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.

NH3 and CH3OH are key molecules in the chemical networks leading to the formation of complex N- and O-bearing organic molecules. However, despite a number of recent studies, there is still a lot to learn about their abundances in the solid state and how they relate to those of other N/O-bearing organic molecules or to NH3 and CH3OH abundances in the gas phase. This is particularly true in the case of low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs), for which only the recent advent of the Spitzer Space Telescope has allowed high sensitivity observations of the ices in their enveloppes. We present a combined study of Spitzer data (obtained within the Legacy program “From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks”, c2d) and laboratory spectra, leading to the detections of NH3 and CH3OH in the ices of low-mass protostars. We investigate correlations with other ice features and conclude with prospects on further studies linking these two precursors of complex organic molecules with their gas-phase products.

We present the first semi-analytical model that follows the chemical evolution during the collapse of a molecular cloud and the formation of a low-mass star and the surrounding disk. It computes infall trajectories from any starting point in the cloud and it includes a full time-dependent treatment of the temperature structure. We focus here on the freeze-out and desorption of CO and H2O. Both species deplete towards the centre before the collapse begins. CO evaporates during the infall phase and re-adsorbs when it enters the disk. H2O remains in the solid phase everywhere, except within a few AU of the star. Material that ends up in the planet- and comet-forming zones is predicted to spend enough time in a warm zone during the collapse to form complex organic species.

The formation and evolution of complex organic molecules in the early stages of solar-type protostars (Class 0 objects) is crucial as it sets the stage for the content in pre-biotic molecules of the subsequent proto-planetary nebula. In order to understand the chemistry of these Class 0 objects, it is necessary to perform interferometric observations which allow us to resolve the hot corino, that is the warm, dense inner region of the envelope of a Class 0 object, where the complex organic molecules are located. Such observations exist for only two objects so far, IRAS16293-2422 and NGC1333-IRAS2A and we present here Plateau de Bure interferometric maps of a third hot corino, NGC1333-IRAS4A, which show emission of the complex organic molecule CH3CN arising from a region of size ~0.8″/175 AU, that is, of the order of the size of the Solar System. Combining these high-angular resolution maps with prior single-dish observations of the same transitions of CH3CN indicates that extended emission is also present, and we investigate the implications for organic chemistry in hot corinos.

We present the physical structure (density and temperature profiles) and the distribution of formaldehyde and methanol in intermediate mass protostar OMC2-FIR4 in the Orion molecular cloud complex.

We carry out a Monte-Carlo simulation to study the formation of methanol on the grain surfaces. We found that the recombination efficiencies are strongly dependent on the extrinsic properties of the grain, such as the number of sites on the grain surface and the flux of the accreting matter. This uses the concept of effective grain surface (denoted through a factor α) area which changes as the grain is populated.

We present a new gas-grain chemical model that allows the grain-surface formation of saturated, complex, organic species from their constituent functional-groups–basic building blocks that derive from the cosmic ray-induced photodissociation of the granular ice mantles. The surface mobility of the funtional-group radicals is crucial to the reactions, and much of the formation of complex molecules occurs at the intermediate temperatures (~20–40 K) attained during the warm-up of the hot core. Our model traces the evolution of a large range of detected, and as yet un-detected, complex molecules.

We present observations of the Rosette Nebula and its near environment in the CO 3–2 transition obtained with an angular resolution of 20″. The gas dynamics of the region are complex; we find (1) a ring of gas expanding at about 20 km s−1, (2) a number of collimated outflow sources, and (3) a chain of dust clumps having a velocity gradient along its length.

We use Spitzer IRS spectra to determine the solid CH4 abundance toward a large sample (52 sources) of low mass protostars. 50% of the sources have an absorption feature at 7.7 μm, attributed to solid CH4. The solid CH4/H2O abundances are 2–13%, but toward sources with H2O column densities above 2 × 1018 cm−2, the CH4 abundances (20 out of 25) are nearly constant at 4.7 ± 1.6%. Correlations with CO2 and H2O together with the inferred abundances are consistent with CH4 formation through sequential hydrogenation of C on grain surfaces, but not with formation from CH3OH and formation in gas phase with subsequent freeze-out.

We investigate the molecular abundances in protostellar cores by solving the gas-grain chemical reaction network. As a physical model of the core, we adopt a result of one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics calculation, which follows the contraction of an initially hydrostatic prestellar core to form a protostellar core. Temporal variation of molecular abundances is solved in multiple infalling shells, which enable us to investigate the spatial distribution of molecules in the evolving core. The shells pass through the warm region of T ~ 20–100 K in several 104 yr and falls onto the central star in ~100 yr after they enter the region of T > 100 K. We found that the complex organic species such as HCOOCH3 are formed mainly via grain-surface reactions at T ~ 20–40 K, and then sublimated to the gas phase when the shell temperature reaches their sublimation temperatures (T ≥ 100 K). Carbon-chain species can be re-generated from sublimated CH4 via gas-phase and grain-surface reactions. HCO2+, which is recently detected towards L1527, are abundant at r = 100–2,000 AU, and its column density reaches ~1011 cm−2 in our model. If a core is isolated and irradiated directly by interstellar UV radiation, photo-dissociation of water ice produces OH, which reacts with CO to form CO2 efficiently. Complex species then become less abundant compared with the case of embedded core in ambient clouds. Although a circumstellar (protoplanetary) disk is not included in our core model, we can expect similar chemical reactions (i.e., production of large organic species, carbon-chains and HCO2+) to proceed in disk regions with T ~ 20–100 K.

A major difficulty in modelling the infrared and (sub)millimeter spectra of gas-phase complex organic molecules is the lack of state-to-state collisional rate coefficients. Accurate quantum or classical scattering calculations for large polyatomic species are indeed computationally highly challenging, particularly when both rotation and low frequency vibrations such as bending and torsional modes are involved. We briefly present here an approximate approach to estimate and/or extrapolate rotational and rovibrational rates for polyatomic molecules with many degrees of freedom.

Without accurate data on reaction rates and branching ratios, models of interstellar chemistry are unreliable. Recent research has identified a number of reactions of unusual importance because the rates and branching ratios are unknown or poorly known. Efforts to expand and improve on current databases are underway using a flowing afterglow-selected ion flow tube (FA-SIFT) coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Our current focus is on the reactions of C+, a major cation in the interstellar medium, with the neutrals O2, H2O, CH4, NH3 and C2H2. Future planned work includes studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), developing comprehensive pathways for their formation, and identification of those PAHs important to interstellar chemistry. The recent discovery of ISM anions has highlighted the importance of examining mechanisms of anionic chemistry in the interstellar medium, and we plan to obtain data relevant to the formation and destruction processes of molecular anions in space.

We set up a framework for calculating in a precise and controlled way the collisional properties of several molecules of astrophysical meaning. The quantities that are relevant for astrophysics are rotational and vibrational quenching/excitation rates by means of collisions of H2 with water and some organic molecules (HC3N, H2CO). We calculate those rates by means of successively determining a intermolecular potential energy surface and calculating inelastic cross sections and rates classically and/or quantum mechanically. These calculations are part of the European Union FP6 Molecular Universe program.

The processes by which methanol, one of the most abundant interstellar organics, is formed in the interstellar medium are not yet accurately known. Pure gas-phase chemistry models fail to reproduce observed abundances by orders of magnitude, pointing to formation on grains and subsequent desorption.

Observations of methanol and its isotopologue 13CH3OH in several sources have been used to trace the origin, and thus the formation routes of methanol on interstellar grains, by means of isotope labelling a posteriori.

Edge Clouds 1 and 2 (EC1 and EC2) are large molecular clouds with the largest galactocentric distances known to exist in the Milky Way. We present observations of these clouds and use them to determine physical characteristics. For EC2 we calculate a gas temperature of 20 K and a density of n(H2) ~ 104 cm−3. Based on our CO maps, we estimate the mass of EC2 at around 104 M⊙, and continuum observations suggest a dust-to-gas mass ratio as low as 0.001. Chemical models have been developed to reproduce the abundances in EC2 and they indicate that: heavy element abundances may be reduced by a factor of five relative to the solar neighbourhood (similar to dwarf irregular galaxies and damped Lyman alpha systems); very low extinction (AV < 4 mag) due to a very low dust-to-gas ratio; an enhanced cosmic ray ionisation rate; and a higher UV field compared to local interstellar values. The reduced abundances may be attributed to the low level of star formation in this region and are probably also related to the continuing infall of low metallicity halo gas since the Milky Way formed. We find that shocks from an old supernova remnant may have determined the morphology and dynamics of EC2, including the recently discovered star clusters embedded in the northern and southern cores. However, compared to EC2, EC1 appears to be a chemically less varied environment. The apparent molecule-poor nature of EC1 demonstrates the characteristics of clouds that have not had the benefit of SN shocks to stimulate an active cloud chemistry and star formation.

One of the few carbon-rich environments found in interstellar space is the ejecta of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Such material, which forms a circumstellar envelope, becomes enriched in carbon due to “dredge-up” phenomena associated with nucleosynthesis. A unique organic synthesis flourishes in the gas phase in these envelopes, and radio and millimeter observations have identified a wide range of C-bearing compounds, including long acetylenic chains such as HC5N, HC7N, C4H, C6H, C8H, C6H−, C8H−, and C3O. Oxygen-rich envelopes also have a non-negligible carbon chemistry, fostering species such as HCN and HCO+. Phosphorus chemistry appears to be active as well in circumstellar shells, as evidenced by the recent detections of HCP, CCP, and PO. Radio observations also indicate that some fraction of the circumstellar molecular material survives into the planetary nebula stage, and then becomes incorporated into diffuse, and eventually, dense clouds. The complex organic molecules found in dense clouds such as Sgr B2(N) may be the products of “seed” material that can be traced back to the carbon-enriched circumstellar gas.

The synthesis of organic molecular anions in TMC-1 and IRC+10216 is investigated. Modelled C2H−, CN−, C3N−, C5N− and C7N− column densities are sufficiently great that these species might be observable in IRC+10216. Density-enhanced shells in the outer envelope of IRC+10216 are found to enhance the C2H− and CN− column densities by shielding these anions from destruction by UV radiation. From a newly-derived upper column density limit of 6.6 × 1010 cm−2 for C2H− in IRC+10216 we deduce the primary production mechanism for this anion to be C2H2 + H− ⇒ C2H− + H2. In TMC-1, due to the low radiative electron attachment rates calculated for C2H−, CN− and CH2CN−, these species have modelled column densities below the detection threshold. They could, however, be produced in reactions we have not yet considered.

Ethylene (C2H4) is a symmetric molecule that is best detected using mid-infrared transitions. We report on observations of the 10.5 μm ν7 band using the cryogenic grating spectrograph TEXES. These confirm the previous ethylene detection in the IRC+10216 circumstellar shell. We detect 18 ethylene lines. The lines are both narrow and weak with depths of no more than ~2%. The ethylene lines suggest an excitation temperature of ~80 K.

Surprisingly high amounts of H2O have recently been reported in the circumstellar envelope around the M-type AGB star W Hya. However, substantial uncertainties remain, as the required radiative transfer modelling is difficult due to high optical depths, sub-thermal excitation and the sensitivity to the combined radiation field from the central star and dust grains.

IRAS 19312+1950 is a unique SiO maser source, exhibiting a rich set of molecular radio lines, although SiO maser sources are usually identified as oxygen-rich evolved stars, in which chemistry is relatively simple comparing with carbon-rich environments. The rich chemistry of IRAS 19312+1950 has raised a problem in circumstellar chemistry if this object is really an oxygen-rich evolved star, but its evolutional status is still controversial. In this paper, we briefly review the previous observations of IRAS 19312+1950, as well as presenting preliminary results of recent VLBI observations in maser lines. PDF file of the poster is available from http://www.geocities.jp/nakashima_junichi/