Investigating Protoplanetary Carbon Reservoirs and Molecular Inheritance along a Galactic Gradient

Abstract

High-resolution observations of CO gas toward young stellar objcts (YSOs) enable valuable comparisons between forming protoplanetry systems and solar system material, as well as robust evaluation of early protoplanetry chemical reservoirs [1-7]. Precise isotopic observations of carbon and oxygen in the gas-phase have largely targeted low-mass YSOs in our local solar neighborhood [1,2]. Yet, precise investigations of YSOs ranging in size, luminosity, and Galactic location have mulitple advantages, including the parameterization of variations in distribution and evolution of molecules that are key in prebiotic chemical pathways, and the buidling of a more comprehensive understanding of evolving planetary reservoirs in the Galaxy. The present study uses high-resolution observations of CO gas toward a large suite of massive YSOs where ^(12)C/^(13)C has also been measured in CO_2 ice [8], thereby enabling a robust study of carbon inheritance between these key molecular reservoirs observed along a single line-of-sight.

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