Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS) III. Formamide in protostellar shocks: evidence for gas-phase formation

C. Codella; C. Ceccarelli; P. Caselli; N. Balucani; V. Baroneınst; F. Fontani; B. Lefloch; L. Podio; S. Viti; S. Feng; R. Bachiller; E. Bianchi; F. Dulieu; I. Jiménez-Serra; J. Holdship; R. Neri; J. Pineda; A. Pon; I. Sims; S. Spezzano; A. I. Vasyunin; F. Alves; L. Bizzocchi; S. Bottinelli; E. Caux; A. Chacón-Tanarro; R. Choudhury; A. Coutens; C. Favre; P. Hily-Blant; C. Kahane; A. Jaber Al-Edhari; J. Laas; A. López-Sepulcre; J. Ospina; Y. Oya; A. Punanova; C. Puzzarini; D. Quenard; A. Rimola; N. Sakai; D. Skouteris; V. Taquet; L. Testi; P. Theulé; P. Ugliengo; C. Vastel; F. Vazart; L. Wiesenfeld; S. Yamamoto

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201731249

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arXiv · 1708.04663

Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS) III. Formamide in protostellar shocks: evidence for gas-phase formation

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Abstract

Context: Modern versions of the Miller-Urey experiment claim that formamide (NH$_2$CHO) could be the starting point for the formation of metabolic and genetic macromolecules. Intriguingly, formamide is indeed observed in regions forming Solar-type stars as well as in external galaxies. Aims: How NH$_2$CHO is formed has been a puzzle for decades: our goal is to contribute to the hotly debated question of whether formamide is mostly formed via gas-phase or grain surface chemistry. Methods: We used the NOEMA interferometer to image NH$_2$CHO towards the L1157-B1 blue-shifted shock, a well known interstellar laboratory, to study how the components of dust mantles and cores released into the gas phase triggers the formation of formamide. Results: We report the first spatially resolved image (size $\sim$ 9", $\sim$ 2300 AU) of formamide emission in a shocked region around a Sun-like protostar: the line profiles are blueshifted and have a FWHM $\simeq$ 5 km s$^{-1}$. A column density of $N_{\rm NH_2CHO}$ = 8 $\times$ 10$^{12}$ cm$^{-1}$, and an abundance (with respect to H-nuclei) of 4 $\times$ 10$^{-9}$ are derived. We show a spatial segregation of formamide with respect to other organic species. Our observations, coupled with a chemical modelling analysis, indicate that the formamide observed in L1157-B1 is formed by gas-phase chemical process, and not on grain surfaces as previously suggested. Conclusions: The SOLIS interferometric observations of formamide provide direct evidence that this potentially crucial brick of life is efficiently formed in the gas-phase around Sun-like protostars.

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C. Codella, C. Ceccarelli, P. Caselli, N. Balucani, V. Baroneınst, F. Fontani, B. Lefloch, L. Podio, S. Viti, S. Feng, R. Bachiller, E. Bianchi, F. Dulieu, I. Jiménez-Serra, J. Holdship, R. Neri, J. Pineda, A. Pon, I. Sims, S. Spezzano, A. I. Vasyunin, F. Alves, L. Bizzocchi, S. Bottinelli, E. Caux, A. Chacón-Tanarro, R. Choudhury, A. Coutens, C. Favre, P. Hily-Blant, C. Kahane, A. Jaber Al-Edhari, J. Laas, A. López-Sepulcre, J. Ospina, Y. Oya, A. Punanova, C. Puzzarini, D. Quenard, A. Rimola, N. Sakai, D. Skouteris, V. Taquet, L. Testi, P. Theulé, P. Ugliengo, C. Vastel, F. Vazart, L. Wiesenfeld, S. Yamamoto. 2017-08-15. Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS) III. Formamide in protostellar shocks: evidence for gas-phase formation. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361%2F201731249

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