2018 Census of Interstellar, Circumstellar, Extragalactic, Protoplanetary Disk, and Exoplanetary Molecules
Brett A. McGuire 1,2,3
Published 2018 November 26 • © 2018. The American Astronomical Society.
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 239, Number 2
Author affiliations
1 National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
2 Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
3 B.A.M. is a Hubble Fellow of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
ORCID iDs
Brett A. McGuire https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1254-4817
Dates
Received 2018 May 27 Accepted 2018 September 20
Published 2018 November 26
Citation
Brett A. McGuire 2018 ApJS 239 17
Keywords astrochemistry; ISM; molecules
Artist’s impression of the molecules found in a hot molecular core in the Large Magellanic Cloud. [FRIS/Tohoku University; ESO/M. Kornmesser; NASA/ESA/S. Beckwith (STScI)/HUDF Team; Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)/HEI]
Abstract
To date, 204 individual molecular species, comprised of 16 different elements, have been detected in the interstellar and circumstellar medium by astronomical observations. These molecules range in size from 2 atoms to 70, and have been detected across the electromagnetic spectrum from centimeter wavelengths to the ultraviolet. This census presents a summary of the first detection of each molecular species, including the observational facility, wavelength range, transitions, and enabling laboratory spectroscopic work, as well as listing tentative and disputed detections. Tables of molecules detected in interstellar ices, external galaxies, protoplanetary disks, and exoplanetary atmospheres are provided. A number of visual representations of these aggregate data are presented and briefly discussed in context.
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