First Detection of HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N in the Interstellar Medium

TL;DR

This paper reports the first detection of HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N in the interstellar medium, providing insights into nitrogen isotope ratios and the formation mechanisms of cyanopolyynes in molecular clouds.

Contribution

The study presents the first detection of HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N and derives nitrogen isotope ratios, supporting ion-molecule reactions as the main formation pathway for HC$_{5}$N.

Findings

HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N detected with a column density of (1.9 +- 0.5)*$10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$

$^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio of HC$_{5}$N is 344 +- 53

$^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio of HC$_{3}$N is 257 +- 54

Abstract

We report the first detection of HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N with the $J=9-8$ rotational line from the cyanopolyyne peak in Taurus Molecular Cloud-1 (TMC-1 CP) using the 45-m radio telescope of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. The column density of HC$_{5}$$^{15}$N is derived to be (1.9 +- 0.5)*$10^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$ (1 sigma). We apply the double isotope method to derive the $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratios of HC$_{5}$N and HC$_{3}$N in TMC-1 CP. The $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratios are calculated to be 344 +- 53 and 257 +- 54 for HC$_{5}$N and HC$_{3}$N, respectively. The $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio of HC$_{5}$N is lower than the elemental ratio in the local interstellar medium (~440) and slightly higher than that of HC$_{3}$N in TMC-1 CP. Since HC$_{3}$N is formed via the neutral-neutral reaction between C$_{2}$H$_{2}$ and CN, the slightly higher $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N ratio of HC$_{5}$N may support our previous suggestions that the main formation mechanism of HC$_{5}$N is the ion-molecule reactions between hydrocarbon ions (C$_{5}$H$_{n}^{+}$) and nitrogen atoms.