Exploring chemical complexity in the birthplaces of stars: the G+0.693 and G+0.633 molecular clouds
Abstract
Astrochemistry is now living its golden age, with nearly one quarter of the ~320 molecules that constitute the current total interstellar census having been detected just in the last three years. In this scenario, one of the sources that has demonstrated a leading role is the Galactic Center G+0.693-0.027 molecular cloud, which has already been consolidated as one of the richest chemical reservoirs in our galaxy. Among the 135 species that have been identified towards it, this cloud hosts to date the unique reports of key prebiotic species, such as ethanolamine, glycolamide, cyanomethanimines or carbonic acid. These detections not only give support to the plausible exogenous-delivery scenario for the origin of life on Earth, but also contribute to unveiling the true chemical complexity of the interstellar medium, which provides the key ingredients later to be inherited by the next generations of stars and planetary bodies. However, the current shortage in the number of detections of such species imposes severe limitations into the understanding of the chemistry linked to these species under interstellar conditions, driving the search for new chemically-rich sources a prime necessity. In this talk, I will present the discovery of a new promising interstellar laboratory, the Galactic Center G+0.633-0.0604 molecular cloud. This cloud exhibits a similarly rich chemistry as G+0.693, offering valuable insights into the astrochemical input for star formation at its earliest stages.