We hope that observation of this precursor molecule would enable us to estimate the abundance of cytosine in interstellar regions. We also carry out quantum chemical calculations to find out the vibrational as well as rotational transitions of this precursor molecule along with three pyrimidine bases.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aguńdez, M., Wakelam, V.: Chem. Rev. 113, 8710 (2013)
Alonso, J.L., Vaquero, V., PeÇa, I., Lopez, J.C., Mata, S., Caminati, W.: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 52, 2331 (2013)
Allen, M., Robinson, G.W.: Astrophys. J. 212, 396 (1977)
Bates, D.R.: Astrophys. J. 270, 564 (1983)
Bernstein, M.P., Sandford, S.A., Allamandola, L.J., et al.: Astrophys. J. 454, 327 (1995)
Muñoz Caro, G.M., Schutte, W.A.: Astron. Astrophys. 412, 121 (2003)
Belloche, A., Menten, K.M., Comito, C., Muller, H.S.P., Schilke, P., Ott, J., Thorwirth, S., Hieret, C.: Astron. Astrophys. 482, 179 (2008)
Bockelee-Morvan, D., Lis, C., Wink, J.E., Despois, D., et al.: Astron. Astrophys. 353, 1101 (2000)
van Broekhuizen, F.A., Keane, J.V., Schutte, W.A.: Astron. Astrophys. 415, 425 (2004)
Brunken, S., McCarthy, M.C., Thaddeus, P., Godfrey, P.D., Brown, R.D.: Astron. Astrophys. 459, 317 (2006)
Brown, R.D., Godfrey, P., McNaughton, D., Pierlot, A.P.: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110, 2329 (1988)
Brown, R.D., Godfrey, P., McNaughton, D., Pierlot, A.P.: J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1, 37 (1989)
Buhl, D., Snyder, L.E., Schwartz, P.R., Edrich, J.: Nature 243, 513 (1973)
Carles, S., Møllendal, H., Guillemin, J.-C.: Astron. Astrophys. 558, A6 (2013)
Carles, S., Mollendal, H., Trolez, Y., Guillemin, J.C.: Astron. Astrophys. 564, 82 (2014)
Csaszar, A.G.: Chem. Phys. Lett. 162, 4 (1989)
Cazaux, S., Cobut, V., Marseille, M., Spaans, M., Caselli, P.: Astron. Astrophys. 522, 74 (2010)
Chakrabarti, S.K., Majumdar, L., Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.: Astrophys. Space Sci. 357, 90 (2015)
Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: Astron. Astrophys. 354, L6 (2000a)
Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: Indian J. Phys. 74B, 97 (2000b)
Chakrabarti, S.K., Das, A., Acharyya, K., Chakrabarti, S.: Astron. Astrophys. 457, 167 (2006a)
Chakrabarti, S.K., Das, A., Acharyya, K., Chakrabarti, S.: Bull. Astron. Soc. India 34, 299 (2006b)
Coustenis, A., Schmitt, B., Khanna, R.K., Trotta, F.: Planet. Space Sci. 47, 1305 (1999)
Coutens, A., et al.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 445, 1299 (2014)
Colarusso, P., Zhang, K., Guo, B., Bernath, P.: Chem. Phys. Lett. 269, 39 (1997)
Cuppen, H.M., Van Dishoeck, E.F., Herbst, E., Tielens, A.G.G.M.: Astron. Astrophys. 508, 275 (2009)
Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K., Acharyya, K., Chakrabarti, S.: New Astron. 13, 457 (2008a)
Das, A., Acharyya, K., Chakrabarti, S., Chakrabarti, S.K.: Astron. Astrophys. 486, 209 (2008b)
Das, A., Acharyya, K., Chakrabarti, S.K.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 409, 789 (2010)
Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 418, 545 (2011)
Das, A., Majumdar, L., Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: New Astron. 23, 118 (2013a)
Das, A., Majumdar, L., Chakrabarti, S.K., Saha, R., Chakrabarti, S.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 433, 3152 (2013b)
Das, A., Majumdar, L., Chakrabarti, S.K., Sahu, D.: New Astron. 35, 53 (2015a)
Das, A., Majumdar, L., Sahu, D., Gorai, P., Sivaraman, B., Chakrabarti, S.K.: Astrophys. J. 808, 21 (2015b)
Das, A., Majumdar, L., Sahu, D., Chakrabarti, S.K.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. (2015c). arXiv:1510.00117
Garrod, R.T., Wakelam, V., Herbst, E.: Astron. Astrophys. 467, 1103 (2007)
Garrod, R.T., Wakelam, V., Herbst, E.: Astrophys. J. 682, 283 (2008)
Graindourze, M., Smets, J., Zeegers-Huyskens, T., Maes, G.: J. Mol. Struct., 222, 345 (1990)
Grim, R.J.A., Greenberg, J.M.: Astrophys. J. 321, L91 (1987)
Gupta, V.P., Tandon, P., Mishra, P.: Adv. Space Res. 51, 797 (2013)
Gupta, V.R., Tandon, P., Rawat, P., Singh, R.N., Singh, A.: Astron. Astrophys. 528, A129 (2011)
Hasegawa, T., Herbst, E.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 261, 83 (1993)
Hasegawa, T., Herbst, E., Leung, C.M.: Astrophys. J. 82, 167 (1992)
Hollis, J.M., Lovas, F.J., Jewell, P.R.: Astrophys. J. 540, L107 (2000)
Hudson, R.L., Moore, M.H.: Icarus 172, 466 (2004)
Johansson, L.E.B., Andersson, C., Ellder, J., Friberg, P., Hjalmarson, A., Hoglund, B., Irvine, W.M., Olofsson, H., Rydbeck, G.: Astron. Astrophys. 130, 227 (1984)
Kaiser, R.I., Ochsenfeld, C., Head-Gordon, M., Lee, Y.T.: Astrophys. J. 510, 784 (1999)
Kisiel, Z., Biakowska, J.E., Pszczkowski, L.: J. Chem. Phys. 109, 10263 (1998)
Kisiel, Z., Biakowska, J.E., Pszczkowski, L.: J. Mol. Spectrosc. 199, 5 (2000)
Kwiatkowski, J.S., Leszczynski, J.: J. Phys. Chem. 100, 941 (1996)
Leitch-Devlin, M.A., Williams, D.A.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 213, 295 (1985)
Leung, C.M., Herbst, E., Huebner, W.F.: Astrophys. J. 56, 231 (1984)
Lés, A., Adamowicz, L., Nowak, M.J., Lapinski, L.: Spectrochim. Acta 48, 1385 (1992)
Lucas, R., Guelin, M., Kahane, C., Audinos, P., Cernicharo, J.: Astrophys. Space Sci. 224, 293 (1995)
Majumdar, L., Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: Astron. Astrophys. 562, A56 (2014a)
Majumdar, L., Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: Astrophys. J. 782, 73 (2014b)
Majumdar, L., Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: New Astron. 20, 15 (2013)
Majumdar, L., Das, A., Chakrabarti, S.K., Chakrabarti, S.: Res. Astron. Astrophys. 12, 1613 (2012)
McElroy, D., Walsh, C., Markwick, A.J., Cordiner, M.A., Smith, K., Millar, T.J.: Astron. Astrophys. 550, A36 (2013)
Mispelaer, F., Theule, P., Duvernay, F., Roubin, P., Chiavassa, T.: Astron. Astrophys. 540, A40 (2012)
Merz, K.M., Aguiar, E.C., da Silva, J.B.: J. Phys. Chem. A 118, 3637 (2014)
Muller, H.S.P., Schloder, F., Stutzki, J., Winnewisser, G.: J. Mol. Struct., 742, 215 (2005)
Muller, H.S.P., Thorwirth, S., Roth, D.A., Winnewisser, G.: Astron. Astrophys. 370, L49 (2001)
Materese, C.K., Nuevo, M., Bera, P.P., et al.: Astrobiology 13, 948 (2013)
Nguyen, Q.-R., Henkel, C., Jackson, J.M., Mauersberger, R.: Astron. Astrophys. 241, L33 (1991)
Nuevo, M., Milam, S.N., Sandford, S.A.: Astrobiology 12, 295 (2012)
Nuevo, M., Milam, S.N., Sandford, S.A., et al.: Astrobiology 9, 683 (2009a)
Nuevo, M., Materese, C.K., Sandford, S.A., et al.: Astrobiology 9, 683 (2009b)
Nelson, K.E., Robertson, M.P., Levy, M., Miller, S.L.: Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. 31, 221 (2001)
Pickett, H.M.: J. Mol. Spectrosc. 148, 371 (1991)
Pieve, F. Da, Avendano-Franco, G., Proft, F. De, Geerlings, P.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 440, 494 (2014)
Puletti, F., Malloci, G., Mulas, G., Cecchi-Pestellini, C.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 402, 1667 (2010)
Roberts, H., Millar, T.J.: Astron. Astrophys. 361, 388 (2000)
Rubin, R.H., Swenson, G.W., Bensen, R.C., Tigelaar, H.L., Flygare, W.H.: Astrophys. J. 169, L39 (1971)
Runge, E., Gross, E.K.U.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 52, 997 (1984)
Sahu, D., Das, A., Majumdar, L., Chakrabarti, S.K.: New Astron. 38, 23 (2015)
Soifer, B.T., Puetter, R.C., Russell, R.W., et al.: Astrophys. J. 232, L53 (1979)
Sivaraman, B., Radhika, N., Das, A., et al.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 448, 1372 (2015)
Shapiro, R.: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 96, 4396 (1999)
Snyder, L.E., Buhl, D.: Astrophys. J. 163, L47 (1971)
Sklenak, S., Yao, L., Cukier, R.I., Yan, H.: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 14879 (2004)
Van Dishoeck, E.F., Jansen, D.J.: Astrophys. J. 416, L83 (1993)
Wagenblast, R., Williams, D.A., Millar, T.J., Nejad, L.A.M.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 260(2), 420 (1993)
Woodall, J., Agndez, M., Markwick-Kemper, A.J., Millar, T.J.: Astron. Astrophys. 466, 1197 (2007)
Wang, T., Bowie, J.H.: Org. Biomol. Chem. 10, 652 (2012)
Ivanov, A.Y., Plokhotnichenko, A.M., Radchenko, E.D., Sheina, G.G., Blagoi, Y.P.: J. Mol. Struct. 372, 91 (1995)
Ziurys, L.M.: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103, 12274 (2006)
Acknowledgement
AD, SKC, and PG thank ISRO respond project (Grant No. ISRO/RES/2/372/11-12) and DST project (Grant No. SB/S2/HEP-021/2013) for partial supports. LM thanks MOES and ERC starting grant (3DICE, grant agreement 336474) for funding during this work. We thank Mr. R. Saha for his help in data reduction.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Majumdar, L., Gorai, P., Das, A. et al. Potential formation of three pyrimidine bases in interstellar regions. Astrophys Space Sci 360, 64 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-015-2567-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-015-2567-1