Letter to the Editor

Interstellar nitrile anions: Detection of C₃N⁻ and C₅N⁻ in TMC-1^⋆

¹ Grupo de Astrofísica Molecular, Instituto de Física Fundamental (IFF-CSIC), C/ Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid, Spain
e-mail: jose.cernicharo@csic.es
² Centro de Desarrollos Tecnológicos, Observatorio de Yebes (IGN), 19141 Yebes, Guadalajara, Spain
³ Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (IGN), C/ Alfonso XII, 3, 28014 Madrid, Spain

Received: 21 August 2020
Accepted: 30 August 2020

Abstract

We report on the first detection of C₃N⁻ and C₅N⁻ towards the cold dark core TMC-1 in the Taurus region, using the Yebes 40 m telescope. The observed C₃N/C₃N⁻ and C₅N/C₅N⁻ abundance ratios are ∼140 and ∼2, respectively; that is similar to those found in the circumstellar envelope of the carbon-rich star IRC +10216. Although the formation mechanisms for the neutrals are different in interstellar (ion-neutral reactions) and circumstellar clouds (photodissociation and radical-neutral reactions), the similarity of the C₃N/C₃N⁻ and C₅N/C₅N⁻ abundance ratios strongly suggests a common chemical path for the formation of these anions in interstellar and circumstellar clouds. We discuss the role of radiative electronic attachment, reactions between N atoms and carbon chain anions C_n⁻, and that of H⁻ reactions with HC₃N and HC₅N as possible routes to form C_nN⁻. The detection of C₅N⁻ in TMC-1 gives strong support for assigning to this anion the lines found in IRC +10216, as it excludes the possibility of a metal-bearing species, or a vibrationally excited state. New sets of rotational parameters have been derived from the observed frequencies in TMC-1 and IRC +10216 for C₅N⁻ and the neutral radical C₅N.