Rotational spectroscopy of CH_2_OH

In the interstellar medium (ISM), both CH_2_OH and CH_3_O are suspected to be intermediate species in many chemical reactions, including those of formation and destruction of methanol. The determination of the CH_3_O/CH_2_OH ratio in the ISM would bring important information concerning the formation processes of these species in the gas and solid phases.

Interestingly, only CH_3_O has been detected in the ISM so far, despite the recent first laboratory measurement of the CH_2_OH rotation-tunneling spectrum. This lack of detection is possibly due to the non-observation in the laboratory of the most intense rotational-tunneling transitions at low temperature. To support further searches for the hydroxymethyl radical in space, we have performed a thorough spectroscopic study of its rotation-tunneling spectrum, with particular focus on transitions involving the lowest quantum numbers of the species.