Related papers: Science with an ngVLA: Prebiotic Molecules
Astrochemistry lies at the nexus of astronomy, chemistry, and molecular physics. On the basis of precise laboratory data, a rich collection of more than 200 familiar and exotic molecules have been identified in the interstellar medium, the…
Glycine-the simplest amino acid-has remained undetected in the interstellar medium despite decades of sensitive searches, motivating alternative approaches to constrain its astrochemical origin. A promising strategy is to investigate the…
Hot molecular cores (HMCs), the cradles of massive stars, are the most chemically rich sources in the Galaxy. The typical masses of these cores (few hundreds of solar masses) make them the most important reservoirs of complex organic…
Amino acids are the essential keys that contribute to the study of the formation of life. The simplest amino acid, glycine (NH$_{2}$CH$_{2}$COOH), has been searched for a long time in the interstellar medium, but all surveys of glycine have…
Observations of comets and asteroids show that the Solar Nebula that spawned our planetary system was rich in water and organic molecules. Bombardment brought these organics to the young Earth's surface, seeding its early chemistry. Unlike…
Aromatic molecules represent fundamental building blocks in prebiotic chemistry and are contemplated as vital precursors to DNA and RNA nitrogen bases. However, despite the identification of some 300 molecules in extraterrestrial…
Comets provide a unique insight into the molecular composition and complexity of the material in the primordial solar nebula. Recent results from the Rosetta mission, currently monitoring comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in situ, and ALMA…
Prebiotic molecules, fundamental building blocks for the origin of life, have been found in carbonaceous chondrites. The exogenous delivery of these organic molecules onto the Hadean Earth could have sparked the polymerization of the first…
Of the twenty amino acids used in proteins, ten were formed in Miller's atmospheric discharge experiments. The two other major proposed sources of prebiotic amino acid synthesis include formation in hydrothermal vents and delivery to Earth…
How does molecular complexity emerge and evolve during the process leading to the formation of a planetary system? Astrochemistry is experiencing a golden age, marked by significant advancements in the observation and understanding of the…
Stars form in cold clouds of predominantly molecular (H2) gas. We are just beginning to understand how the formation, properties, and destruction of these clouds varies across the universe. In this chapter, we describe how the thermal line…
Prior to the origin of simple cellular life, the building blocks of RNA (nucleotides) had to form and polymerize in favourable environments on the early Earth. At this time, meteorites and interplanetary dust particles delivered organics…
Galactic winds are ubiquitously observed in galaxies both locally and in the high-redshift Universe. While these winds span many orders of magnitude in both temperature and density, observations of nearby galaxies show that the cold…
The growth of luminous structures and the building blocks of life in the Universe began as primordial gas was processed in stars and mixed at galactic scales. The mechanisms responsible for this development are not well understood and have…
The building blocks of life, amino acids and nucleobases, are believed to have been synthesized in the extreme conditions that prevail in space starting from simple molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. However, the…
Hydroxylamine (NH$_{2}$OH) and methylamine (CH$_{3}$NH$_{2}$) have both been suggested as precursors to the formation of amino acids and are therefore of interest to prebiotic chemistry. Their presence in interstellar space and formation…
The formation of asteroids, comets and planets occurs in the interior of protoplanetary disks during the early phase of star formation. Consequently, the chemical composition of the disk might shape the properties of the emerging planetary…
Knowledge of the composition of material that will form planets is crucial to understand planetary diversity and the occurrence of potentially habitable planets. Ultimately, it is the chemistry in circumstellar disks that determines the…
Acetylene, among the multitude of organic molecules discovered in space, plays a distinct role in the genesis of organic matter. Characterized by its unique balance of stability and reactivity, acetylene is the simplest unsaturated organic…
Chemistry plays a particular role in astrophysics. After atomic hydrogen, helium and their ions, the Universe probably contains more mass in molecules than in any other species. Molecule formation in the early, pre-galactic Universe may…