Interstellar Glycolaldehyde, Methyl Formate, and Acetic Acid. I. A Bimodal Abundance Pattern in Star-forming Regions

The relative column densities of the structural isomers methyl formate, glycolaldehyde, and acetic acid are derived for a dozen positions toward the massive star-forming regions MM1 and MM2 in the NGC 6334I complex, which are separated by ∼4000 au. Relative column densities of these molecules are also gathered from the literature for 13 other star-forming regions. In this combined data set, a clear bimodal distribution is observed in the relative column densities of glycolaldehyde and methyl formate. No such distribution is evident with acetic acid. The two trends are comprised of star-forming regions with a variety of masses, suggesting that there must be some other common parameter that is heavily impacting the formation of glycolaldehyde. This is indicative of some demonstrable differentiation in these cores; studying the abundances of these isomers may provide a clue as to the integral chemical processes ongoing in a variety of protostellar environments.