astro-ph.GA Archives

Composite image from the Galactic Center. Green and yellow: 8 µm and 24 µm emission observed with Spitzer (Churchwell et al. 2009; Carey et al. 2009). Red: 20 cm emission imaged with MeerKAT (Heywood et al. 2019, 2022) and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT; Law et al. 2008). Image adapted from Henshaw et al. (2023; doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2203.11223) and Longmore et al. (2026; 10.48550/arXiv.2602.20340). Credits: Ashley Barnes/Izaskun Jiménez-Serra/Juan García de la Concepción

Sugar Erythrulose Discovered In Interstellar Space

by Keith CowingJuly 13, 2026July 13, 2026

[Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)] Sugars are key biomolecules in living organisms, as they form the backbone of DNA and RNA and play a fundamental role in metabolic processes. In […]

Two-dimensional intensity map of the time-dependent mass spectrum of the reaction of C3H6O+ with NH3. The reactant ion C3H6O+ appears at m/z = 58 and the primary product ion NH3 + appears at m/z = 17. Minor secondary products are observed at m/z = 34, 60, 75, and 90. The plot was made was collecting mass spectra at trapping times ranging from 100 ms to 2700 ms in 200 ms intervals. The plot also includes the mass spectra collected at the trapping time of 50 ms. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry

Charge Transfer From Ammonia Neutralizes Propylene Oxide Cations: Implications For The Astrochemistry Of Chiral Molecules

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2026July 2, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] To date only one chiral species, propylene oxide, has been observed in the interstellar medium but little is known about the chemistry that leads to a detectable abundance of […]

Three clusters which are representative of the sample of clusters used in this work. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry

Theoretical Determination Of The Binding Energies Of Methanol And Related Species Onto Amorphous Solid Water Ice

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2026June 30, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] The formation and survival of complex organic molecules (COMs) in cold interstellar environments depends on their interactions with icy dust grain surfaces.

Astrochemistry

Probing Outflow Physics Through CH3CN And CH3OH Chemistry

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2026June 30, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] Chemical correlations between molecules provide powerful diagnostics to probe the physical conditions of protostellar outflows. In particular, the relationship between methanol (CH3OH) and methyl cyanide (CH3CN) offers a promising […]

Reaction mechanism for the CN + H2CS system computed at the CCSD(T)-F12a+ZPE//DSDPBEP86/aug-cc-pVTZ level. Relative energies are given in kcal mol−1 with respect to the separated reactants. - -astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry

Reaction Mechanisms and Kinetics of CN and CCH with H2CS: Implications for Interstellar Sulfur Chemistry

by Keith CowingJune 24, 2026June 24, 2026

We report an ab initio and master-equation investigation of the gas-phase reactions of thioformaldehyde (H2CS) with CN and CCH radicals, motivated by the recent detection of the S-containing species HCSCN […]

ASPECS-6: Spectral fit using the full JWST/MIRI MRS wavelength coverage (light grey), together with the available photometric data (black crosses, see Sect. 3). The green line represents the total fit. The dark gray line shows the underlying continuum made of the cold dust (blue), cool dust (cyan), warm dust (orange), and hot dust component (not shown). The purple lines are the PAHs. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

PAHSPECS: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Properties At Cosmic Noon With JWST/MIRI MRS

by Keith CowingJune 18, 2026June 18, 2026

Context. Cosmic noon (z ~ 1-3) marks the peak of the cosmic star-formation rate density, when dust-obscured star formation dominated galaxy growth. Mid-infrared spectroscopy probes the interstellar medium through PAH […]

PAH ratio maps for the five PAHSPECS galaxies. We only show pixels that have a > 3σ measurement of the ratio. The left column shows NIRCAM color images using the F090W, F200W, F444W filters (M. J. Rieke et al. 2023). The second column shows the PAH6.2/PAH7.7 ratio. The third column shows the PAH11.3/PAH7.7 ratios. The fourth column shows the PAH3.3/PAH11.3 ratios. The final column shows [ArII]/PAH6.2. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

PAHSPECS: Spatially Resolved PAH Spectroscopy At Cosmic Noon With JWST MIRI MRS

by Keith CowingJune 18, 2026June 18, 2026

We present spatially resolved spectroscopy with JWST/MIRI MRS of a representative sample of normal star-forming galaxies at z∼1.1 as part of the PAHSPECS program.

Hierarchical clustering of the molecular cores based on the abundance ratios HN13C/HC3N, H13CO+/HC3N, and HC17O+/HC3N. Top panel: dendrogram obtained using Ward’s method. The vertical axis represents the Ward distance, which quantifies the chemical dissimilarity between cores. The horizontal dashed line indicates the adopted linkage-distance cut. The x-axis labels denote the core numbering. Bottom panels: mean abundance ratios of HN13

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Simple Cyanides and Formylium Ions Isotopologues in Early Star-forming Molecular Cores

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2026June 10, 2026

Understanding the chemistry related to the early stages of star formation is of great importance, as it is linked to the beginnings of the most complex chemistry in the interstellar […]

(Left) TPD curves of SO2 deposited at 80 K on c-ASW (circles) for different coverages (1 ML, blue; 0.72 ML, red; 0.48 ML, green; 0.16 ML, magenta; and 0.07 ML, orange) in the submonolayer regime, with corresponding first-order fits (black lines). (Right) Associated adsorption energy distribution for each TPD curve. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Context. Sulphur-bearing species play a key role in the chemical evolution of the interstellar medium and icy Solar System bodies such as the Jovian moons, yet the sulphur budget remains […]

Top row: molecular structures of 1,4-, 1,5-, and 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene cations (1,4-, 1,5, and 2,3-diMeNp.+). Bottom row: molecular structures of the three expected longlived isomers of C11H9+ cations: benzyltropylium (BzTr+ ), 1-, and 2-naphthylmethylium (1- and 2-NpCH2+ ). -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Acenaphthene Derivatives As Signatures Of C11H9 Reactivity With Methylated Naphthalenes

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 4, 2026

C11H+9 ion is the dominant fragment cation formed from methyl-naphthalene (MeNp) and dimethyl-naphthalene (diMeNp).

astro-ph.GA

Sugar Erythrulose Discovered In Interstellar Space

Charge Transfer From Ammonia Neutralizes Propylene Oxide Cations: Implications For The Astrochemistry Of Chiral Molecules

Theoretical Determination Of The Binding Energies Of Methanol And Related Species Onto Amorphous Solid Water Ice

Probing Outflow Physics Through CH3CN And CH3OH Chemistry

Reaction Mechanisms and Kinetics of CN and CCH with H2CS: Implications for Interstellar Sulfur Chemistry

PAHSPECS: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Properties At Cosmic Noon With JWST/MIRI MRS

PAHSPECS: Spatially Resolved PAH Spectroscopy At Cosmic Noon With JWST MIRI MRS

Simple Cyanides and Formylium Ions Isotopologues in Early Star-forming Molecular Cores

Temperature-programmed Desorption Of SO2 From Water Ice Surfaces: Adsorption Energy Distributions

Acenaphthene Derivatives As Signatures Of C11H9 Reactivity With Methylated Naphthalenes

SpaceBio Knowledge Hub: A LiteratOmics Platform for Microgravity and Space Biology Research

The Expected Yield Of Venus Zone Terrestrial Planets From PLATO

New Deadline For NASA Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) Announcement for Partnership Proposals (AFPP)

Detected: Rocky, Habitable-zone Exoplanet With An Atmosphere

MEDaL-1 Mars Lander Science Definition Team