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Recent radial velocity observations have indicated that Jovian-type planets can exist in moderately close binary star systems. Numerical simulations of the dynamical stability of terrestrial-class planets in such environments have shown…
Understanding the concept of habitability is related to an evolutionary knowledge of the particular planet-in-question. Additional indications so-called "systemic aspects" of the planetary system as a whole governs a particular planet's…
It is sometimes asserted that the rapidity of biogenesis on Earth suggests that life is common in the Universe. We critically examine the assumptions inherent in this argument. Using a lottery model for biogenesis in the Universe, we…
Accumulation of dust and ice particles into planetesimals is an important step in the planet formation process. Planetesimals are the seeds of both terrestrial planets and the solid cores of gas and ice giants forming by core accretion.…
The Cassini spacecraft observed that Saturn's moon Enceladus possesses a series of jets erupting from its South Polar Terrain. Previous studies of in situ data collected by Cassini's Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) have identified…
The presented work investigates the possible formation of terrestrial planets in the habitable zone (HZ) of the exoplanetary system HD 141399. In this system the HZ is located approximately between the planets c (a = 0.7 au) and d (a = 2.1…
Organic molecules are widely present in the dense interstellar medium, and many have been synthesized in the laboratory on Earth under the conditions typical for an interstellar environment. Until now, however, only relatively small…
How and where the first generation of inner solar system planetesimals formed remains poorly understood. Potential formation regions are the silicate condensation line and water-snowline of the solar protoplanetary disk. Whether the…
Most detected planet-bearing binaries are in wide orbits, for which a high inclination, $i_B$, between the binary orbital plane and the plane of the planetary disk around the primary is likely to be common. In this paper, we investigate the…
The physics of the standard hot big bang cosmology ensures that the early Universe was a primordial nuclear reactor, synthesizing the light nuclides (D, 3He, 4He, and 7Li) in the first 20 minutes of its evolution. After an overview of…
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a key feedstock molecule for the production of life's building blocks. The formation of HCN in an N$_2$-rich atmospheres requires first that the triple bond between N$\equiv$N be severed, and then that the atomic…
Migration of planetesimals from the feeding zone of the terrestrial planets, which was divided into seven regions depending on the distance to the Sun, was simulated. The influence of gravity of all planets was taken into account. In some…
Context. While synthesis of organic molecules in molecular clouds or protoplanetary disks is complex, observations of interstellar grains, analyses of carbonaceous chondrites, and UV photochemistry experiments are rapidly developing and…
Chondrites are sediments of materials left over from the earliest stage of the solar system history. Based on their undifferentiated nature and less fractionated chemical compositions, chondrites are widely considered to represent the…
Earth's water, intrinsic oxidation state, and metal core density are fundamental chemical features of our planet. Studies of exoplanets provide a useful context for elucidating the source of these chemical traits. Planet formation and…
Context. The classical "planetesimal" accretion scenario for the formation of planets has recently evolved with the idea that "pebbles", centimeter- to meter-sized icy grains migrating in protoplanetary disks, can control planetesimal…
The large number of exoplanets found to orbit their host stars in very close orbits have significantly advanced our understanding of the planetary formation process. It is now widely accepted that such short-period planets cannot have…
One of the proposed scenarios for the origin of life is the primordial RNA world, which considers that RNA molecules were likely responsible for the storage of genetic information and the catalysis of biochemical reactions in primitive…
Research investigating the origins of life usually focuses on exploring possible life-bearing chemistries in the pre-biotic Earth, or else on synthetic approaches. Little work has been done exploring fundamental issues concerning the…
The bottom-up construction of synthetic cells is one of the most intriguing and interesting research arenas in synthetic biology. Synthetic cells are built by encapsulating biomolecules inside lipid vesicles (liposomes), allowing the…