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Formation of complex molecules in TMC-1

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Abstract

The Taurus molecular cloud 1 (TMC-1) is an interstellar gas cloud which contains a remarkable variety of complex molecules, including members of the cyanopolyyne group [HCzn, n=3,5,7,9] and other, possibly related, species, including C4H, C3H4 and C3N. The cyanopolyynes, which are found in several, different interstellar environments, have a notably high abundance in TMC-1 for such a small cloud and their method of formation has been a considerable problem in gas-phase chemistry. Several authors1–3 have presented schemes for the production of the cyanopolyynes but all these schemes break down under the weight of observational and experimental evidence4. We have reinvestigated the mode of cyanopolyyne formation hi TMC-1 and find that their absolute abundance may be reproduced to within a factor of 3 by a model which uses gas-phase reactions of atomic nitrogen with hydrocarbons to produce them. The observed, spatial displacement of the cyanopolyyne and ammonia peaks5 is readily understood in this model and the abundances of many other molecules are found to be in excellent agreement with observations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mathematics Department, UMIST, Sackville Street, PO Box 88, Manchester, M60 1QD, UK

    A. Freeman & T. J. Millar

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  1. A. Freeman
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  2. T. J. Millar
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Freeman, A., Millar, T. Formation of complex molecules in TMC-1. Nature 301, 402–404 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/301402a0

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