The reaction between ground state carbon atoms, C~P j), and acetylene, C2H2~ (g ), was studied at an average collision energy of ~8.460.3! kJ mol using the crossed molecular beam technique. The product angular distribution and time-of-flight spectra of m/z537, i.e., C3H, were recorded. Only m/z537 was detected, but no signal from the thermodynamically accessible C3~ (g )1H2( (g ) channel. Forwa...

Deuterium enhancement of monodeuterated species has been recognized for more than 30 years as a result of the chemical fractionation that results from the difference in zero point energies of deuterated and hydrogenated molecules. The key reaction is the deuteron exchange in the reaction between HD, the reservoir of deuterium in dark interstellar clouds, and the H3 + molecular ion, leading to t...

The molecular ion OH has long been known to be an important component of the interstellar medium. Its relative abundance can be used to indirectly measure cosmic ray ionization rates of hydrogen, and it is the first intermediate in the interstellar formation of water. To date, only a limited number of pure rotational transitions have been observed in the laboratory making it necessary to indire...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and related species have been suggested to play a key role in the astrochemical evolution of the interstellar medium, but the formation mechanism of even their simplest building block--the aromatic benzene molecule--has remained elusive for decades. Here we demonstrate in crossed molecular beam experiments combined with electronic structure and statistical calcu...

I have used theHipparcos Input Catalogue, together with Kurucz model stellar atmospheres and information on the strength of the interstellar extinction, to create a model of the expected intensity and spectral distribution of the local interstellar ultraviolet radiation field, under various assumptions concerning the albedo a of the interstellar grains. (This ultraviolet radiation field is of p...

The scientific community has advocated a scientific probe to the interstellar medium for over 30 years. While the Voyager spacecraft have passed through the termination shock of the solar wind, they have limited lifetimes as their radioisotope power supplies decay. It remains unclear whether they can reach the heliopause, the boundary between shocked solar wind and interstellar plasmas, and, in...

The orientation of the local interstellar magnetic field introduces asymmetries in the heliosphere that affect the location of heliospheric radio emissions and the streaming direction of ions from the termination shock of the solar wind. We combined observations of radio emissions and energetic particle streaming with extensive three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic computer simulations of magne...

The ESA meteoroid model predicts impacts of meteoroids in the mass range between 10 to 10 g on spacecraft surfaces. It covers heliocentric distances from 0.3 to 20 AU. Measurements of the dust detector on board the highly successful joint ESA/NASA mission Ulysses have shown, that the flux of meteoroids with masses between 10 and 10 g is, at least in the outer Solar System, dominated by interste...

The Herschel-guaranteed time key programme PRobing InterStellar Molecules with Absorption line Studies (PRISMAS)(1) is providing a survey of the interstellar hydrides containing the elements C, O, N, F and Cl. As the building blocks of interstellar molecules, hydrides provide key information on their formation pathways. They can also be used as tracers of important physical and chemical propert...

The role and importance of nanoparticles for interstellar chemistry and beyond is explored within the framework of The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model for Interstellar Solids (THEMIS), focusing on their active surface chemistry, the effects of nitrogen doping and the natural selection of interesting nanoparticle sub-structures. Nanoparticle-driven chemistry, and in particular the role of int...