Related papers: Dust Motions in Magnetized Turbulence: Source of C…
We calculate the relative grain-grain motions arising from interstellar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. The MHD turbulence includes both fluid motions and magnetic fluctuations. While the fluid motions accelerate grains through…
Icy interstellar dust grains are a source of complex organic molecule (COM) production, although their formation mechanisms are debated. Laboratory experiments show that atomic C deposited onto interstellar ice analogs can react with…
Formamide has a key role in prebiotic chemistry as it is the simplest molecule containing the four most important atoms from a biological point of view: hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Due to its importance, the formation of this…
Protoplanetary disk are the foundation of planet formation. Lightning can have a profound impact on the chemistry of planetary atmospheres. The emergence of lightning in a similar manner in protoplanetary disks, would substantially alter…
We investigate chemistry in the compression layer behind the interstellar shock waves, where molecular cloud formation starts. We perform three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulations of converging flows of atomic gas with shock…
Surface chemistry on cosmic dust grains plays an important role in the formation of molecules at low temperatures in the interstellar and circumstellar environments. For the first time, we experimentally put in evidence the catalytic role…
Supersonic turbulence is an essential element in understanding how structure within interstellar gas is created and shaped. In the context of star formation, many computational studies show that the mass spectrum of density and velocity…
Gas-phase processes were long thought to be the key formation mechanisms for complex organic molecules in star-forming regions. However, recent experimental and theoretical evidence has cast doubt on the efficiency of such processes.…
We model the synthesis of molecules and dust in the inner wind of the oxygen-rich Mira-type star IK Tau, by considering the effects of periodic shocks induced by the stellar pulsation on the gas, and by following the non-equilibrium…
To understand the earliest stages of planet formation, it is crucial to be able to predict the rate and the outcome of dust grains collisions, be it sticking and growth, bouncing, or fragmentation. The outcome of such collisions depends on…
In spite of accounting for only a small fraction of the mass of the Interstellar Medium (ISM), dust plays a primary role in many physical and chemical processes in the Universe. It is the main driver of extinction of radiation in the…
Outflows of pre-main-sequence stars drive shocks into molecular material within 0.01 - 1 pc of the young stars. The shock-heated gas emits infrared, millimeter and submillimeter lines of many species including. Dust grains are important…
The degree of porosity in interstellar dust-grain material is poorly defined, although recent work has suggested that the grains could be highly porous. Aside from influencing the optical properties of the dust, porosity has the potential…
The diffuse interstellar medium is dynamic, and its chemistry and evolution is determined by shock fronts as well as photodissociation. Shocks are implied by the supersonic motions and velocity dispersion often statistically called…
Within the framework of The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model at the IaS (THEMIS) this work investigates in detail the surface processes and chemistry relating to core/mantle interstellar and cometary grain structures and its influence on…
There is accumulating evidence for the presence of complex molecules, including carbon-bearing and organic molecules, in the interstellar medium. Much of this evidence comes to us from studies of chemical composition, photo- and…
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…
Differential settling and growth of dust grains impact the structure of the radiative envelopes of gaseous planets during formation. Sufficiently rapid dust growth can result in envelopes with substantially reduced opacities for radiation…
In cold, dense astrophysical environments dust grains are mixed with molecular ices. Chemistry in those dust/ice mixtures is determined by diffusion and reaction of molecules and radicals. However, investigations of diffusion of…
We investigate giant molecular cloud (GMCs) collisions and their ability to induce gravitational instability and thus star formation. This mechanism may be a major driver of star formation activity in galactic disks. We carry out a series…