2019A&A...627A..41Z

Methyl mercaptan (CH₃SH) is an important sulfur-bearing species in the interstellar medium, terrestrial environment, and potentially in planetary atmospheres. The aim of the present study is to provide accurate spectroscopic parameters for the most abundant minor isotopolog CH₃³⁴SH to support radio astronomical observations at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. The rotational spectrum of CH₃³⁴SH, which is complicated by the large-amplitude internal rotation of the CH₃ group versus the ³⁴SH frame, was investigated in the 49-510GHz and 1.1-1.5THz frequency ranges in natural isotopic abundance. The analysis of the spectrum was performed up to the second excited torsional state, and the obtained data were modeled with the RAM36 program. A fit within experimental accuracy was obtained with a RAM Hamiltonian model that uses 72 parameters. Predictions based on this fit are used to search for CH₃³⁴SH with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) toward the hot molecular core Sgr B2(N2), but blends with emission lines of other species prevent its firm identification in this source.