Related papers: Biomolecules in the Interstellar Medium and Comets
Cometary ices are formed during star and planet formation, and their molecular and elemental makeup can be related to the early solar system via the study of inter- and protostellar material. The first cometary abundance of the halogen…
The interaction of carbon atoms with solid carbon monoxide (CO) is a fundamental process in astrochemistry, influencing the formation of complex organic molecules in interstellar environments. This study investigates the adsorption and…
In order to understand the origin and evolution of comets, one must decipher the processes that formed and processed cometary ice and dust. Cometary materials have diverse physical and chemical properties and are mixed in various ways.…
Context. The abundances of many observed compounds in interstellar molecular clouds still lack an explanation, despite extensive research that includes both gas and solid (dust-grain surface) phase reactions. Aims. We aim to qualitatively…
Fullerenes are a particularly stable class of carbon molecules in the shape of a hollow sphere or ellipsoid that might be formed in the outflows of carbon stars. Once injected into the interstellar medium (ISM), these stable species survive…
The reactivity of interstellar carbon atoms (C) on the water-dominated ices is one of the possible ways to form interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs). In this work, we report a quantum chemical study of the coupling reaction of C…
Observations of diffuse clouds showed that they contain a number of simple hydrocarbons (e.g. CH, C$_2$H, (l- and c-)C$_3$H$_2$, and C$_4$H) in abundances that may be difficult to understand on the basis of conventional gas-phase chemical…
Molecular oxygen has been the subject of many observational searches as chemical models predicted it to be a reservoir of oxygen. Although it has been detected in two regions of the interstellar medium, its rarity is a challenge for…
We review the progress that has been made in observing and analyzing molecular cloud structure in recent years. Structures are self-similar over a wide range of scales with similar power law indices independent of the star forming nature of…
Astronomical observations and analysis of stardust isolated from meteorites have revealed a highly diverse interstellar and circumstellar grain inventory, including a wide range of amorphous materials and crystalline compounds (silicates…
Filamentary structures are ubiquitously seen in the interstellar medium. The concentrated molecular mass in the filaments allows fragmentation to occur in a shorter timescale than the timescale of the global collapse. Such hierarchical…
We report on a systematic search for oxygen-bearing Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in the Solar-like protostellar shock region L1157-B1, as part of the IRAM Large Program "Astrochemical Surveys At IRAM" (ASAI). Several COMs are…
When the EPOXI spacecraft flew by Comet 103P/Hartley 2, it observed large particles floating around the comet nucleus. These particles are likely low-density, centimeter- to decimeter-sized clumps of ice and dust. While the origin of these…
This review covers hot cores in the context of high-mass star formation. After giving an overview of chemical processes and diversity during high-mass star formation, it reviews the `warm envelope' phase which probably precedes the…
(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…
We discuss new developments of interstellar chemistry, with particular emphasis on the carbon chemistry. We confirm that carbon chains and cycles are ubiquitous in the ISM and closely chemically related to ea ch other, and to carbon.…
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…
The ISO and Spitzer space observatories yielded a treasure trove of data on dust and ices covering dust grains. Now Herschel, and soon SOFIA and ALMA, will provide unprecedented views of the molecular world of the interstellar medium (ISM).…
The formation of H2 and HD molecules on interstellar dust grains is studied using rate equation and master equation models. Rate equations are used in the analysis of laboratory experiments which examine the formation of molecular hydrogen…
We present results from high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of turbulent interstellar gas that self-consistently follow its coupled thermal, chemical and dynamical evolution, with a particular focus on the formation and…