Detection of a branched alkyl molecule in the interstellar medium: iso -propyl cyanide

Abstract

Carbon chains branch out on space dust Meteorites found on Earth contain a wide range of complex constituent molecules, including amino acids. Astrochemists proposed the existence of these molecules in interstellar space in the 1980s, but detections have been elusive. Belloche et al. used the ALMA telescope array in Chile to observe the massive star-forming region Sgr B2. There, the vast quantities of gas enabled detection of even sparsely distributed species such as iso -propyl cyanide. Despite being difficult to detect, such nonlinear organic molecules may be common. The formation of branched molecules is important, given the analogous structure of familiar amino acids — some of the building blocks for life. Science , this issue p. 1584