Rotational Spectrum and First Interstellar Detection of 2-methoxyethanol Using ALMA Observations of NGC 6334I

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  • Zachary T. P. Fried
  • Samer J. El-Abd
  • Brian M. Hays
  • Gabi Wenzel
  • Alex N. Byrne
  • Laurent Margulès
  • Roman A. Motiyenko
  • Steven T. Shipman
  • Maria P. Horne
  • Jørgensen, Jes Kristian
  • Crystal L. Brogan
  • Todd R. Hunter
  • Anthony J. Remijan
  • Andrew Lipnicky
  • Ryan A. Loomis
  • Brett A. McGuire
We use both chirped-pulse Fourier transform and frequency-modulated absorption spectroscopy to study the rotational spectrum of 2-methoxyethanol (CH3OCH2CH2OH) in several frequency regions ranging from 8.7 to 500 GHz. The resulting rotational parameters permitted a search for this molecule in Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations toward the massive protocluster NGC 6334I, as well as source B of the low-mass protostellar system IRAS 16293−2422. A total of 25 rotational transitions are observed in the ALMA Band 4 data toward NGC 6334I, resulting in the first interstellar detection of 2-methoxyethanol. A column density of
cm−2 is derived at an excitation temperature of
K. However, molecular signal is not observed in the Band 7 data toward IRAS 16293−2422B, and an upper-limit column density of 2.5 × 1015 cm−2 is determined. Various possible formation pathways—including radical recombination and insertion reactions—are discussed. We also investigate physical differences between the two interstellar sources that could result in the observed abundance variations.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberL23
JournalAstrophysics Journal Letters
Volume965
Issue number2
Number of pages11
ISSN2041-8205
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

ID: 389661813