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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2008
Measuring the deuterium fractionation in different molecules can allow one to determine the physical conditions in the gas and to differentiate between gas-phase and grain surface chemical processing. Observations of molecular D/H ratios in different species towards the dense gas surrounding low-mass protostars are presented and are compared with model simulations. These consider gas-phase chemistry, accretion and desorption, and reactions on grain surfaces during the initial stages of core collapse.