Description
The detection of complex organic molecules related with prebiotic chemistry in star-forming regions allows us to investigate how the basic building blocks of life are formed. Ethylene glycol (CH_2_OH)_2_ is the simplest sugar alcohol and the reduced alcohol of the simplest sugar glycoladehyde (CH_2_OHCHO). We study the molecular abundance and spatial distribution of (CH_2_OH)_2_, CH_2_OHCHO and other chemically related complex organic species (CH_3_OCHO, CH_3_OCH_3_, and C_2_H_5_OH) towards the chemically rich massive star-forming region G31.41+0.31. We analyzed multiple single-dish (Green Bank Telescope and IRAM 30m) and interferometric (Submillimeter Array) spectra towards G31.41+0.31, covering a range of frequencies from 45 to 258GHz. We fitted the observed spectra with a local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) synthetic spectra, and obtained excitation temperatures and column densities. We compared our findings in G31.41+0.31 with the results found in other environments, including low- and high-mass star-forming regions, quiescent clouds and comets.
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