EXTENDING THE MILLIMETER-SUBMILLIMETER SPECTRUM OF PROTONATED FORMALDEHYDE

Protonated formaldehyde has been detected in the interstellar medium, where it participates in the formation and destruction of methanol. The rotational spectrum for protonated formaldehyde has been previously recorded by Amano and coworkers from 120--385 GHz using a hollow cathode discharge source for ion production. Additionally, protonated formaldehyde was produced in a supersonic expansion discharge source by Duncan and coworkers, but it was detected using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Higher frequency spectra would help to guide additional observational studies of protonated formaldehyde using instruments such as the ALMA and SOFIA observatories. As such, we have used a supersonic expansion discharge source to produce protonated formaldehyde, and recorded its spectrum using millimeter-submillimeter direct absorption spectroscopy. The rotational spectrum was recorded from 350--1000 GHz. Here we will present the experimental design, specifically focusing on the optimization of the source for production of organic ions. We will also present the spectroscopic results for protonated formaldehyde and a spectral analysis with associated prediction that can be extended to frequencies above 1 THz