Pure hydrocarbon cycles in TMC-1: Discovery of ethynyl cyclopropenylidene, cyclopentadiene and indene

We report the detection for the first time in space of three new pure hydrocarbon cycles in TMC-1: c-C₃HCCH (ethynyl cyclopropenylidene), c-C₅H₆ (cyclopentadiene) and c-C₉H₈ (indene). We derive a column density of 3.1 × 10¹¹ cm^-2 for the former cycle and similar values, in the range (1-2) × 10¹³ cm^-2, for the two latter molecules. This means that cyclopentadiene and indene, in spite of their large size, are exceptionally abundant, only a factor of five less abundant than the ubiquitous cyclic hydrocarbon c-C₃H₂. The high abundance found for these two hydrocarbon cycles, together with the high abundance previously found for the propargyl radical (CH₂CCH) and other hydrocarbons like vinyl and allenyl acetylene (Agúndez et al. 2021; Cernicharo et al. 2021a,b), start to allow us to quantify the abundant content of hydrocarbon rings in cold dark clouds and to identify the intermediate species that are probably behind the in situ bottom-up synthesis of aromatic cycles in these environments. While c-C₃HCCH is most likely formed through the reaction between the radical CCH and c-C₃H₂, the high observed abundances of cyclopentadiene and indene are difficult to explain through currently proposed chemical mechanisms. Further studies are needed to identify how are five- and six-membered rings formed under the cold conditions of clouds like TMC-1.