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Alcohols and aldehydes represent two key classes of interstellar complex organic molecules (COMs). This work seeks to better understand their possible chemical connections, with a focus on such molecules in the sources of the star-forming…
The abundances of deuterated molecules with respect to their main isotopologue counterparts have been determined to be orders of magnitude higher than expected from the cosmic abundance of deuterium relative to hydrogen. The increasing…
The detection of organic molecules with increasing complexity and potential biological relevance is opening the possibility to understand the formation of the building blocks of life in the interstellar medium. One of the families of…
Methanol and its precursor formaldehyde are among the most studied organic molecules in the interstellar medium and are abundant in the gaseous and solid phases. We recently developed a model to simulate CO hydrogenation via H atoms on…
Solid O2 has been proposed as a possible reservoir for oxygen in dense clouds through freeze-out processes. The aim of this work is to characterize quantitatively the physical processes that are involved in the desorption kinetics of CO-O2…
Glycolaldehyde (HOCH2CHO) is the most straightforward sugar detected in the Interstellar Medium (ISM) and participates in the formation pathways of molecules fundamental to life, red such as ribose and derivatives. Although detected in…
The presence of methanol among the common ice components in interstellar clouds and protostellar envelopes has been confirmed by the James Webb Space Telescope. Methanol is often detected in the gas phase toward lines of sight shielded from…
Ethanolamine (NH2CH2CH2OH) has recently been identified in the molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027, situated in the SgrB2 complex in the Galactic center. However, its presence in other regions, and in particular in star-forming sites, is still…
Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) has been detected in interstellar ices within regions associated with the early stages of star and planet formation. Its solid-phase pathways can lead to diverse conditions that can significantly influence its…
Eccentric planets may spend a significant portion of their orbits at large distances from their host stars, where low temperatures can cause atmospheric CO2 to condense out onto the surface, similar to the polar ice caps on Mars. The…
While the abundance of elemental deuterium is relatively low (D/H ~ a few 1E-5), orders of magnitude higher D/H abundance ratios have been found for many interstellar molecules, enhanced by deuterium fractionation. In cold molecular clouds…
The formation of singly and doubly deuterated isotopomers of formaldehyde and of singly, doubly, and multiply deuterated isotopomers of methanol on interstellar grain surfaces has been studied with a semi-empirical modified rate approach…
Formaldehyde is a key precursor in the formation routes of many complex organic molecules (COMs) in space. It is also an intermediate step in CO hydrogenation sequence that leads to methanol formation on the surface of interstellar grains…
Small hydrocarbons are an important organic reservoir in protostellar and protoplanetary environments. Constraints on desorption temperatures and binding energies of such hydrocarbons are needed for accurate predictions of where these…
Accurate enthalpies of formation are reported for known and potential astromolecules using high level ab initio quantum chemical calculations. A total of 130 molecules comprising of 31 isomeric groups and 24 cyanide/isocyanide pairs with…
Molecules are ubiquitous in space. They are necessary component in the creation of habitable planetary systems and can provide the basic building blocks of life. Solid-state processes are pivotal in the formation of molecules in space and…
Formamide (NH2CHO) and methylamine (CH3NH2) are known to be the most abundant amine-containing molecules in many astrophysical environments. The presence of these molecules in the gas phase may result from thermal desorption of interstellar…
Ice is a major component of astrophysical environment - from interstellar molecular clouds through protoplanetary disks to evolved solar systems. Ice and complex organic matter coexist in these environments as well, and it is thought…
Despite its potential reactivity due to ring strain, ethylene oxide (c-C2H4O) is a complex molecule that seems to be stable under the physical conditions of an interstellar dense core; indeed it has been detected towards several high-mass…
In this thesis, we examine the interplay of interstellar dust and gas in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). In Chapter 2, we use $^{12}$CO CARMA observations of M31 and dust mass surface density measurements from the Bayesian algorithm PPMAP to…