Cold interstellar clouds contain large amounts of organic substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Scientists have determined that they can exist in such an environment thanks to light radiation.
Chemistry of cold interstellar clouds
Stars and planets are born from cold interstellar clouds. However, complex and interesting processes begin there long before thermonuclear reactions start in newborn stars. There are already organic molecules that react with each other, meaning that the first stages of biological evolution are already underway in a certain way.
In a recently published study, scientists described how the JWST helped to shed light on the existence of interesting compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in interstellar clouds. Their molecules consist of several rings of carbon atoms connected by strong chemical bonds.
These are quite complex molecules, and their discovery suggests that life in star systems begins even before it reaches planets. But this is a challenge for scientists, because they need to explain why these complex structures do not disintegrate under the influence of external forces.
Indenyl cation
The scientists focused their research on a single molecule— an individual cation (C₉H₇⁺). They discovered that there is much more of it in interstellar clouds than expected. They suggested that JWST observes it so frequently because it emits its own light.
They suggested that it glows as a result of a process called recurrent fluorescence. They tested their hypothesis using the DESIREE facility, which is an electrostatic ion beam storage device that can simulate the conditions inside a cold interstellar cloud for several hours.
Scientists have been able to study the behavior of individual cation molecules and have discovered that they actually get rid of excess energy by re-emitting it in the form of pulses in the visible or infrared spectrum. And this mechanism proved to be truly effective, as it allows molecules to exist even at levels of radiation at which they should have disintegrated.
According to phys.org
