Related papers: Evidence for Phenylium Reactivity under Interstell…
Straight-chain (normal-propyl cyanide, n - C3H7CN) and branched-chain (iso-propyl cyanide, i - C3H7CN) alkyl cyanides are recently identified in the massive star-forming regions (Sgr B2(N) and Orion). These branched-chain molecules indicate…
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…
The life cycle of the population of interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules depends partly on the photostability of the individual species. We have studied the dissociative photoionization of two ethynyl-substituted PAH…
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are responsible for a variety of near- and mid-infrared spectral features in Galactic and extragalactic sources. A feature at 1.05 $\mu$m arising from electronic transitions in PAH cations is…
Naphthalene (C10H8) is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and an important component in a series of astrochemical reactions involving hydrocarbons. Its molecular charge state affects the stability of its isomeric structures,…
We investigate the presence of silicon atoms adsorbed on the surface of interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to form SiPAH pi-complexes. We use quantum chemistry calculations to obtain structural, thermodynamic and mid-IR…
We present a comprehensive mid-infrared spectroscopic survey of 124 Herbig Ae/Be stars using newly processed Spitzer/IRS spectra from the newly released CASSISjuice database. Based on prominent dust and molecular signatures (polycyclic…
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules have long been suggested to be present in the interstellar medium (ISM). Nevertheless, despite their expected ubiquity and sustained searching efforts, identifying specific interstellar PAH…
The fullerene C$_{60}$, one of the largest molecules identified in the interstellar medium (ISM), has been proposed to form top-down through the photo-chemical processing of large (more than 60 C-atoms) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)…
The detection of the amino acid glycine and its amine precursor methylamine on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta mission provides strong evidence for a cosmic origin of prebiotics on Earth. How and when such complex organic…
A reliable and compact chemical mechanism of gas-phase methane pyrolysis leading to formation of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules has been developed. This model is designed for studies of carbon nanostructure synthesis…
The formation of silicon monosulfide (SiS) in space appears to be a difficult process, but the present work is showing that a previously excluded pathway may contribute to its astronomical abundance. Reaction of the radicals SH + SiH…
Propyl cyanide (PrCN) (C3H7CN) with both linear and branched isomers is ubiquitous in interstellar space and is important for astrochemistry as it is one of the most complex molecules found to date in the interstellar medium. Furthermore,…
I summarize the results of two recent studies, based on ISO and Spitzer mid-IR spectra of galaxies and Galactic regions, aimed at understanding the origins of the variations of the aromatic features among and inside galaxies. I show that…
Interstellar grains are known to be important actors in the formation of interstellar molecules such as H$_2$, water, ammonia, and methanol. It has been suggested that the so-called interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) are also…
Experimental and theoretical studies are presented on the reactivity of methanimine and aminomethylene cations with ethene. Selective isomer generation is performed via dissociative photoionization of suitable neutral precursors and…
We report the first interstellar identification of protonated acetylene, C2H3+, a fundamental hydrocarbon, in the z=0.89 molecular absorber toward the gravitationally lensed quasar PKS1830-211. The molecular species is identified from clear…
Despite the harsh conditions of the interstellar medium, chemistry thrives in it, especially in star forming regions where several interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) have been detected. Yet, how these species are synthesised is…
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…
We report the detection of 6.2um polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and rest-frame 4-7um continuum emission in the z=4.055 submillimeter galaxy GN20, using the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. This…