Phosphorus-bearing molecules in the Galactic Center
  Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential elements for life due to its central
role in biochemical processes. Recent searches have shown that P-bearing
molecules (in particular PN and PO) are present in star-forming regions,
although their formation routes remain poorly understood. In this Letter, we
report observations of PN and PO towards seven molecular clouds located in the
Galactic Center, which are characterized by different types of chemistry. PN is
detected in five out of seven sources, whose chemistry is thought to be
shock-dominated. The two sources with PN non-detections correspond to clouds
exposed to intense UV/X-rays/cosmic-ray radiation. PO is detected only towards
the cloud G+0.693$-$0.03, with a PO/PN abundance ratio of $\sim$1.5. We
conclude that P-bearing molecules likely form in shocked gas as a result of
dust grain sputtering, while are destroyed by intense UV/X-ray/cosmic ray
radiation.
