Letter to the Editor

Identification of solid N₂O in interstellar ices using open JWST data

Research Laboratory for Astrochemistry, Ural Federal University Kuibysheva St. 48 Yekaterinburg 620026, Russia

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Received: 2 November 2025
Accepted: 3 January 2026

Abstract

Context. Only six molecules containing an N-O bond are detected in the gaseous phase of the interstellar medium. One of them is nitrous oxide (N₂O), which was unsuccessfully searched for in solid form since the launch of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) mission. The observational capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) present the possibility of identifying solid interstellar N₂O.

Aims. We aim to identify nitrous oxide in open JWST spectra of interstellar ices toward a sample of Class 0, 0/I, and flat protostars using the relevant laboratory mixtures of N₂O-bearing interstellar ice analogs.

Methods. A set of laboratory infrared transmission spectra was obtained for the following mixtures: N₂O:CO₂ = 1:20, N₂O:CO = 1:20, N₂O:N₂ = 1:20, N₂O:CO₂:CO = 1:15:5, and N₂O:CO₂:N₂ = 1:15:13 at 10–23 K. A search for N₂O in JWST NIRSpec spectra toward 50 protostars was performed by fitting the 4.44–4.47 μm (2250–2235 cm⁻¹) NN-stretch absorption band with new laboratory mixtures of N₂O-bearing ices.

Results. We claim the first secure identification of N₂O in 16 protostars. The fitting results show that N₂O is formed predominantly within the apolar layer of the ice mantles, which are rich in CO, CO₂, and N₂. The abundance of solid N₂O is estimated at 0.2–2.1% relative to solid CO. We present the band strengths for N₂O in the mixtures corresponding to the apolar layer. We also report the identification of the C-N stretch band at 4.42 μm (2260 cm⁻¹), which we tentatively assign to HNCO, the simplest C-N bond carrier.