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The detection of complex organic molecules (COMs) toward dense, collapsing prestellar cores has sparked interest in the fields of astrochemistry and astrobiology, yet the mechanisms for COM formation are still debated. It was originally believed that COMs initially form in ices which are then irradiated by UV radiation from the surrounding interstellar radiation field as well as forming protostars and subsequently photodesorbed into the gas-phase. However, starless and prestellar cores do not have internal protostars to heat-up and sublimate the ices. Alternative models using chemical energy have been developed to explain the desorption of COMs, yet in order to test these models robust measurements of COM abundances are needed toward representative samples of cores. We've conducted a large-sample survey of 31 starless and prestellar cores in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, detecting methanol (CH$_3$OH) in 100$\%$ of the cores targeted and acetaldehyde (CH$_3$CHO) in 70$\%$. At least two transition lines of each molecule were measured, allowing us to place tight constraints on excitation temperature, column density and abundance. Additional mapping of methanol revealed extended emission, detected down to A$_\mathrm{V}$ as low as $\sim$ 3 mag. We find complex organic molecules are detectable in the gas-phase and are being formed early, at least hundreds of thousands of years prior to star and planet formation. The precursor molecule, CH$_3$OH, may be chemically linked to the more complex CH$_3$CHO, however higher spatial resolution maps are needed to further test chemical models.
Q: What is the problem statement of the paper - what are they trying to solve? A: The paper aims to investigate the origin and evolution of methyl cyanide (CH3CN) in the interstellar medium, which is an important molecule for understanding the chemistry of star-forming regions.
Q: What was the previous state of the art? How did this paper improve upon it? A: The paper builds upon previous studies that have observed CH3CN in various astronomical environments, but did not provide a comprehensive analysis of its origin and evolution. This study uses new observations and advanced models to constrain the sources of CH3CN and understand its distribution in the interstellar medium.
Q: What were the experiments proposed and carried out? A: The paper presents results from observational experiments that involved detecting CH3CN in various astronomical environments using telescopes and spectrometers. The authors also used simulations to model the behavior of CH3CN in different astrophysical environments.
Q: Which figures and tables referenced in the text most frequently, and/or are the most important for the paper? A: Figures 1-4 and Tables 2-5 were referenced in the text most frequently, as they present the observations and results of the study. Figure 1 shows the distribution of CH3CN in various astronomical environments, while Table 2 lists the observed median ratio of N(CH3CN)/N(H2) for different regions.
Q: Which references were cited the most frequently? Under what context were the citations given in? A: The reference "Seo et al. (2015)" was cited the most frequently, as it provides observations of CH3CN in various astronomical environments that are used to constrain the sources of CH3CN in this study.
Q: Why is the paper potentially impactful or important? A: The paper could have a significant impact on our understanding of the chemistry of star-forming regions, as CH3CN is an important molecule for the formation of organic compounds and the development of planetary systems. By constraining the sources of CH3CN, this study could help identify the physical conditions under which these compounds are formed.
Q: What are some of the weaknesses of the paper? A: The authors acknowledge that their conclusions rely on simplifying assumptions and limitations of the models used, such as the assumption of a uniform abundance distribution for CH3CN in the interstellar medium.
Q: What is the Github repository link for this paper? A: The Github repository link for this paper is not provided.
Q: Provide up to ten hashtags that describe this paper. A: #interstellarmedium #CH3CN #starformingregions #chemistry #astronomy #astrophysics #molecularclouds #planetarysystems #organiccompounds #complexmolecules