A Deep Search for Ethylene Glycol and Glycolonitrile in the V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk

Abstract

Ethylene glycol ( ; hereafter EG) and glycolonitrile ( ; hereafter GN) are considered molecular precursors of nucleic acids. EG is a sugar alcohol and the reduced form of glycolaldehyde (CH2(OH)CHO; hereafter GA). GN is considered a key precursor of adenine formation (nucleotide) and can be a precursor of glycine (amino acid). Detections of such prebiotic molecules in the interstellar medium are increasingly common. How much of this complexity endures to the planet formation stage, and thus is already present when planets form, remains largely unknown. Here we report Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations in which we tentatively detect EG and GN in the protoplanetary disk around the outbursting protostar V883 Ori. The observed EG emission is best reproduced by a column density of and a temperature of at least 300 K. The observed GN emission is best reproduced by a column density of and a temperature of K. Comparing the abundance of EG and GN relative to methanol in V883 Ori with other objects, V883 Ori falls between hot cores and comets in terms of increasing complexity. This suggests that the buildup of prebiotic molecules continues past the hot core phase into the epoch of planet formation. Nascent planets in such environments may inherit essential building blocks for life, enhancing their potential habitability. Further observations of this protoplanetary disk at higher spectral resolution are required to resolve blended lines and to confirm these tentative detections.