Context. Detection of molecular oxygen and prediction of its abundance have long been a
challenge for astronomers. The low abundances observed in few interstellar sources are …

Context. Sticking of H and D atoms on interstellar dust grains is the first step in molecular
hydrogen formation, which is a key reaction in the interstellar medium. Isotopic properties of …

The origin of crystalline grains in comets and the outer regions of protoplanetary disks
remains a mystery. It has been suggested that such grains form via annealing of amorphous …

Aims. We present laboratory studies of the micro-structural evolution of an amorphous ferro-
magnesian silicate, of olivine composition, following thermal annealing under vacuum …

The VIRTIS imaging spectrometer on board Rosetta has shown that the nucleus surface of
comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/CG) is characterized by a broad absorption band …

The most efficient mechanism of the formation of molecular hydrogen in the current universe
is by association of hydrogen atoms on the surface of interstellar dust grains. The details of …

We report the results of detailed mineralogical investigations by analytical scanning and
transmission electron microscopy of particle RA-QD02-0115 recovered from the surface of …

Amorphous silicate dust grains, dominant solid components in the interstellar medium, are
converted into crystalline silicate dust through thermal annealing in protoplanetary disks …

The role of nitrogen and oxygen chemistry in the interstellar medium is still rather poorly
understood. Nitric oxide, NO, has been proposed as an important precursor in the formation …

The formation of the first monolayer of water molecules on bare dust grains is of primary
importance to understand the growth of the icy mantles that cover dust in the interstellar …