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Complex Organic Molecules in Star-Forming Regions of the Magellanic CloudsThe Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC), gas-rich dwarf companions of the Milky Way, are the nearest laboratories for detailed studies on the formation and survival of complex organic molecules (COMs) under metal poor conditions. To date, only methanol, methyl formate, and dimethyl ether have been detected in these galaxies – all three toward two hot cores in the N113 star-forming region in the LMC, the only extragalactic sources exhibiting complex hot core chemistry. We describe a small and diverse sample of the LMC and SMC sources associated with COMs or hot core chemistry, and compare the observations to theoretical model predictions. Theoretical models accounting for the physical conditions and metallicity of hot molecular cores in the Magellanic Clouds have been able to broadly account for the existing observations, but fail to reproduce the dimethyl ether abundance by more than an order of magnitude. We discuss future prospects for research in the field of complex chemistry in the low-metallicity environment. The detection of COMs in the Magellanic Clouds has important implications for astrobiology. The metallicity of the Magellanic
Clouds is similar to galaxies in the earlier epochs of the Universe, thus the presence of COMs in the LMC and SMC indicates that a similar prebiotic chemistry leading to the emergence of life, as it happened on Earth, is possible in low-metallicity systems in the earlier Universe.
Document ID
20205000501
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
Authors
Marta Sewiło ORCID
(Goddard Space Flight Center)
Steven B. Charnley
(Goddard Space Flight Center)
Peter Schilke
(University of Cologne Cologne, Germany)
Vianney Taquet
(Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory Florence, Italy)
Joana M. Oliveira
(Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom)
Takashi Shimonishi
(Tohoku University Sendai, Japan)
Eva Wirstrom
(Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden)
Remy Indebetouw
(University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia, United States)
Jacob L. Ward
(Heidelberg University Heidelberg, Germany)
Jacco Th. van Loon
(Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom)
Jennifer Wiseman
(Goddard Space Flight Center)
Sarolta Zahorecz
(Osaka Prefecture University Sakai, Japan)
Toshikazu Onishi
(Osaka Prefecture University Sakai, Japan)
Akiko Kawamura
(National Astronomical Observatory of Japan)
C.-H. Rosie Chen
(Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy Bonn, Germany)
Yasuo Fukui
(Nagoya City University Nagoya, Japan)
Roya Hamedani Golshan
(University of Cologne Cologne, Germany)
Date Acquired
April 6, 2020
Publication Date
August 27, 2019
Publication Information
Publication: ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
Publisher: American Chemical Society
Volume: 3
Issue: 10
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2019
e-ISSN: 2472-3452
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 811073
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80GSFC17M0002
PROJECT: 18401886
PROJECT: 05A17PK1
CONTRACT_GRANT: M S-C 664931
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAOJ ALMA 2016-03B
CONTRACT_GRANT: JSPS KAKENHI 22244014
CONTRACT_GRANT: JSPS KAKENHI 26247026
CONTRACT_GRANT: JSPS KAKENHI 18H05440
CONTRACT_GRANT: JSPS KAKENHI 23403001
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
Technical Review
External Peer Committee
Keywords
Magellanic Clouds, star formation, astrochemistry, complex organic molecules, molecular abundances
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