Related papers: Interstellar bromine abundance is consistent with …
Many chemical models of dense interstellar clouds predict that the majority of gas-phase elemental nitrogen should be present as N2, with an abundance approximately five orders of magnitude less than that of hydrogen. As a homonuclear…
During the planet formation process, billions of comets are created and ejected into interstellar space. The detection and characterization of such interstellar comets (also known as extra-solar planetesimals or extra-solar comets) would…
We present elemental abundances of 118 stars (28 of which are known extrasolar planetary host stars) observed as part of the Anglo-Australian Planet Search. Abundances of O, Mg, Cr, Y, Zr, Ba, Nd and Eu (along with previously published…
The discovery of metal-poor stars (where metal is any element more massive than helium) has enabled astronomers to probe the chemical enrichment history of the Milky Way. More recently, element abundances in gas inside high-redshift…
A possible way of detecting the first structure formation in a non-standard BBN Universe during the dark age, due to the resonant scattering of the CMBR photons in the rotational lines of the primordial CH molecule is discussed. The…
We present the first detection of hydrogen chlorine in a protostellar shock, by observing the fundamental transition at 626 GHz with the Herschel HIFI spectrometer. We detected two of the three hyperfine lines, from which we derived a line…
The low carbon content of Earth and primitive meteorites compared to the Sun and interstellar grains suggests that carbon-rich grains were destroyed in the inner few astronomical units of the young solar system. A promising mechanism to…
Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in a variety of interstellar sources. The abundances of these COMs in warming sources can be explained by syntheses linked to increasing temperatures and densities, allowing quasi-thermal…
Balmer and Paschen continuum emission as well as Balmer series lines of P Cygni-type profile from H_gamma through H_23 are revealed in the violet spectra of BM Gem, a carbon star associated with an oxygen-rich circumstellar shell (`silicate…
We survey the current situation regarding chemical modelling of the synthesis of molecules in the interstellar medium. The present state of knowledge concerning the rate coefficients and their uncertainties for the major gas-phase processes…
Binary star systems are assumed to be co-natal and coeval, thus to have identical chemical composition. In this work we aim to test the hypothesis that there is a connection between observed element abundance patterns and the formation of…
When the EPOXI spacecraft flew by Comet 103P/Hartley 2, it observed large particles floating around the comet nucleus. These particles are likely low-density, centimeter- to decimeter-sized clumps of ice and dust. While the origin of these…
The collapse of the protostellar envelope results in the growth of the protostar and the development of a protoplanetary disk, playing a critical role during the early stages of star formation. Characterizing the gas infall in the envelope…
Context. Near- and mid-infrared observations have revealed the presence of organic refractory materials in the solar system, in cometary nuclei and on the surface of centaurs, Kuiper-belt and trans-neptunian objects. In these astrophysical…
The abundance of interstellar ice constituents is usually expressed with respect to the water ice because, in denser regions, a significant portion of the interstellar grain surface would be covered by water ice. The binding energy (BE), or…
Although still poorly understood, the chemistry that occurs on the surfaces of interstellar dust particles profoundly affects the growth of molecules in the interstellar medium. An important set of surface reactions produces icy mantles of…
Dust grains play an important role in the synthesis of molecules in the interstellar medium, from the simplest species to complex organic molecules. How some of these solid-state molecules are converted into gas-phase species is still a…
We present ultraviolet interstellar absorption line measurements for the sightline towards the O9.5 V star mu Columbae obtained with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. These archival data…
One of the most fundamental hypotheses in astrochemistry and astrobiology states that crucial biotic molecules like glycine (NH$_2$CH$_2$COOH) found in meteorites and comets are inherited from early phases of star formation. Most…
CO$_2$ is an important, stable, and abundant molecule in the Universe, but it is very difficult to detect because it has no observable pure rotational transitions. The unique sensitivity and resolution of the James Webb Space Telescope…