Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns
Abstract The disparity between predicted sulfur abundances and identified reservoirs of sulfur in cold molecular clouds, also known as the sulfur depletion problem, has remained an ongoing debate over decades. Here, we show in laboratory simulation experiments that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can be conv...
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| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61259-2 |
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| author | Ashanie Herath Mason McAnally Andrew M. Turner Jia Wang Joshua H. Marks Ryan C. Fortenberry Jorge C. Garcia-Alvarez Samer Gozem Ralf I. Kaiser |
| author_facet | Ashanie Herath Mason McAnally Andrew M. Turner Jia Wang Joshua H. Marks Ryan C. Fortenberry Jorge C. Garcia-Alvarez Samer Gozem Ralf I. Kaiser |
| author_sort | Ashanie Herath |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The disparity between predicted sulfur abundances and identified reservoirs of sulfur in cold molecular clouds, also known as the sulfur depletion problem, has remained an ongoing debate over decades. Here, we show in laboratory simulation experiments that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can be converted on ice-coated interstellar grains in cold molecular clouds through galactic cosmic rays processing at 5 K to sulfanes (H2Sn; n = 2–11) and octasulfur (S8). This locks the processed hydrogen sulfide as high-molecular weight sulfur-containing molecules thus providing a plausible rationale for the fate of the missing interstellar sulfur. These sulfuretted molecules may undergo fractionated sublimation once the molecular cloud transforms into star forming regions. The isomeric identification of octasulfur rings (S8) coincides with the recent identification of elementary sulfur in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu, thus providing compelling evidence on the link between sulfur in cold molecular clouds and in our Solar System with, e.g., the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) potentially accumulating an equivalent of 350 Earth masses of octasulfur. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f23fe44d8d03441b855a55bfb45bca30 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-f23fe44d8d03441b855a55bfb45bca302025-08-20T03:45:33ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-61259-2Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crownsAshanie Herath0Mason McAnally1Andrew M. Turner2Jia Wang3Joshua H. Marks4Ryan C. Fortenberry5Jorge C. Garcia-Alvarez6Samer Gozem7Ralf I. Kaiser8Department of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of MississippiDepartment of Chemistry, Georgia State UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Georgia State UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaAbstract The disparity between predicted sulfur abundances and identified reservoirs of sulfur in cold molecular clouds, also known as the sulfur depletion problem, has remained an ongoing debate over decades. Here, we show in laboratory simulation experiments that hydrogen sulfide (H2S) can be converted on ice-coated interstellar grains in cold molecular clouds through galactic cosmic rays processing at 5 K to sulfanes (H2Sn; n = 2–11) and octasulfur (S8). This locks the processed hydrogen sulfide as high-molecular weight sulfur-containing molecules thus providing a plausible rationale for the fate of the missing interstellar sulfur. These sulfuretted molecules may undergo fractionated sublimation once the molecular cloud transforms into star forming regions. The isomeric identification of octasulfur rings (S8) coincides with the recent identification of elementary sulfur in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu, thus providing compelling evidence on the link between sulfur in cold molecular clouds and in our Solar System with, e.g., the Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC) potentially accumulating an equivalent of 350 Earth masses of octasulfur.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61259-2 |
| spellingShingle | Ashanie Herath Mason McAnally Andrew M. Turner Jia Wang Joshua H. Marks Ryan C. Fortenberry Jorge C. Garcia-Alvarez Samer Gozem Ralf I. Kaiser Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns Nature Communications |
| title | Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| title_full | Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| title_fullStr | Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| title_short | Missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| title_sort | missing interstellar sulfur in inventories of polysulfanes and molecular octasulfur crowns |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61259-2 |
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