The Detection of a Hot Molecular Core in the Extreme Outer Galaxy

Abstract

Abstract Interstellar chemistry in low-metallicity environments is crucial to understand chemical processes in the past metal-poor universe. Recent studies of interstellar molecules in nearby low-metallicity galaxies have suggested that metallicity has a significant effect on the chemistry of star-forming cores. Here we report the first detection of a hot molecular core in the extreme outer Galaxy, which is an excellent laboratory to study star formation and the interstellar medium in a Galactic low-metallicity environment. The target star-forming region, WB 89–789, is located at a galactocentric distance of 19 kpc. Our Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations in 241–246, 256–261, 337–341, and 349–353 GHz have detected a variety of carbon-, oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-, and silicon-bearing species, including complex organic molecules (COMs) containing up to nine atoms, toward a warm (>100 K) and compact (<0.03 pc) region associated with a protostar (∼8 × 103 L ☉). Deuterated species such as HDO, HDCO, D2CO, and CH2DOH are also detected. A comparison of fractional abundances of COMs relative to CH3OH between the outer Galactic hot core and an inner Galactic counterpart shows a remarkable similarity. On the other hand, the molecular abundances in the present source do not resemble those of low-metallicity hot cores in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The results suggest that great molecular complexity exists even in the primordial environment of the extreme outer Galaxy. The detection of another embedded protostar associated with high-velocity SiO outflows is also reported.