Interstellar glycolamide: A comprehensive rotational study and an
  astronomical search in Sgr B2(N)
  Glycolamide is a glycine isomer and also one of the simplest derivatives of
acetamide (e.g., one hydrogen atom is replaced with a hydroxyl group), which is
a known interstellar molecule. Using a battery of state of the art rotational
spectroscopic techniques in the frequency and time domain, around 1500
transitions have been newly assigned. Based on the reliable frequency
predictions, we report a radioastronomical search for glycolamide in the well
known high-mass star forming region Sgr B2(N) using the ALMA imaging spectral
line survey ReMoCA. We also searched for glycolamide toward Sgr B2(N) with the
Effelsberg radio telescope. We report the nondetection of glycolamide toward
this source with an abundance at least six and five times lower than that of
acetamide and glycolaldehyde, respectively. Our astrochemical model suggests
that glycolamide may be present in this source at a level just below the upper
limit, which was derived from the EMoCA survey. We could also not detect the
molecule in the region's extended molecular envelope, which was probed with the
Effelsberg telescope. We find an upper limit to its column density that is
similar to the column densities obtained earlier for acetamide and
glycolaldehyde with the Green Bank Telescope.
