{
  "abstract": "Sulphur is drastically depleted from the gas phase in dense starless and prestellar cores, creating the long-standing \"missing sulphur problem\". Observations of sulphur-bearing molecules are crucial to understanding sulphur chemistry, core-environment relationships, and the physical evolution of star-forming regions. We present a survey of four sulphur-bearing molecules, HCS+, OCS, H2CS, and SO, towards 15 starless and prestellar cores in the Perseus molecular cloud using the Yebes 40m telescope. The HCS+ 1-0, OCS 3-2 and 4-3, H2CS 1_{0,1}-0_{0,0}, and SO 3_2-2_2 transitions were observed, fitted with Gaussian profiles, and column densities were calculated assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We also compare these with observations of CS, CCS, and CCCS from a previous study. HCS+, OCS, H2CS, and SO are detected in 100%, 93%, 100%, and 73% of the sample, respectively. Derived column densities are (2.2-17.0)x10^11 cm^-2 for HCS+, (1.9-25.0)x10^12 cm^-2 for OCS, (1.0-15.0)x10^12 cm^-2 for H2CS, and (0.3-17.0)x10^13 cm^-2 for SO, spanning over an order of magnitude. HCS+ and SO abundances strongly correlate (inversely and directly, respectively) with core volume density, reinforcing their early- and late-type status. Correlations indicate a differentiation between carbon and oxygen chemistry for sulphur-bearing molecules, with CS showing the strongest correlations as expected. Cores in protostellar outflow paths do not show consistently higher abundances. The chemical age (SO/CS) correlates with physical age (volume density), except for Per752, an outlier likely linked to an enhanced cosmic ray ionization rate. These results provide a robust observational baseline constraining chemical models of sulphur chemistry in early star formation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.17556",
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "J. Ferrer Asensio"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Scibelli"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Pokorny-Yadav"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Steffes"
    },
    {
      "name": "B. Kulterer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Shirley"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Megías"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. Jiménez-Serra"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Fuente"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Esplugues"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dn1a821n3e8xg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.17556",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "dn1a821n3e8xg",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17556",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.17556",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dn1a821n3e8xg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:11Z",
      "native_id": "2610.17556",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.17556"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Sulphur-bearing molecule survey towards prestellar and starless cores in the Perseus molecular cloud",
  "title_text": "Sulphur-bearing molecule survey towards prestellar and starless cores in the Perseus molecular cloud",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/dn1a821n3e8xg",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}