A compact cloud of warm gas, called hot core Sgr B2 (N1), is situated At the center of the observing region.Credit: Li et al. “Propionamide (C2H5CONH2): The Largest Peptide-like Molecule in Space,” The Astrophysical Journal, 919, 4. Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2), the huge star-forming area located close to the Galactic Center, is known as one of the best hunting grounds for complicated natural molecules in the interstellar medium. Observations utilizing the Shanghai Tianma 65m telescope have actually revealed extensive complex natural molecules around Sgr B2. The abundant emissions triggered serious line-blending in Sgr B2 and made determining new molecules in Sgr B2 particularly challenging.
Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) is one of the largest clouds of molecular gas in the Milky Way.
Based upon the high resolution and high sensitivity ALMA information, they find a possible propionamide shift whose intensity and speed are consistent with simulations. The detection of propionamide in Sgr B2 demonstrates that interstellar chemistry can reach enough levels of complexity to form fairly big peptide molecules and shows the possible growth of bigger amide molecules from smaller ones in a massive star-forming process.
Propionamide may also exist in massive star-forming areas in the Galactic disk, such as Orion KL. Future ALMA observations can expose its presence.
Referral: “Propionamide (C2H5CONH2): The Largest Peptide-like Molecule in Space” by Juan Li, Junzhi Wang, Xing Lu (吕行) 3, Vadim Ilyushin4,5, Roman A. Motiyenko6, Qian Gou (勾茜) 7, Eugene A. Alekseev4,5, Donghui Quan (全冬晖) 8,9, Laurent Margulès6, Feng Gao (高峰) 10,11, Frank J. Lovas12,13, Yajun Wu (吴亚军) 1,2, Edwin Bergin14, Shanghuo Li (李尚活) 15, Zhiqiang Shen (沈志强) 1,2, Fujun Du (杜福君) 16,17, Meng Li (李梦) 7, Siqi Zheng (郑思琪) 1,2,18, and Xingwu Zheng, 16 September 2021, The Astrophysical Journal.DOI: 10.3847/ 1538-4357/ ac091c.
ALMA picture of a part of Sgr B2. Distributions of 13CH3CN and propionamide are displayed in shapes and color scale, respectively. A compact cloud of warm gas, called hot core Sgr B2 (N1), is located At the center of the observing region.Credit: Li et al. “Propionamide (C2H5CONH2): The Largest Peptide-like Molecule in Space,” The Astrophysical Journal, 919, 4. September 16, 2021. Copyright: AAS.
Molecules with peptide-like bonds are of specific interest to understand possible routes of protein formation in space. Among 240 particles discovered in space, just 4 molecules belong to peptide-like molecules.
Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2), the massive star-forming region situated close to the Galactic Center, is known as one of the best hunting grounds for complicated organic particles in the interstellar medium. The plentiful emissions caused serious line-blending in Sgr B2 and made recognizing new molecules in Sgr B2 particularly hard.
Color-composite image of the Galactic Center and Sagittarius B2 as seen by the ATLASGAL survey. Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2) is one of the biggest clouds of molecular gas in the Milky Way. Sagittarius B2 is the bright orange-red area to the middle left of the image, which is centered on the Galactic.
Recently, a global group led by Juan Li from Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and Xing Lu from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, reported the detection of propionamide (C2H5CONH2) toward Sgr B2 for the very first time with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This is the largest peptide-like particle spotted in space.