Related papers: First detection of cyanamide (NH$_2$CN) towards so…
Formamide (NH2CHO) has been proposed as a pre-biotic precursor with a key role in the emergence of life on Earth. While this molecule has been observed in space, most of its detections correspond to high-mass star-forming regions. Motivated…
In recent years, organic molecules of increasing complexity have been found toward the prolific Galactic center source Sagittarius B2. We wish to explore the degree of complexity that the interstellar chemistry can reach in star-forming…
Reactions occurring on the ice-covered surfaces of interstellar dust grains are considered to be among the most important sources of complex species in the interstellar medium. Despite this, molecules such as cyanamide, NH2CN, are largely…
The ${\rm H_2NC}$ radical is the high-energy metastable isomer of ${\rm H_2CN}$ radical, which has been recently detected for the first time in the interstellar medium towards a handful of cold galactic sources, besides a warm galaxy in…
Although ammonia is an abundant molecule commonly observed towards the dense interstellar medium, it has not yet been established whether its main formation route is from gas-phase ion-molecule reactions or grain-surface hydrogen additions…
Glycolaldehyde is a key molecule in the formation of biologically relevant molecules such as ribose. We report its detection with the Plateau de Bure interferometer towards the Class 0 young stellar object NGC1333 IRAS2A, which is only the…
Complex organic molecules are readily detected in the inner regions of the gaseous envelopes of forming protostars. In particular, molecules that contain nitrogen are interesting due to the role nitrogen plays in the development of life and…
We report the first detection of doubly-deuterated methanol (CHD2OH), as well as firm detections of the two singly-deuterated isotopomers of methanol (CH2DOH and CH3OD), towards the solar-type protostar IRAS16293-2422. From the present…
The initial stage of star formation is a complex area study because of its high density and low temperature. Under such conditions, many molecules become depleted from the gas phase by freezing out onto dust grains. However, the deuterated…
We present results from a study of nitrogen chemistry in Class 0/I proto-brown dwarfs (proto-BDs). We have used the IRAM 30 m telescope to observe the CN (2-1), HCN (3-2), and HNC (3-2) lines in 7 proto-BDs. All proto-BDs show a large…
The cyano radical (CN), one of the first detected interstellar molecular species, is a key molecule in many astrochemical chains. Particularly, it is detected towards molecular cores, the birth places of the stars, and it is known that it…
Methyl cyanide (CH3CN) and propyne (CH3CCH) are two molecules commonly used as gas thermometers for interstellar gas. They are detected in several astrophysical environments and in particular towards protostars. Using data of the low-mass…
Context: Modern versions of the Miller-Urey experiment claim that formamide (NH$_2$CHO) could be the starting point for the formation of metabolic and genetic macromolecules. Intriguingly, formamide is indeed observed in regions forming…
Cyanamide (NH2CN) and its isomer, carbodiimide (HNCNH), may form adenine in the interstellar medium (ISM) via a series of reactions. Therefore, they are considered key prebiotic molecules in the study of the origin of life. We used the…
In the past decade, much progress has been made in characterising the processes leading to the enhanced deuterium fractionation observed in the ISM and in particular in the cold, dense parts of star forming regions such as protostellar…
We conducted survey observations of a glycine precursor, methanimine or methylenimine (CH$_2$NH), with the NRO 45 m telescope and the SMT telescope towards 12 high-mass and two low-mass star-forming regions in order to increase number of…
Protonated hydrogen cyanide, HCNH$^{+}$, plays a fundamental role in astrochemistry because it is an intermediary in gas-phase ion-neutral reactions within cold molecular clouds. However, the impact of the environment on the chemistry of…
Nitrogen-bearing complex organic molecules have been commonly detected in the gas phase but not yet in interstellar ices. This has led to the long-standing question of whether these molecules form in the gas phase or in ices. $\textit{James…
Gas-phase hydroxylamine (NH$_2$OH) has recently been detected within dense clouds in the interstellar medium. However, it is also likely present within interstellar ices, as well as on the icy surfaces of outer Solar System bodies, where it…
Nitriles play a key role as molecular precursors in prebiotic experiments based on the RNA-world scenario for the origin of life. These chemical compounds could have been partially delivered to the young Earth from extraterrestrial objects,…