2026A&A...706L..10F -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 706L10 (2026/2-1)
Discovery of 1H-cyclopent[cd]indene (c-C11H8) in TMC-1 with the QUIJOTE line survey: A new three-ringed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.
FUENTETAJA R., CABEZAS C., AGUNDEZ M., TERCERO B., MARCELINO N., DE VICENTE P. and CERNICHARO J.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report the detection of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) 1H-cyclopent[cd]indene (c-C11H8) in TMC-1 with the QUIJOTE line survey. We detected 22 independent lines corresponding to 88 rotational transitions with quantum numbers ranging from J = 19 up to J = 24 and Ka ≤ 5 in the Q-band range. The identification of this new PAH was based on the agreement between the rotational parameters derived from the analysis of the lines and those obtained by quantum chemical calculations. The column density derived for 1H-cyclopent[cd]indene is (6.0 ± 0.5) × 1012 cm–2, with a rotational temperature of 9 K. Its abundance is high, as is that of the rest of the PAHs, but it is the lowest of all those detected to date in TMC-1, being 2.66 times less abundant than indene and 4.66 times less than phenalene. This result will help us to better understand the growth of five- and six-membered rings in dark clouds. Chemical models explaining their formation through the bottom-up model are still very incomplete and require further experimental and theoretical effort. Even so, the most likely formation reactions would occur between the smallest rings with small hydrocarbons; the most probable reaction for the formation of cyclopentindene is that between indene and C2H, C2H3, and/or their cation.
Abstract Copyright:
© The Authors 2026
Journal keyword(s):
astrochemistry - line: identification - molecular data - ISM: molecules - ISM: individual objects: TMC-1
Simbad objects:
1
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