The simple diatomic cation PO+ was detected by
Rivilla and co-workers, as reported in 2022.
It was discovered in the G+0.293–0.027
molecular cloud in the
Central Molecular Zone of the galaxy with
observations using the
Yebes 40m,
IRAM 30m, and
APEX 12m telescopes.
PO+ is the cation of phosphorus monoxide, which was
first detected in 2007. The nitrogen analog,
NO+, was tentatively detected in
2014. The work of Rivilla and co-workers
also detected this lighter cation, its second detection.
PO+ could be formed via direct ionization of PO or through exoergic
ion-molecule
reactions such as P+ + OH → PO+ + H, in which POH+ is the intermediate.
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