2018 Census of Interstellar, Circumstellar, Extragalactic, Protoplanetary Disk, and Exoplanetary Molecules

2018/09/24 by Brett A. McGuire · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.GA

paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aae5d2

Accepted in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements

arxiv created 2018/09/24 · arxiv updated 2018/12/05

Abstract

To date, 204 individual molecular species, comprised of 16 different elements, have been detected in the interstellar and circumstellar medium by astronomical observations. These molecules range in size from two atoms to seventy, and have been detected across the electromagnetic spectrum from cm-wavelengths to the ultraviolet. This census presents a summary of the first detection of each molecular species, including the observational facility, wavelength range, transitions, and enabling laboratory spectroscopic work, as well as listing tentative and disputed detections. Tables of molecules detected in interstellar ices, external galaxies, protoplanetary disks, and exoplanetary atmospheres are provided. A number of visual representations of this aggregate data are presented and briefly discussed in context.

Cited by

• A gas-phase "top-down" chemical link between aldehydes and alcohols
• Detecting nitrogen-carriers in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks
• Methanol Formation via the Radical-radical Reaction of OH and CH3 Radicals Undergoing Transient Diffusion on Ice at 10 to 60 K