Related papers: Biomolecules in the Interstellar Medium and Comets
We construct models of molecular clouds that are considered as ensembles of transient cores. Each core is assumed to develop in the background gas of the cloud, grow to high density and decay into the background. The chemistry in each core…
Molecular clouds are a fundamental ingredient of galaxies: they are the channels that transform the diffuse gas into stars. The detailed process of how they do it is not completely understood. We review the current knowledge of molecular…
Stars form within molecular clouds but our understanding of this fundamental process remains hampered by the complexity of the physics that drives their evolution. We review our observational and theoretical knowledge of molecular clouds…
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…
In cold, dense astrophysical environments dust grains are mixed with molecular ices. Chemistry in those dust/ice mixtures is determined by diffusion and reaction of molecules and radicals. However, investigations of diffusion of…
The compositions of planet-forming disks are set by a combination of material inherited from the interstellar medium and material reprocessed during disk formation and evolution. Indeed, comets and primitive meteorites exhibit…
Molecular oxygen has been confirmed as the fourth most abundant molecule in cometary material O$_2$/H$_2$O $\sim 4$ %) and is thought to have a primordial nature, i.e., coming from the interstellar cloud from which our solar system was…
Recent high-resolution and sensitivity ALMA observations have unveiled the carbon isotope ratios ($^{12}$C/$^{13}$C) of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in a low-mass protostellar source. To understand the $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C ratios of COMs,…
This review covers four current questions in the behavior of the atomic and molecular interstellar medium. These include whether the atomic gas originates primarily in cold streams or hot flows onto galaxies; what the filling factor of cold…
We discuss the composition and size distribution of the dust in the coma of comet Hale-Bopp. We do this by fitting simultaneously the infrared emission spectrum measured by the infrared space observatory (ISO) and the measured degree of…
Astrochemistry lies at the nexus of astronomy, chemistry, and molecular physics. On the basis of precise laboratory data, a rich collection of more than 200 familiar and exotic molecules have been identified in the interstellar medium, the…
Using atomistic simulations, we characterize the adsorption process of organic molecules on carbon nanoparticles, both of which have been reported to be abundant in the interstellar medium (ISM). It is found that the aromatic organics are…
We present new models of the deuterium chemistry in protoplanetary disks, including, for the first time, multiply deuterated species. We use these models to explore whether observations in combination with models can give us clues as to…
Given the central role of carbon in the chemistry of life, it is a fundamental question as to how carbon is supplied to the Earth, in what form and when. We provide an accounting of carbon found in solar system bodies, in particular a…
Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been observed in comets, hot cores and cold dense regions of the interstellar medium. It is generally accepted that these COMs form on icy dust grain through the recombination reaction of radicals…
In this chapter, we explore the origins of cometary material and discuss the clues cometary composition provides in the context of the origin of our solar system. The review focuses on both cometary refractory and volatile materials, which…
We have investigated the chemistry of dense interstellar clouds and found new bistable solutions in the nitrogen and carbon chemistries. We identify the autocatalytic processes that are present in the pure, reduced, chemical networks and,…
(Abridged) Protoplanetary disks are vital objects in star and planet formation, possessing all the material which may form a planetary system orbiting the new star. We investigate the synthesis of complex organic molecules (COMs) in disks…
This paper provides a brief summary and overview of the astrochemistry associated with the formation of stars and planets. It is aimed at new researchers in the field to enable them to obtain a quick overview of the landscape and key…
Isotopic ratios provide a powerful tool for understanding the origins of materials, including the volatile and refractory matter within solar system bodies. Recent high sensitivity observations of molecular isotopologues, in particular with…