Of the over 150 different molecular species detected in the interstellar and circumstellar
media, approximately 50 contain 6 or more atoms. These molecules, labeled complex by …

▪ Abstract Our understanding of the evolution of organic molecules, and their voyage from
molecular clouds to the early solar system and Earth, has changed dramatically …

A new, more comprehensive model of gas–grain chemistry in hot molecular cores is
presented, in which nondiffusive reaction processes on dust-grain surfaces and in ice …

The enormous radiative and mechanical luminosities of massive stars impact a vast range of
scales and processes, from the reionization of the universe, to the evolution of galaxies, to …

To date, about two dozen low-mass embedded protostars exhibit rich spectra with lines of
complex organic molecules (COMs). These protostars seem to possess a different …

While astrochemical models are successful in reproducing many of the observed interstellar
species, they have been struggling to explain the observed abundances of complex organic …

Molecular absorption and emission bands dominate the visible, infrared, and submillimeter
spectra of most objects with associated gas. These observations reveal a surprisingly rich …

Aims. The production of saturated organic molecules in hot cores and corinos is not well
understood. The standard approach is to assume that, as temperatures heat up during star …

Aims. Photodissociation by UV light is an important destruction mechanism for carbon
monoxide (CO) in many astrophysical environments, ranging from interstellar clouds to …

While warm dense gas is prevalent around low-mass protostars, the presence of complex
saturated molecules—the chemical inventory characteristic of hot cores—has remained …