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Reactions occurring on the ice-covered surfaces of interstellar dust grains are considered to be among the most important sources of complex species in the interstellar medium. Despite this, molecules such as cyanamide, NH2CN, are largely…
Context. Among the most significant chemical functional groups of interstellar molecules are the class of nitriles, which are proposed as key prebiotic molecules due to their chemical connection to the peptide bond after hydrolysis. CN…
Recent interstellar detections include a significant number of molecules containing vinyl (C2H3) and ethyl (C2H5) groups in their structure. For several of these molecules, there is not a clear experimental or theoretical evidence that…
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…
Icy interstellar dust grains are a source of complex organic molecule (COM) production, although their formation mechanisms are debated. Laboratory experiments show that atomic C deposited onto interstellar ice analogs can react with…
Cosmic rays are able to heat interstellar dust grains. This may enhance molecule mobility in icy mantles that have accumulated on the grains in dark cloud cores. A three-phase astrochemical model was used to investigate the molecule…
Almost 20% of the ~ 200 different species detected in the interstellar and circumstellar media present a carbon atom linked to nitrogen by a triple bond. Among these 37 molecules, 30 are nitrile R-CN compounds, the remaining seven belonging…
Explaining the formation pathways of amides on ice-grain mantels is crucial to understanding the prebiotic chemistry in an interstellar medium. In this computational study, we explore different radical-neutral formation pathways for some of…
Our current understanding of interstellar carbon fractionation hinges on the interpretation of astrochemical kinetic models. Yet, the various reactions included carry large uncertainties in their (estimated) rate coefficients, notably those…
Despite the fact that the majority of current models assume that interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) are formed on dust-grain surfaces, there is some evidence that neutral gas-phase reactions play an important role. In this…
The reaction between the amidogen, NH, radical and the ethyl, C2H5, radical has been investigated by performing electronic structure calculations of the underlying doublet potential energy surface. Rate coefficients and product branching…
Cyanopolyynes, a family of nitrogen containing carbon chains, are common in the interstellar medium and possibly form the backbone of species relevant to prebiotic chemistry. Following their gas phase formation, they are expected to freeze…
Many chemical models of dense interstellar clouds predict that the majority of gas-phase elemental nitrogen should be present as N2, with an abundance approximately five orders of magnitude less than that of hydrogen. As a homonuclear…
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…
Surface chemistry on cosmic dust grains plays an important role in the formation of molecules at low temperatures in the interstellar and circumstellar environments. For the first time, we experimentally put in evidence the catalytic role…
In cold core of dark molecular clouds, where the UV radiation from external sources is strongly attenuated, cosmic rays can induce chemical reactions on the surface of ice-covered grains promoting the ejection of the processed material to…
We report here the first detection in the interstellar medium of the cyanomidyl radical (HNCN). Using the Yebes 40m and the IRAM 30m telescopes, we have targeted the doublets of the $N$=2$-$1, 4$-$3, 5$-$4, 6$-$5, and 7$-$6 transitions of…
Non-thermal desorption of ices on interstellar grains is required to explain observations of molecules that are not synthesized efficiently in the gas phase in cold dense clouds. Perhaps the most important non-thermal desorption mechanism…
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…
Cyanamide (NH2CN) and its isomer, carbodiimide (HNCNH), may form adenine in the interstellar medium (ISM) via a series of reactions. Therefore, they are considered key prebiotic molecules in the study of the origin of life. We used the…