Editing Astrochemistry (section)

== Research ==

[[File:Turbulent border in Orion Nebula.jpg|thumb|Transition from atomic to molecular gas at the border of the [[Orion Molecular Clouds|Orion molecular cloud]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Turbulent border|url=http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1633a/|website=www.eso.org|access-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816112603/http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1633a/|archive-date=16 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
Research is progressing on the way in which interstellar and circumstellar molecules form and interact, e.g. by including non-trivial [[Quantum tunnelling#Astrochemistry in interstellar clouds|quantum mechanical phenomena]] for synthesis pathways on interstellar particles.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Trixler|first=F|title=Quantum tunnelling to the origin and evolution of life.|journal=Current Organic Chemistry|date=2013|volume=17|number=16|pages=1758–1770|doi=10.2174/13852728113179990083|pmid=24039543|pmc=3768233}}</ref> This research could have a profound impact on our understanding of the suite of molecules that were present in the molecular cloud when the [[Solar System]] formed, which contributed to the rich carbon chemistry of comets and asteroids and hence the meteorites and interstellar dust particles which fall to the Earth by the ton every day.

The sparseness of interstellar and interplanetary space results in some unusual chemistry, since [[Woodward–Hoffmann rules|symmetry-forbidden]] reactions cannot occur except on the longest of timescales. For this reason, molecules and molecular ions which are unstable on Earth can be highly 
abundant in space, for example the [[Protonated molecular hydrogen|H<sub>3</sub><sup>+</sup>]] ion.

Astrochemistry overlaps with [[astrophysics]] and [[nuclear physics]] in characterizing the nuclear reactions which occur in stars, as well as the structure of stellar interiors. If a star develops a largely convective envelope, [[dredge-up]] events can occur, bringing the products of nuclear burning to the surface. If the star is experiencing significant mass loss, the expelled material may contain molecules whose rotational and vibrational spectral transitions can be observed with radio and infrared telescopes.  An interesting example of this is the set of carbon stars with silicate and water-ice outer envelopes. Molecular spectroscopy allows us to see these stars transitioning from an original composition in which oxygen was more abundant than carbon, to a [[carbon star]] phase where the carbon produced by helium burning is brought to the surface by deep convection, and dramatically changes the molecular content of the stellar wind.<ref name="waller">{{cite journal |last1=Wallerstein |first1=George |last2=Knapp |first2=Gillian R. |title=Carbon Stars |journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics |date=September 1998 |volume=36 |pages=369–433 |doi=10.1146/annurev.astro.36.1.369 |bibcode=1998ARA&A..36..369W |url=https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.astro.36.1.369 |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="suh">{{cite journal |last1=Suh |first1=Kyung-Won |title=A Model for the Dust Envelope of the Silicate Carbon Star Iras 09425-6040 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |date=29 February 2016 |volume=819 |issue=1 |page=61 |doi=10.3847/0004-637X/819/1/61 |bibcode=2016ApJ...819...61S |s2cid=123696114 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In October 2011, scientists reported that [[cosmic dust]] contains [[organic compound|organic]] matter ("amorphous organic solids with a mixed [[aromatic]]-[[aliphatic]] structure") that could be created naturally, and rapidly, by stars.<ref name="Space-20111026">{{cite web |last=Chow |first=Denise |title=Discovery: Cosmic Dust Contains Matter from Stars |url=http://www.space.com/13401-cosmic-star-dust-complex-organic-compounds.html |date=26 October 2011 |publisher=[[Space.com]] |access-date=2011-10-26}}</ref><ref name="ScienceDaily-20111026">{{cite web |author=[[ScienceDaily]] Staff |title=Astronomers Discover Complex Organic Matter Exists Throughout the Universe |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111026143721.htm |date=26 October 2011 |website=[[ScienceDaily]] |access-date=2011-10-27}}</ref><ref name="Nature-20111026">{{cite journal |last1=Kwok |first1=Sun |last2=Zhang |first2=Yong |title=Mixed aromatic–aliphatic organic nanoparticles as carriers of unidentified infrared emission features |date=26 October 2011 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |doi=10.1038/nature10542 |bibcode=2011Natur.479...80K |pmid=22031328 |volume=479 |issue=7371 |pages=80–83|s2cid=4419859 }}</ref>

On August 29, 2012, and in a world first, astronomers at [[Copenhagen University]] reported the detection of a specific sugar molecule, [[glycolaldehyde]], in a distant star system. The molecule was found around the [[protostar|protostellar]] binary ''IRAS 16293-2422'', which is located {{nowrap|400 light years}} from Earth.<ref name="NG-20120829">{{cite journal |title=Sugar Found In Space |journal=National Geographic |last=Than |first=Ker |date=August 29, 2012 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-sugar-space-planets-science-life/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901013431/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120829-sugar-space-planets-science-life |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 1, 2012 |access-date=August 31, 2012}}</ref><ref name="AP-20120829">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Sweet! Astronomers spot sugar molecule near star |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120829/DA0V31D80.html |date=August 29, 2012 |publisher=[[AP News]] |access-date=August 31, 2012}}</ref> Glycolaldehyde is needed to form [[ribonucleic acid]], or [[RNA]], which is similar in function to [[DNA]].  This finding suggests that complex organic molecules may form in stellar systems prior to the formation of planets, eventually arriving on young planets early in their formation.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Detection of the simplest sugar, glycolaldehyde, in a solar-type protostar with ALMA |author1=Jørgensen, J. K. |author2=Favre, C. |author3=Bisschop, S. |author4=Bourke, T. |author5=Dishoeck, E. |author6=Schmalzl, M. |version=eprint |date=2012 |url=http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1234/eso1234a.pdf |bibcode=2012ApJ...757L...4J  |volume=757 |issue=1 |pages=L4 |journal=The Astrophysical Journal Letters |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/757/1/L4|arxiv = 1208.5498 |s2cid=14205612 }}</ref>

In September, 2012, [[NASA]] scientists reported that [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons|polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)]], subjected to [[Interstellar medium|interstellar medium (ISM)]] conditions, are transformed, through [[hydrogenation]], [[Oxygenate|oxygenation]] and [[hydroxylation]], to more complex [[Organic compound|organics]] – "a step along the path toward [[amino acids]] and [[nucleotides]], the raw materials of [[proteins]] and [[DNA]], respectively".<ref name="Space-20120920">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=NASA Cooks Up Organics to Mimic Life's Origins |url=http://www.space.com/17681-life-building-blocks-nasa-organic-molecules.html |date=September 20, 2012 |publisher=Space.com |access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref><ref name="AJL-20120901">{{cite journal |last1=Gudipati |first1=Murthy S. |last2=Yang |first2=Rui |title=In-Situ Probing Of Radiation-Induced Processing Of Organics In Astrophysical Ice Analogs&nbsp;– Novel Laser Desorption Laser Ionization Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectroscopic Studies |date=September 1, 2012 |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal Letters]] |volume=756 |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/756/1/L24 |bibcode=2012ApJ...756L..24G |issue=1 |pages=L24|s2cid=5541727 }}</ref> Further, as a result of these transformations, the PAHs lose their spectroscopic signature which could be one of the reasons "for the lack of PAH detection in [[interstellar ice]] [[Cosmic dust#Dust grain formation|grains]], particularly the outer regions of cold, dense clouds or the upper molecular layers of [[protoplanetary disks]]."<ref name="Space-20120920" /><ref name="AJL-20120901" />

In February 2014, [[NASA]] announced the creation of an improved spectral database <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astrochem.org/pahdb |title=NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database |publisher=The Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory, NASA-Ames |date=29 Oct 2013 |access-date=18 Apr 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416051626/http://www.astrochem.org/pahdb/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> for tracking [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]] (PAHs) in the [[universe]]. According to scientists, more than 20% of the [[carbon]] in the universe may be associated with PAHs, possible [[PAH world hypothesis|starting materials]] for the [[Abiogenesis#PAH world hypothesis|formation]] of [[Life#Extraterrestrial|life]]. PAHs seem to have been formed shortly after the [[Big Bang]], are widespread throughout the universe, and are associated with [[Star formation|new stars]] and [[exoplanets]].<ref name="NASA-20140221">{{cite web |last=Hoover |first=Rachel |title=Need to Track Organic Nano-Particles Across the Universe? NASA's Got an App for That |url=http://www.nasa.gov/ames/need-to-track-organic-nano-particles-across-the-universe-nasas-got-an-app-for-that/ |date=February 21, 2014 |work=NASA |access-date=February 22, 2014 |archive-date=May 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510124801/https://www.nasa.gov/ames/need-to-track-organic-nano-particles-across-the-universe-nasas-got-an-app-for-that/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On August 11, 2014, astronomers released studies, using the [[Atacama Large Millimeter Array|Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA)]] for the first time, that detailed the distribution of [[Hydrogen cyanide|HCN]], [[Hydrogen isocyanide|HNC]], [[Formaldehyde|H<sub>2</sub>CO]], and [[dust]] inside the [[Coma (cometary)|comae]] of [[comet]]s [[C/2012 F6 (Lemmon)]] and [[Comet ISON|C/2012 S1 (ISON)]].<ref name="NASA-20140811">{{cite web |last1=Zubritsky |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Neal-Jones |first2=Nancy |title= NASA's 3-D Study of Comets Reveals Chemical Factory at Work |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/august/goddard/nasa-s-3-d-study-of-comets-reveals-chemical-factory-at-work |date=August 11, 2014 |work=NASA |access-date=August 12, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="AJL-20140811">{{cite journal |author=Cordiner, M.A. |title=Mapping the Release of Volatiles in the Inner Comae of Comets C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) and C/2012 S1 (ISON) Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array |date=August 11, 2014 |journal=[[The Astrophysical Journal]] |volume=792 |number=1  |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/792/1/L2 |display-authors=etal|arxiv = 1408.2458 |bibcode = 2014ApJ...792L...2C |pages=L2|s2cid=26277035 }}</ref>

For the study of the recourses of chemical elements and molecules in the universe is developed the mathematical model of the molecules composition distribution in the interstellar environment on thermodynamic potentials by professor M.Yu. Dolomatov using methods of the probability theory, the mathematical and physical statistics and the equilibrium thermodynamics.<ref name="abundance of chemical elements">{{cite journal|title=Thermodynamic models of the distribution of life-related organic molecules in the interstellar medium |journal=Astrophysics and Space Science | date=May 2014 |doi=10.1007/s10509-014-1844-8 |volume=351 |issue = 1|pages=213–218|bibcode = 2014Ap&SS.351..213D  | last1 = Dolomatov | first1 = Michel Y.|s2cid=119971379 }}</ref><ref name="abundance of chemical elements2">{{cite journal|title=About Organic Systems Origin According to Equilibrium Thermodynamic Models of Molecules Distribution in Interstellar Medium |journal=Applied Physics Research |volume=6 |issue=5 | date=20 July 2014 |doi=10.5539/apr.v6n5p65 |last1=Dolomatov |first1=Michel Yu. |last2=Zhuravliova |first2=Nadezhda A. |last3=Tanatarova |first3=Diana R. |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="abundance of chemical elements3">{{cite journal|title=The Thermodynamic Models of Molecular Chemical Compound Distribution in the Giant Molecular Clouds Medium |journal=Applied Physics Research |volume=6 |issue=5 | date=25 Sep 2012 |doi=10.5539/apr.v6n5p65 |last1=Dolomatov |first1=Michel Yu. |last2=Zhuravliova |first2=Nadezhda A. |last3=Tanatarova |first3=Diana R. |bibcode=2012ApPhR...4.....D |doi-access=free }}</ref> Based on this model are estimated the resources of life-related molecules, amino acids and the nitrogenous bases in the interstellar medium. The possibility of the oil hydrocarbons molecules formation is shown. The given calculations confirm Sokolov's and Hoyl's hypotheses about the possibility of the oil hydrocarbons formation in Space. Results are confirmed by data of astrophysical supervision and space researches.

In July 2015, scientists reported that upon the first touchdown of the ''[[Philae (spacecraft)|Philae]]'' lander on [[comet]] [[67/P]]{{'s}} surface, measurements by the COSAC and Ptolemy instruments revealed sixteen organic compounds, four of which were seen for the first time on a comet, including [[acetamide]], [[acetone]], [[methyl isocyanate]] and [[propionaldehyde]].<ref name="wapo20150730">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |title=Philae probe finds evidence that comets can be cosmic labs |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |first=Frank |last=Jordans |date=July 30, 2015 |access-date=July 30, 2015 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007031637/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/philae-probe-finds-evidence-that-comets-can-be-cosmic-labs/2015/07/30/63a2fc0e-36e5-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="esa20150730">{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta/Science_on_the_surface_of_a_comet |title=Science on the Surface of a Comet |publisher=European Space Agency |date=July 30, 2015 |access-date=July 30, 2015}}</ref><ref name="SCI-20150731">{{cite journal |last1=Bibring |first1=J.-P. |last2=Taylor |first2=M.G.G.T. |last3=Alexander |first3=C. |last4=Auster |first4=U. |last5=Biele |first5=J. |last6=Finzi |first6=A. Ercoli |last7=Goesmann |first7=F. |last8=Klingehoefer |first8=G. |last9=Kofman |first9=W. |last10=Mottola |first10=S. |last11=Seidenstiker |first11=K.J. |last12=Spohn |first12=T. |last13=Wright |first13=I. |title=Philae's First Days on the Comet - Introduction to Special Issue |date=July 31, 2015 |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=349 |number=6247 |page=493 |doi=10.1126/science.aac5116 |bibcode = 2015Sci...349..493B |pmid=26228139|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In December 2023, astronomers reported the first time discovery, in the [[Plume (fluid dynamics)|plume]]s of [[Enceladus]], moon of the planet [[Saturn]], of [[hydrogen cyanide]], a possible chemical essential for [[life]]<ref name="ATL-20231205">{{cite news |last=Green |first=Jaime |title=What Is Life? - The answer matters in space exploration. But we still don't really know. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/12/defining-life-existentialism-scientific-theory/676238/ |date=5 December 2023 |work=[[The Atlantic]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231205121742/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/12/defining-life-existentialism-scientific-theory/676238/ |archivedate=5 December 2023 |accessdate=15 December 2023 }}</ref> as we know it, as well as other [[organic molecule]]s, some of which are yet to be better identified and understood. According to the researchers, "these [newly discovered] compounds could potentially support extant [[Microorganism|microbial communities]] or drive complex [[organic synthesis]] leading to the [[origin of life]]."<ref name="NYT-20231214kc">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Poison Gas Hints at Potential for Life on an Ocean Moon of Saturn - A researcher who has studied the icy world said "the prospects for the development of life are getting better and better on Enceladus." |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/enceladus-moon-cyanide-life-saturn.html |date=14 December 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231214210144/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/science/enceladus-moon-cyanide-life-saturn.html |archivedate=14 December 2023 |accessdate=15 December 2023 }}</ref><ref name="NA-20231214">{{cite journal |author=Peter, Jonah S. |display-authors=et al. |title=Detection of HCN and diverse redox chemistry in the plume of Enceladus |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02160-0 |date=14 December 2023 |journal=[[Nature Astronomy]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=164–173 |doi=10.1038/s41550-023-02160-0 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20231215144349/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02160-0 |archivedate=15 December 2023 |accessdate=15 December 2023 |arxiv=2301.05259 }}</ref>