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The formation of complex organic molecules (COMs) in protostellarenvironments is a hotly debated topic. In particular, the relative importanceof the gas phase processes as compared to a direct formation of COMs on thedust grain surfaces is so far unknown. We report here the first high-resolutionimages of acetaldehyde (CH$_3$CHO) emission towards the chemically richprotostellar shock L1157-B1, obtained at 2 mm with the IRAM Plateau de Bureinterferometer. Six blueshifted CH$_3$CHO lines with $E_{\rm u}$ = 26-35 K havebeen detected. The acetaldehyde spatial distribution follows the young ($\sim$2000 yr) outflow cavity produced by the impact of the jet with the ambientmedium, indicating that this COM is closely associated with the region enrichedby iced species evaporated from dust mantles and released into the gas phase. Ahigh CH$_3$CHO relative abundance, 2-3 $\times$ 10$^{-8}$, is inferred,similarly to what found in hot-corinos. Astrochemical modelling indicates thatgas phase reactions can produce the observed quantity of acetaldehyde only if alarge fraction of carbon, of the order of 0.1%, is locked into icedhydrocarbons.

Astrochemistry at work in the L1157-B1 shock: acetaldehyde formation