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Related papers: Molecular complexity in the interstellar medium

200 papers

The interstellar medium feeds both the formation of stars and the growth of black holes, making it a key ingredient in the evolution of galaxies. With the advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA), we can now probe…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-05-26 Gabriela Calistro-Rivera , Jacqueline Hodge

The interstellar medium (ISM) is a very complex medium which contains the matter needed to form stars and planets. The ISM is in permanent interaction with radiation, turbulence, magnetic and gravitational fields, and accelerated particles.…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2018-03-07 S Paron

The investigation of star forming regions have enormously benefited from the recent advent of the ALMA interferometer. More specifically, the unprecedented combination of high-sensitivity and high-angular resolution provided by ALMA allows…

Over the past five decades, radio astronomy has shown that molecular complexity is a natural outcome of interstellar chemistry, in particular in star forming regions. However, the pathways that lead to the formation of complex molecules are…

Molecules reside broadly in the interstellar space and can be detected via spectroscopic observations. To date, more than 271 molecular species have been identified in interstellar medium or circumstellar envelopes. Molecular spectroscopic…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-09-27 Xin Liu , Fujun Du

The advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has enabled a new era for studies of the formation and assembly of distant galaxies. Cosmological deep field surveys with ALMA and other interferometers have flourished…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-06-10 Manuel Aravena

The increasing number of observations towards different environments in the Milky Way, as well as theoretical and experimental works, are improving our knowledge of the astrochemical processes in the interstellar medium (ISM). In this…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-09-05 L. Colzi , V. M. Rivilla , M. T. Beltrán , C. Y. Law , E. Redaelli , M. Padovani

The Large Program "Astrochemical Surveys At IRAM" (ASAI) investigates the emergence of molecular complexity along the different stages of the solar-type star formation process, by carrying out unbiased line surveys of a sample of ten…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-09-21 B. Lefloch , C. Vastel , E. Bianchi , R. Bachiller

We use ALMA observations of four sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) at $z\sim2-3$ to investigate the spatially resolved properties of the inter-stellar medium (ISM) at scales of 1--5 kpc (0.1--0.6$''$). The velocity fields of our sources,…

In astrochemistry, computational methods play a crucial role in addressing fundamental astronomical questions. Interstellar molecules profoundly influence the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium (ISM), playing pivotal roles in…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-07-23 D. Campisi , J. Perrero , N. Balucani

The late stages of stellar evolution from asymptotic giant branch stars to planetary nebulae are now known to be an active phase of molecular synthesis. Over 80 gas-phase molecules have been detected through rotational transitions in the…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2019-07-16 Sun Kwok

Interstellar molecules, which play an important role in astrochemistry, are identified using observed spectral lines. Despite the advent of spectral analysis tools in the past decade, the identification of spectral lines remains a tedious…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-02-07 Yisheng Qiu , Tianwei Zhang , Thomas Möller , XueJian Jiang , Zihao Song , Huaxi Chen , Donghui Quan

Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected ubiquitously in protostellar systems. However, at shorter wavelengths (~0.8mm) it is more difficult to detect larger molecules than at longer wavelengths (~3mm) because of the increase of…

We are just starting to understand the physical processes driving the dramatic change in cosmic star-formation rate between $z\sim 2$ and the present day. A quantity directly linked to star formation is the molecular gas density, which…

The recent availability of wideband receivers and high sensitivity instruments in the mm and submm wavelengths has opened the possibility of studying in detail the chemistry of the interstellar medium in extragalactic objects. Within the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2009-08-24 Sergio Martin

The ISO and Spitzer space observatories yielded a treasure trove of data on dust and ices covering dust grains. Now Herschel, and soon SOFIA and ALMA, will provide unprecedented views of the molecular world of the interstellar medium (ISM).…

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics · Physics 2012-11-08 Gianfranco Vidali

Isomerism in complex organic molecules provides key insights into the formation mechanisms and physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM). Among the C$_2$H$_5$NO isomers, only acetamide and trans-N-methylformamide (trans-NMF) have…

We present early results from our program of ALMA Band 6 (1.3mm) molecular line mapping of a sample of nearby, well-studied examples of high-excitation, bipolar/pinched-waist and molecule-rich planetary nebulae (Hubble 5 and NGC 2440, 2818,…

Contrary to popular belief, the interstellar medium (ISM) is not empty; it is filled with atoms, dust particles, and molecules. Some of these molecules may have been the very building blocks of life that, delivered to Earth via comets and…

Understanding the nature of high-$z$ dusty galaxies requires a comprehensive view of their ISM and molecular complexity. However, the molecular ISM at high-$z$ is commonly studied using only a few species beyond CO, limiting our…