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Cold Starless Cores Carried a Busy Carbon Inventory
A fifteen-core survey found long cyanopolyynes and sulfur-bearing chains before stars or planets had formed.
Summary
A fifteen-core survey found long cyanopolyynes and sulfur-bearing chains before stars or planets had formed.
Using the Yebes 40-meter telescope, astronomers detected several carbon-chain species in at least ten of fifteen starless and prestellar cores in Perseus, including HC7N in four. Isotopic variants and abundance ratios varied with density, temperature and proximity to protostellar activity. The survey maps a potential chemical reservoir for later disks and planets, but does not show that any detected molecule became biological material.
Why it matters
A fifteen-core survey found long cyanopolyynes and sulfur-bearing chains before stars or planets had formed.
Limits and context
- The survey maps a potential chemical reservoir for later disks and planets, but does not show that any detected molecule became biological material.
Key claims
A fifteen-core survey found long cyanopolyynes and sulfur-bearing chains before stars or planets had formed.
Qualification: The survey maps a potential chemical reservoir for later disks and planets, but does not show that any detected molecule became biological material.
Evidence: source-2026-08-09-014
Sources
- arXiv preprint 2608.05264arXiv · primary research
Corrections
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