Related papers: Overview of complex organic molecule observations …
Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in a variety of interstellar sources. The abundances of these COMs in warming sources can be explained by syntheses linked to increasing temperatures and densities, allowing quasi-thermal…
Cold ($\sim$10 K) and dense ($\sim$10$^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$) cores of gas and dust within molecular clouds, known as starless and dynamically evolved prestellar cores, are the birthplaces of low-mass ($M$ $\leq$ few M$_\odot$) stars. As…
The occurrence of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the gas phase at low temperature in the dense phases of the ISM suggests that a non-thermal desorption mechanism is at work because otherwise, COMs should condense within a short…
(Abridged) Complex organic molecules (COMs) are commonly detected in and near star-forming regions. However, the dominant process in the release of these COMs from the icy grains - where they predominately form - to the gas phase is still…
Massive star-forming regions exhibit an extremely rich and diverse chemistry, which in principle provides a wealth of molecular probes, as well as laboratories for interstellar prebiotic chemistry. Since the chemical structure of these…
Classical hot cores are rich in molecular emission, and they show a high abundance of complex organic molecules (COMs). The emergence of molecular complexity is poorly constrained in the early evolution of hot cores. Using the Atacama Large…
Complex organic molecules (COM) are detected in many sources in the warm inner regions of envelopes surrounding deeply embedded protostars. Exactly how these COM form remains an open question. This study aims to constrain the formation of…
Up to 90% of the chemical reactions during star formation occurs on ice surfaces, probably including the formation of complex organics. Only the most abundant ice species are however observed directly by infrared spectroscopy. This study…
We present maps of the column densities of H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and CO ices towards the molecular cores B~35A, DC~274.2-00.4, BHR~59, and DC~300.7-01.0. These ice maps, probing spatial distances in molecular cores as low as 2200~AU, challenge…
(Abridged) The birth environment of the Sun will have influenced the conditions in the pre-solar nebula, including the attainable chemical complexity, important for prebiotic chemistry. The formation and distribution of complex organic…
The detection of complex organic molecules (COMs) toward cold sources such as pre-stellar cores (with T<10 K), has challenged our understanding of the formation processes of COMs in the interstellar medium. Recent modelling on COM chemistry…
The formation of complex organic molecules (COMs) in protostellar environments is a hotly debated topic. In particular, the relative importance of the gas phase processes as compared to a direct formation of COMs on the dust grain surfaces…
Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in the gas-phase in cold and lightless molecular cores. Recent solid-state laboratory experiments have provided strong evidence that COMs can be formed on icy grains through…
Comets have similar compositions to interstellar medium ices, suggesting at least some of their molecules maybe inherited from an earlier stage of evolution. To investigate the degree to which this might have occurred we compare the…
The presence of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the interstellar medium (ISM) is of great interest since it may link to the origin and prevalence of life in the universe. Aiming to investigate the occurrence of COMs and their possible…
The interstellar medium contains dust and gas, in which at high densities and cold conditions molecules can proliferate. Interstellar Complex Organic Molecules (iCOMs) are C-bearing species that contain at least six atoms. As they are…
Nitrogen-bearing complex organic molecules have been commonly detected in the gas phase but not yet in interstellar ices. This has led to the long-standing question of whether these molecules form in the gas phase or in ices. $\textit{James…
Many species of complex organic molecules (COMs) have been observed in several astrophysical environments but it is not clear how they are produced, particularly in cold, quiescent regions. One process that has been proposed as a means to…
We have studied four complex organic molecules (COMs), methyl formate ($CH_3OCHO$), dimethyl ether ($CH_3OCH_3$), formamide ($NH_2CHO$), and ethyl cyanide ($C_2H_5CN$), towards a large sample of 39 high-mass star-forming regions…
Acetone (CH3COCH3) is one of the most abundant three-carbon oxygen-bearing complex organic molecules (O-COMs) that have been detected in space. Recently, acetone ice has been reported as (tentatively) detected toward B1-c, which enables the…