Related papers: Revised Models of Interstellar Nitrogen Isotopic F…
The formation of organic compounds is generally assumed to result from abiotic processes in the Solar System, with the exception of biogenic organics on Earth. Nitrogen-bearing organics are of particular interest, notably for prebiotic…
We use spectra and maps of NH2D, ND2H, and ND3, obtained with the CSO, IRAM 30m and Arecibo telescopes, to study deuteration processes in dense cores. The data include the first detection of the hyperfine structure of ND2H. The emission of…
The surface formation of NH3 and its deuterated isotopologues - NH2D, NHD2, and ND3 - is investigated at low temperatures through the simultaneous addition of hydrogen and deuterium atoms to nitrogen atoms in CO-rich interstellar ice…
Our aim is to determine the isotopic ratios {$^{12}$C/$^{13}$C}{} and {$^{14}$N/$^{15}$N}{} in a variety of comets and link these measurements to the formation and evolution of the solar system. The {$^{12}$C/$^{13}$C}{} and…
The deuterium fraction [N$_2$D$^+$]/[N$_2$H$^+$], may provide information about the ages of dense, cold gas structures, important to compare with dynamical models of cloud core formation and evolution. Here we introduce a complete chemical…
Clouds of high infrared extinction are promising sites of massive star/cluster formation. A large number of cloud cores discovered in recent years allows investigation of possible evolutionary sequence among cores in early phases. We have…
Measurements of the isotopic abundances in meteoritic amino acids have found enhancements of $^2$H/H, $^{15}$N/$^{14}$N, and $^{13}$C/$^{12}$C in the amino acids in the meteorites studied. We show that they are consistent with the…
New independent constraints on the amount of water delivered to Earth by comets are derived using the 15N/14N isotopic ratio, measured to be roughly twice as high in cometary CN and HCN as in the present Earth. Under reasonable assumptions,…
The $^{13}$CO molecule is often used as a column density tracer in regions where the $^{12}$CO emission saturates. The $^{13}$CO column density is then related to that of $^{12}$CO by a uniform isotopic ratio. A similar approximation is…
$Aims$: We revisit with new augmented accuracy the theoretical dynamics of basic isotope exchange reactions involved in the $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C, $^{16}$O/$^{18}$O, and $^{14}$N/$^{15}$N balance because these reactions have already been…
We study the influence of the turbulent transport on ice chemistry in protoplanetary disks, focusing on carbon and nitrogen bearing molecules. Chemical rate equations are solved with the diffusion term, mimicking the turbulent mixing in the…
Deuterium fractionation in molecular ions, in particular HCO+, has been extensively used to estimate the degree of ionization in molecular clouds. This paper reviews recent work on ionization degree in homogeneous clouds. We will show that…
Partitioning of elemental nitrogen in star-forming regions is not well constrained. Most nitrogen is expected to be partitioned among atomic nitrogen, molecular nitrogen (N2), and icy N-bearing molecules, such as ammonia (NH3) and N2.…
We performed sensitive observations of the N15ND+(1-0) and 15NND+(1-0) lines toward the prestellar core L1544 using the IRAM 30m telescope. The lines are not detected down to 3 sigma levels in 0.2 km/s channels of around 6 mK. The…
The radiolysis of a nitrogen-acetone mixture, condensed at 11 K, by 40 MeV $^{58}$Ni$^{11+}$ ions is studied. These results are representative of studies concerning solar system objects exposed to cosmic rays. In the Kuiper Belt, region of…
Predictions of astrochemical models depend strongly on the reaction rate coefficients used in the simulations. We reviewed a number of key reactions for the chemistry of nitrogen-bearing species in the dense interstellar medium and proposed…
Molecular nitrogen is one of the key species in the chemistry of interstellar clouds and protoplanetary disks and the partitioning of nitrogen between N and N2 controls the formation of more complex prebiotic nitrogen-containing species.…
(Abridged) We aim to determine the degrees of CO depletion, deuterium fractionation, and ionisation in a sample of seven massive clumps associated with IRDCs. The APEX telescope was used to observe the C17O(2-1), H13CO+(3-2), DCO+(3-2),…
Elemental abundances, which are often depleted with respect to the solar values, are important input parameters for kinetic models of interstellar chemistry. In particular, the amount of carbon relative to oxygen is known to have a strong…
Interstellar objects provide a unique opportunity to further our understanding of the planetary formation process by studying in detail material formed around another star. Their ices contain precious clues about the environment and…