Deuterium (D) atoms in interstellar deuterated methanol might be distributed into complex organic molecules through molecular evolution by photochemical reactions in interstellar grains. In this study, we use a state-of-theart high-resolution mass spectrometer coupled with a high-performance liquid chromatography system to quantitatively analyze amino acids and their deuterated isotopologues fo...

Carbon monoxide is the second most abundant molecule on icy grains in the interstellar medium. These grains are under the influence of ionizing radiation, which induces the chemical reaction within the ice. Here we report the first observation of subliming pentacarbon dioxide (C5O2) after irradiation of pure carbon monoxide ice with energetic electrons. Our results show that pentacarbon dioxide...

In the search for carriers of the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs), a nearly ubiquitous, as-of-yet unattributed interstellar absorption spectrum, new theories are being proffered to explain this astronomical phenomenon. One of these is that rarely occurring excited states of anions may be responsible for some of these features. Using state-of-the-art quantum chemical techniques we examine near...

We review recent studies of organic molecule formation in dense molecular clouds and in comets. We summarise the known organic inventories of molecular clouds and recent comets, particularly Hale-Bopp. The principal chemical formation pathways involving gas phase reactions, as well as formation by catalytic reactions on grain surfaces or through dust fragmentation, are identified for both dense...

Icy dust grains in space act as catalytic surfaces onto which complex molecules form. These molecules are synthesized through exothermic reactions from precursor radicals and, mostly, hydrogen atom additions. Among the resulting products are species of biological relevance, such as hydroxylamine—NH2OH—a precursor molecule in the formation of amino acids. In this Letter, laboratory experiments a...

Although H2 is the simplest and most abundant molecule in Universe, its formation interstellar medium, especially photodissociation regions far from being fully understood. According to suggestions, of catalysed by polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on surface grains. In present study we have investigated catalytic effect small PAHs with an imperfect aromatic system. Quantum chemical computations...

HCNCC, the exotic linear rearrangement of cyanoacetylene, is a probable interstellar molecule. The Letter compares CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ energies of five cyanoacetylene isomers, and predicts properties of the HCNCC ground singlet electronic state: geometry, equilibrium rotational constant, electric dipole moment and vibrational frequencies – based on the coupled-clusters and density functional th...

Recent experimental results about the formation of molecular hydrogen on astrophysically relevant surfaces under conditions close to those encountered in the interstellar medium are analyzed using rate equations. The parameters of the rate equation model are fitted to temperature-programmed desorption curves obtained in the laboratory. These parameters are the activation energy barriers for ato...