We investigate the interstellar medium towards seven TeV gamma-ray sources thought to be pulsar wind nebulae using Mopra molecular line observations at 7 mm [CS(1–0), SiO(1–0, v = 0)], Nanten CO(1–0) data and the Southern Galactic Plane Survey/GASS Hi survey. We have discovered several dense molecular clouds co-located to these TeV gamma-ray sources, which allows us to search for cosmic rays coming from progenitor SNRs or, potentially, from pulsar wind nebulae. We notably found SiO(1–0, v = 0) emission towards HESS J1809–193, highlighting possible interaction between the adjacent supernova remnant SNR G011.0–0.0 and the molecular cloud at d ∼ 3.7 kpc. Using morphological features, and comparative studies of our column densities with those obtained from X-ray measurements, we claim a distance d ∼ 8.6 − 9.7kpc for SNR G292.2–00.5, d ∼ 3.5 − 5.6 kpc for PSR J1418–6058 and d ∼ 1.5 kpc for the new SNR candidate found towards HESS J1303–631. From our mass and density estimates of selected molecular clouds, we discuss signatures of hadronic/leptonic components from pulsar wind nebulae and their progenitor SNRs. Interestingly, the molecular gas, which overlaps HESS J1026–582 at d ∼ 5 kpc, may support a hadronic origin. We find however that this scenario requires an undetected cosmic-ray accelerator to be located at d < 10 pc from the molecular cloud. For HESS J1809–193, the cosmic rays which have escaped SNR G011.0–0.0 could contribute to the TeV gamma-ray emission. Finally, from the hypothesis that at most 20% the pulsar spin down power could be converted into CRs, we find that among the studied pulsar wind nebulae, only those from PSR J1809–1917 could potentially contribute to the TeV emission.

Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy Probe is a concept for a National Aeronautics and Space Administration probe-class space mission that will achieve ground-breaking science in the fields of galaxy evolution, cosmology, Milky Way, and the Solar System. It is the follow-up space mission to Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), boosting its scientific return by obtaining deep 1–4 μm slit spectroscopy for ∼70% of all galaxies imaged by the ∼2 000 deg2 WFIRST High Latitude Survey at z > 0.5. Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy will measure accurate and precise redshifts for ∼200 M galaxies out to z < 7, and deliver spectra that enable a wide range of diagnostic studies of the physical properties of galaxies over most of cosmic history. Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy Probe and WFIRST together will produce a 3D map of the Universe over 2 000 deg2, the definitive data sets for studying galaxy evolution, probing dark matter, dark energy and modifications of General Relativity, and quantifying the 3D structure and stellar content of the Milky Way. Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy Probe science spans four broad categories: (1) Revolutionising galaxy evolution studies by tracing the relation between galaxies and dark matter from galaxy groups to cosmic voids and filaments, from the epoch of reionisation through the peak era of galaxy assembly; (2) Opening a new window into the dark Universe by weighing the dark matter filaments using 3D weak lensing with spectroscopic redshifts, and obtaining definitive measurements of dark energy and modification of General Relativity using galaxy clustering; (3) Probing the Milky Way’s dust-enshrouded regions, reaching the far side of our Galaxy; and (4) Exploring the formation history of the outer Solar System by characterising Kuiper Belt Objects. Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy Probe is a 1.5 m telescope with a field of view of 0.4 deg2, and uses digital micro-mirror devices as slit selectors. It has a spectroscopic resolution of R = 1 000, and a wavelength range of 1–4 μm. The lack of slit spectroscopy from space over a wide field of view is the obvious gap in current and planned future space missions; Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy fills this big gap with an unprecedented spectroscopic capability based on digital micro-mirror devices (with an estimated spectroscopic multiplex factor greater than 5 000). Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy is designed to fit within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration probe-class space mission cost envelope; it has a single instrument, a telescope aperture that allows for a lighter launch vehicle, and mature technology (we have identified a path for digital micro-mirror devices to reach Technology Readiness Level 6 within 2 yr). Astrophysics Telescope for Large Area Spectroscopy Probe will lead to transformative science over the entire range of astrophysics: from galaxy evolution to the dark Universe, from Solar System objects to the dusty regions of the Milky Way.

Electrospray ionisation has revolutionised mass spectrometry. Coupled to high mass resolution, it provides the stoichiometric formula of a lot of molecules in a mixture. The link between the mass spectrometry data and the chemical description relies on an interpretation of the measured masses. We present here the tools and tricks developed to exploit Orbitrap mass spectra. This piece of work focuses on the numerical method to assign a molecular formula to a measured mass. The problem is restrained to the solving of the Diophantine equation where the constant coefficients are stoichiometric groups. Peculiar case of a set of convenient groups is given with the chemical constraints it brings to the problem.

The goal of this contribution is to illustrate how spatially resolved spectroscopic observations of the infrared emission of UV irradiated regions, from star forming regions to the diffuse ISM, can be used to rationalize the chemical evolution of carbonaceous macromolecules in space, with the help of astrophysical models. For instance, observations with the Spitzer space telescope lead to the idea that fullerenes (including C60 can form top-down from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the interstellar medium. The possibility that this process can occur in space was tested using a photochemical model which includes the key molecular parameters derived from experimental and theoretical studies. This approach allows to test the likelihood that the proposed path is realistic, but, more importantly, it allows to isolate the key physical processes and parameters that are required to capture correctly the evolution of carbonaceous molecules in space. In this specific case, we found that relaxation through thermally excited electronic states (a physical mechanism that is largely unexplored, except by few a teams) is one of the keys to model the photochemistry of the considered species. Subsequent quantum chemical studies stimulated by the (limited) astrophysical model showed that a detailed mapping of the energetics of isomerization and de-hydrogenation is necessary to understand the competition between these processes in space.

Such approaches, involving experimentalists and theoreticians, are particularly promising in the context of the upcoming JWST mission, which will provide access to the signatures of carbonaceous species in emission and in absorption at an angular resolution that will enable to reach new chemical frontiers in star and even in planet forming regions.

Most interstellar and planetary environments are suffused by a continuous flux of several types of ionizing radiation, including cosmic rays, stellar winds, x-rays, and gamma-rays from radionuclide decay. There is now a large body of experimental work showing that these kinds of radiation can trigger significant physicochemical changes in ices, including the dissociation of species (radiolysis), sputtering of surface species, and ice heating. Even so, modeling the chemical effects that result from interactions between ionizing radiation and interstellar dust grain ice mantles has proven challenging due to the complexity and variety of the underlying physical processes. To address this shortcoming, we have developed a method whereby such effects could easily be included in standard rate-equations-based astrochemical models. Here, we describe how such models, thus improved, can fruitfully be used to simulate experiments in order to better understand bulk chemistry at low temperatures.

Methanol (CH3OH) and hydroxyl (OH) radicals are two species abundant in cold and dense molecular clouds which are important for the chemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM). CH3OH is a well-known starting point for the formation of more complex organic molecules (COMs) in these molecular clouds. Thus, the reactivity of CH3OH in the gas-phase with OH may play a crucial role in the formation of species as complex as prebiotic molecules in the ISM and reliable rate coefficients should be used in astrochemical models describing low temperature reaction networks.

We present the results of an experimental study on the interaction of D atoms with Mg-rich amorphous silicates. The effects of D irradiation have been analyzed by infrared spectroscopy. The results indicate that HD forms by abstraction of hydrogen atoms chemisorbed in the hydroxyl groups of silicate grains. The formation process occurs for grain and atom temperatures relevant to photodissociation regions.