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Interstellar molecules

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Summary

The study of interstellar molecules broadly includes two areas of interest. One area uses the unique ability of molecules to act as probes of the physical conditions in the cold, dense, visually opaque component of the interstellar medium. The physical properties of this and other components of the interstellar medium are summarized. The other area deals with the chemistry of interstellar molecules, recent aspects of which are emphasized in this review. Gas-phase chemistry, shock chemistry, and grain surface chemistry are discussed in the context of recent observations. No present observations suggest that surface reactions are relevant, but neither can they be ruled out. Ion-molecule reactions are clearly operative, at least for the simpler species. Chemical isotope fractionation is reviewed, andd it is concluded that the complexities of the chemistry allow no cosmological conclusions to be drawn from observations of deuterium in interstellar molecules, while the presence of13C in interstellar molecules permits an estimate of the12C/13C ratio which is consistent with the current concepts of the nucleosynthesis history of the Galaxy. Possible connections between interstellar molecules and the early molecular history of the solar system are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Edgemont Road, 22901, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    B. E. Turner

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This is the first of a series of papers which will appear in the Synthesis section of the Journal of Molecular Evolution pertaining to the topic ‘Organic Molecules in the Solar System and Beyond’.

Operated by Associated Universitites, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation

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Turner, B.E. Interstellar molecules. J Mol Evol 15, 79–101 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01732663

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01732663

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