DETECTION OF THE ROTATIONAL SPECTRUM OF SULFOXYLIC ACID (HOSOH)

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Sulfoxylic acid (HOSOH) is a chemical intermediate that falls roughly midway in the oxidation states of sulfur, between its highly reduced (H$_2$S) and oxidixed (H$_2$SO$_4$) forms. It is likely formed during atmospheric oxidation of anthropogenic and natural sulfur emissions, and might also be produced by UV processing of circumstellar ices. Despite considerable theoretical work, no gas-phase spectra of sulfoxylic acid or any of its structural isomers have previously been observed. We report the detection of the rotational spectra of the $C_2$ and $C_s$ rotamers of HOSOH using a combination of Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy and microwave-microwave double resonance techniques, guided by new high-level quantum chemical calculations of their structures. The present work enables radioastronomical searches for these species, and also lays the groundwork for further chemical studies of its gas-phase formation and spectroscopic studies of other H$_2$SO$_2$ isomers.

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Author Institution: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, 02138; I. Physikalisches Institut, Universitat zu Koln, 50937 Koln, Germany

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