A Detection of Sulfur-Bearing Cyclic Hydrocarbons in Space
Molecules harbouring sulfur are thought to have played a key role in the biological processes of life on Earth.
We report the first astronomical detection of a six-membered sulfur-bearing cyclic hydrocarbon in interstellar space. Observations of the Galactic center molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027 reveal the presence of 2,5-cyclohexadien-1-thione – a structural isomer of thiophenol (c-C6H6S).
To allow the astronomical identification, we first performed precise laboratory measurements of the thiophenol discharge products system. These measurements, conducted in the radio band using a chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave spectrometer, enabled us to characterize this highly polar molecular species and provided unambiguous fingerprints needed to identify this organosulfur compound in space, which now ranks as the largest interstellar sulfur-bearing molecule.
These results herald the discovery of a new family of prebiotically relevant sulfur-bearing species, potentially acting as a bridge between the chemical inventory of the interstellar medium and the composition of the minor bodies of the Solar System.
Mitsunori Araki, Miguel Sanz-Novo, Christian P. Endres, Paola Caselli, Víctor M. Rivilla, Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, Laura Colzi, Shaoshan Zeng, Andrés Megías, Álvaro López-Gallifa, Antonio Martínez-Henares, David San Andrés, Sergio Martín, Miguel A. Requena-Torres, Juan García de la Concepción, Valerio Lattanzi
Comments: Submitted
Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Cite as: arXiv:2511.23299 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2511.23299v1 [astro-ph.GA] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2511.23299
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Submission history
From: Mitsunori Araki
[v1] Fri, 28 Nov 2025 15:58:04 UTC (1,499 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.23299
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,
