A Chemistry-first Centered Icy Chemical Inventory of Protostellar Sources with JWST

Abstract The chemical evolution in star forming regions is driven by the interplay between gas and ice mantles. Identifying the ice compositions at the early stage of star formation thus provides constraints on the chemical processes inaccessible from gas-phase characterizations. As part of the CORINOS program, spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instruments Medium Resolution Spectroscopy were taken toward four Class 0 protostars: IRAS 15398-3359, Ser-emb7, L483, and B335. The spectra were processed with simultaneous fitting of a continuum and silicate absorption to produce optical depth mid-infrared spectra of the ices at 5–28 μ m (360–2000 cm −1 ) toward these four sources. Simple molecules such as water (H 2 O), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methanol (CH 3 OH), formic acid/formate (HCOOH/HCOO − ), ammonia/ammonium (NH 3 /NH 4 + ), and formaldehyde (H 2 CO) are the most abundant features in these ices, while complex organic molecules (COMs) represent a smaller contribution. Likely COMs include hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH), methylamine (CH 3 NH 2 ), and ethanol (CH 3 CH 2 OH). Absorption features belonging to functional groups such as –CH 3 and –OH suggest that additional COMs are present, but these cannot be unambiguously assigned due to overlapping bands. Formation pathways toward these COMs utilizing radical–radical combination reactions based on laboratory simulation experiments is presented. By extension, COMs predicted by these reactions, but absent from the spectra, are discussed. The results provide insight into the chemical environment of these ices and also highlight the critical need for caution and sufficient evidence in order to confidently identify COMs in ice.