More sulphur in TMC-1: Discovery of the NC$_3$S and HC$_3$S radicals with the QUIJOTE line survey

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of NC$_3$S and HC$_3$S radicals in TMC-1, providing new insights into sulfur chemistry in interstellar space through observations and chemical modeling.

Contribution

First detection of NC$_3$S and HC$_3$S radicals in TMC-1 using the QUIJOTE line survey, with comparison to chemical models highlighting formation and destruction pathways.

Findings

Detected NC$_3$S and HC$_3$S with specific column densities.

Set upper limits for NCCS and longer radicals.

Chemical models underestimate observed abundances.

Abstract

We present the detection of the free radicals NC$_3$S and HC$_3$S towards TMC-1 with the QUIJOTE line survey. The derived column densities are (1.4$\pm$0.2)$\times$10$^{11}$ for NC$_3$S and (1.5$\pm$0.2)$\times$10$^{11}$ for HC$_3$S. We searched for NCCS, but only three transitions are within the domain of our QUIJOTE line survey and the observed lines are marginally detected at the 3$\sigma$ level, providing an upper limit to its column density of $\leq$6$\times$10$^{10}$ cm$^{-2}$. We also unsuccessfully searched for longer species of the NC$_n$S (n$\ge$4) and HC$_n$S (n$\ge$5) families in our TMC-1 data. A chemical model based on a reduced set of reactions involving HC$_3$S and NC$_3$S predicts abundances that are 10-100 times below the observed values. These calculations indicate that the most efficient reactions of formation of HC$_3$S and NC$_3$S in the model are S + C$_3$H$_2$ and N + HC$_3$S, respectively, while both radicals are very efficiently destroyed through reactions with neutral atoms.