In the PIRENEA ion trap, a cosmic dance was recreated: benzyl-type ions intertwine with alkylnaphthalenes, birthing a photostable acenaphthylene cation. This solves the mystery of cyanoacenaphthylene in the TMC-1 cloud and rewrites the rules for assembling aromatic compounds in the cold depths of sp
arXiv:2606.03575v1 · 2026-06-02