No abstract

Context. The hunt for the interstellar complex organic molecules (COMs) supposed to be the building blocks of the molecules at the origin of life is a challenging but very expensive task. It starts with laboratory experiments, associated with theoretical calculations, that give the line frequencies and strengths of the relevant molecules to be identified and finishes with observations at the telescopes. Aims. The present study aims to suggest possible guidelines to optimize this hunt. Levering on the minimum energy principle (MEP) presented in a previous study, we discuss the link between thermodynamic stability and detectability of a number of structures in the important families of amides, sugars and aminonitriles. Methods. The question of the relative stability of these different species is addressed by means of quantum density functional theory simulations. The hybrid B3LYP formalism was used throughout. All 72 molecules part of this survey were treated on an equal footing. Each structure, fully optimized, was verified to be a stationary point by vibrational analysis. Results. A comprehensive screening of 72 isomers of CH 3 NO, C 2 H 5 NO, C 3 H 7 NO, C 2 H 4 O 2 , C 3 H 6 O 3 and C 2 H 4 N 2 chemical formula has been carried out. We found that formamide, acetamide and propanamide (the first two identified in the Inter-Stellar Medium) are the most stable compounds in their families demonstrating at the same time that the peptide bond >N-C=O at the origin of life is the most stable bond that can be formed. Dihydroxyacetone, whose detection awaits for confirmation, is far from being the most stable isomer of its family while aminoacetonitrile, that has been recently identified, is effectively the most stable species. Conclusions. The MEP appears to be a useful tool for optimizing the hunt for new species by identifying the potentially more abundant isomers of a given chemical formula.

Context. Over 20 of the ∼150 different species detected in the interstellar and circumstellar media have also been identified in icy environments. For most of the species observed so far in the interstellar medium (ISM), the most abundant isomer of a given generic chemical formula is the most stable one (minimum energy principle -MEP) with few exceptions such as, for example, CH 3 COOH/HCOOCH 3 and CH 3 CH 2 OH/CH 3 OCH 3 , whose formation is thought to occur on the icy mantles of interstellar grains. Aims. We investigate whether differences found in the compositions of molecular ices and the surrounding gas phase could originate from differences between the adsorption of one isomer from that of another at the ice surface. Methods. We performed a coherent and concerted theoretical/experimental study of the adsorption energies of the four molecules mentioned above, i.e. acetic acid (AA)/methyl formate (MF) and ethanol (EtOH)/dimethyl ether (DME) on the surface of water ice at low temperature. The question was first addressed theoretically at LCT using solid state periodic density functional theory (DFT) to represent the organized solid support. The experimental determination of the ice/molecule interaction energies was then carried out independently by two teams at LPMAA and LERMA/LAMAp using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) under an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) between 70 and 160 K. Results. For each pair of isomers, theory and experiments both agree that the most stable isomer (AA or EtOH) interacts more efficiently with the water ice than the higher energy isomer (MF or DME). This differential adsorption can be clearly seen in the different desorption temperatures of the isomers. It is not related to their intrinsic stability but instead to both AA and EtOH producing more and stronger hydrogen bonds with the ice surface. Conclusions. We show that hydrogen bonding may play an important role in the release of organic species from grains and propose that, depending on the environment, differential adsorption should not be rejected as a possible way of interpreting MEP exceptions.