Related papers: Prebiotic Fatty Acid Vesicles through Photochemica…
My thesis work aims to study the inter-relation between various physical and chemical conditions in a wide range of astrophysical environments. Our studied regions range from the super-hot regions (i.e., nebular, photon-dominated, or…
Photodissociation is the dominant removal process of molecules in any region exposed to intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This includes diffuse and translucent interstellar clouds, dense photon-dominated regions, high velocity shocks, the…
The formation of the first generations of stars at redshifts z > 15-20 signaled the transition from the simple initial state of the universe to one of increasing complexity. We here review recent progress in understanding the assembly…
One of the fundamental astrobiology questions is how life has formed in our Solar System. In this context the formation and stability of abiotic organic molecules such as CH4, formic acid and amino acids, is important for understanding how…
Lipid structures exhibit complex and highly dynamic lateral structure; and changes in lipid density and fluidity are believed to play an essential role in membrane targeting and function. The dynamic structure of liquids on the molecular…
In warm (equilibrium temperature <1000 K) gas giant exoplanet atmospheres, the observation of trace species in abundances deviating from thermochemical equilibrium predictions could be used as an indicator of disequilibrium chemical…
The synthesis of water is one necessary step in the origin and development of life. It is believed that pristine water is formed and grows on the surface of icy dust grains in dark interstellar clouds. Until now, there has been no…
The UV photoreactivity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in porous amorphous solid water has long been known to form both oxygenated photoproducts and photofragments. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the ice…
The $L_\alpha$ phase of lipid bilayers is a fluid self-assembled state, key to the formulation of cosmetics, detergents and pharmaceutics. Despite having been extensively scrutinized in self-assembled phospholipid or surfactant bilayers,…
In order to better understand their potential formation in combustion systems, a detailed kinetic mechanism for the formation of short-chain monocarboxylic acids, formic (HCOOH), acetic (CH3COOH), propionic (C2H5COOH) and propenic…
The simplest possible beginning of abiogenesis has been a riddle from the last century, which is most successfully solved by the Lipid World hypothesis. However, origin of the next stages of evolution starting form lipids is still in dark.…
Clean oxide surfaces are generally hydrophilic. Water molecules anchor at undercoordinated surface metal atoms that act as Lewis-acid sites, and they are stabilized by H bonds to undercoordinated surface oxygens. The large unit cell of…
The very first stars to form in the Universe heralded an end to the cosmic dark ages and introduced new physical processes that shaped early cosmic evolution. Until now, it was thought that these stars lived short, solitary lives, with only…
Sun like stars are born from the collapse of fragment of molecular clouds. During the first embedded phase (the so called class 0/1), the protostar is surrounded by a collapsing envelope, whose physical and chemical structure would set up…
The formation of the first galaxies at redshifts z~10-15 signaled the transition from the simple initial state of the universe to one of ever increasing complexity. We here review recent progress in understanding their assembly process with…
Lipid vesicles composed of a mixture of two types of lipids are studied by intensive Monte-Carlo numerical simulations. The coupling between the local composition and the membrane shape is induced by two different spontaneous curvatures of…
Sun like stars are born from the collapse of fragment of molecular clouds. During the first embedded phase (the so called class 0/1), the protostar is surrounded by a collapsing envelope, whose physical and chemical structure would set up…
Liposome vesicles tend to align with an applied magnetic field. This is due to the directional magnetic susceptibility difference of the lipids which form the membrane of these vesicles. In this work a model of liposome vesicles exposed to…
As part of a national scientific network 'Pathways to Habitability' the formation of planets and the delivery of water onto these planets is a key question as water is essential for the development of life. In the first part of the paper we…
Energetic processing of interstellar ice mantles and planetary atmospheres via photochemistry is a critical mechanism in the extraterrestrial synthesis of prebiotic molecules. Photochemistry is defined as chemical processes initiated by…