Related papers: Biomolecules in the Interstellar Medium and Comets
The late stages of stellar evolution from asymptotic giant branch stars to planetary nebulae are now known to be an active phase of molecular synthesis. Over 80 gas-phase molecules have been detected through rotational transitions in the…
We discuss the connection between the chemistry of dense interstellar clouds and those characteristics of cometary matter that could be remnants of it. The chemical evolution observed to occur in molecular clouds is summarized and a model…
Planetary systems such as our own are formed after a long process where matter condenses from diffuse clouds to stars, planets, asteroids, comets and residual dust, undergoing dramatic changes in physical and chemical state in less than a…
In astrochemistry, computational methods play a crucial role in addressing fundamental astronomical questions. Interstellar molecules profoundly influence the chemistry and physics of the interstellar medium (ISM), playing pivotal roles in…
Organic compounds are ubiquitous in space: they are found in diffuse clouds, in the envelopes of evolved stars, in dense star-forming regions, in protoplanetary disks, in comets, on the surfaces of minor planets, and in meteorites and…
Recent developments in the chemical modelling of cometary comae are described. We discuss the cyanide chemistry and present new HCN observations of the recent comet C/2002 C1 (Ikeya-Zhang). The connection between interstellar and cometary…
Astrochemistry is a well-established multidisciplinary field devoted to study molecules in space. While most astrochemists are oriented to observe molecules in the gas phase and reproduce their abundances by modeling the physical conditions…
The recent discovery of terrestrial-type organic species such as methyl formate and dimethyl ether in the cold interstellar gas has proved that the formation of organic matter in the Galaxy begins at a much earlier stage of star formation…
A prevailing theory for the interstellar production of complex organic molecules (COMs) involves formation on warm dust-grain surfaces, via the diffusion and reaction of radicals produced through grain-surface photodissociation of stable…
We present a chemical kinetics model of the solid-phase chemical evolution of a comet, beginning with a long period of cold-storage in the Oort Cloud, followed by five orbits that bring the comet close to the Sun. The chemical model is…
This paper reviews the chemistry of star-forming regions, with an emphasis on the formation of high-mass stars. We first outline the basic molecular processes in dense clouds, their implementation in chemical models, and techniques to…
The interstellar medium is characterized by a rich and diverse chemistry. Many of its complex organic molecules are proposed to form through radical chemistry in icy grain mantles. Radicals form readily when interstellar ices (composed of…
Thanks to the advent of sensitive and broad bandwidth instrumentation, complex organic molecules (COMs) have been found in a wide variety of interstellar environments, not only in our Galaxy but also in external galaxies up to a redshift of…
Organic molecules are widely present in the dense interstellar medium, and many have been synthesized in the laboratory on Earth under the conditions typical for an interstellar environment. Until now, however, only relatively small…
Within the framework of The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model at the IaS (THEMIS) this work investigates in detail the surface processes and chemistry relating to core/mantle interstellar and cometary grain structures and its influence on…
Comets are a rich reservoir of complex organic molecules. Ground and space-based observatories have recently greatly enhanced the cometary molecular inventory. Although these molecules' origin is believed to be the cometary nucleus, they…
My thesis work aims to study the inter-relation between various physical and chemical conditions in a wide range of astrophysical environments. Our studied regions range from the super-hot regions (i.e., nebular, photon-dominated, or…
We present a model for the formation of large organic molecules in dark clouds. The molecules are produced in the high density gas-phase that exists immediately after ice mantles are explosively sublimated. The explosions are initiated by…
Molecular complexity builds up at each step of the Sun-like star formation process, starting from simple molecules and ending up in large polyatomic species. Complex organic molecules (COMs; such as methyl formate, HCOOCH$_3$, dymethyl…
Complex organic molecules (COMs) are widely detected in protostellar and protoplanetary systems, where they are thought to have been inherited in large part from earlier evolutionary phases. The chemistry of COMs in these earlier phases,…