![Schematic of generative process to determine most chemically relevant molecular candidates for the unassigned spectroscopic transitions.-- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Automated.png?fit=1200%2C669&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.GA] Modern radio telescopes generate vast amounts of observational data, offering valuable insights into the molecular composition of interstellar sources. Identifying the molecules within these datasets typically involves time-consuming and labor-intensive manual analysis.
This paper presents an automated method for assigning molecules in interstellar line surveys. The algorithm operates in two main stages. First, it automatically determines key parameters of the data, including excitation temperature, line width, and source velocity.
Next, it assigns the observed spectral peaks by evaluating the spectroscopic match of the molecular candidates along with analyzing their chemical relevance to the interstellar source. The chemical relevance is determined by leveraging machine-learning-based molecular embedding techniques to analyze the regions of chemical space occupied by the observed species.
Following the line assignment, this information is then used to generate new molecular candidates that occupy the same regions of chemical space. These newly generated species serve as promising targets for further investigation in the observational data.
The algorithm was validated on spectral line surveys of the dark molecular cloud TMC-1 and the star-forming region IRAS 16293-2422B.
In both cases, it identified at least 67 molecular species, accounting for over 90 percent of the analyzed line intensity, in 17 minutes or less while maintaining a high level of accuracy.
Zachary T. P. Fried, Ryan A. Loomis, Jes K. Jørgensen, Andrew Lipnicky, Ci Xue, Gabi Wenzel, Thomas H. Speak, Michael C. McCarthy, Brett A. McGuire
Comments: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Cite as: arXiv:2608.18221 [astro-ph.GA] (or arXiv:2608.18221v1 [astro-ph.GA] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.18221
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Submission history
From: Zachary Fried
[v1] Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:05:46 UTC (4,387 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.18221
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,
