Related papers: Using astrochemical models to simulate reactivity …
We present a sub-grid model for star formation in galaxy simulations, incorporating molecular hydrogen ($\mathrm{H}_2$) production via dust grain condensation and its destruction through star formation and photodissociation. Implemented…
How does molecular complexity emerge and evolve during the process leading to the formation of a planetary system? Astrochemistry is experiencing a golden age, marked by significant advancements in the observation and understanding of the…
With the chemical reaction rate database UMIST95 (Millar et al. 1997) we analyze how uncertainties in rate constants of gas-phase chemical reactions influence the modelling of molecular abundances in the interstellar medium. Random…
(abridged) We use large cosmological simulations to study the origin of primordial star-forming clouds in a Lambda CDM universe, by following the formation of dark matter halos and the cooling of gas within them. To model the physics of…
Our main purpose is to estimate the effect of assuming uniform density on the line-of-sight in PDR chemistry models, compared to a more realistic distribution for which total gas densities may well vary by several orders of magnitude. A…
Interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) can be loosely defined as chemical compounds with at least six atoms in which at least one is carbon. The observations of iCOMs in star-forming regions have shown that they contain an important…
Ice mantles play a crucial role in shaping the astrochemical inventory of molecules during star and planet formation. Small-scale molecular processes have a profound impact on large-scale astronomical evolution. The areas of solid-state…
Reactions between atomic nuclei are measured in great detail in terrestrial laboratory experiments; transferring and extrapolating this knowledge to how the same reactions act within cosmic environments presents major challenges.…
The complexity of physico-chemical models of star formation is increasing, with models that take into account new processes and more realistic setups. These models allow astrochemists to compute the evolution of chemical species throughout…
The study of deuteration in pre-stellar cores is important to understand the physical and chemical initial conditions in the process of star formation. In particular, observations toward pre-stellar cores of methanol and deuterated…
Small organic molecules are thought to provide building blocks for the formation of complex interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, the underlying chemical mechanisms remain unclear, particularly concerning the role…
Recent observations have revealed significant variations in the abundances of gas- and ice-phase molecules in galaxies with different luminosities and types. In order to discuss the physical origins of these variations, we incorporate gas-…
Following the first pioneering efforts in the 1990s that have focused on the detection of the molecular interstellar medium in high redshift galaxies, recent years have brought great advances in our understanding of the actual physical…
Interstellar methanol is considered to be a parent species of larger, more complex organic molecules. A physicochemical simulation of infalling parcels of matter is performed for a low-mass star-forming system to trace the chemical…
Astrochemistry is a discipline that studies physico-chemical processes in astrophysical environments. Such environments are characterized by conditions that are substantially different from those existing in usual chemical laboratories.…
Cold cores are an early step of star formation, characterized by densities > 10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$, low temperatures (< 15 K), and very low external UV radiation. We investigate the physico-chemical processes at play to tracing the origin of…
CO is commonly used as a tracer of the total gas mass in both the interstellar medium and in protoplanetary disks. Recently there has been much debate about the utility of CO as a mass tracer in disks. Observations of CO in protoplanetary…
The deuterium fractionation of gas-phase molecules in hot cores is believed to reflect the composition of interstellar ices. The deuteration of methanol is a major puzzle, however, because the isotopologue ratio [CH2DOH]/[CH3OD], which is…
This review discusses recent results on the astrochemistry of (mostly high-mass) star-forming regions. After an introduction on the use of chemistry in astrophysics and some basic concepts of astrochemistry, specific results are presented.…
Because of the very peculiar conditions of chemistry in many astrophysical gases (low densities, mostly low temperatures, kinetics-dominated chemical evolution), great efforts have been devoted to study molecular signatures and chemical…