CO-Ice | Max-Planck-Gesellschaft https://www.mpg.de/17146884/co-ice
Laboratory astrophysicists led by Jiao He (Max Planck Institut for Astronomy) have found a new mechanism that could explain how complex organic molecules form in interstellar clouds – a key open question in astrochemistry. The mechanism depends on unusual properties uncovered in experiments with artificial „cosmic chemistry labs“ – simplified models of the ice-covered dust grains that facilitate chemical reactions in outer space. The transition to so-called „polycrystalline“ carbon monoxide ice could allow embedded molecules and radicals to cluster within the ice, paving the way for more complex chemical reactions. The results have been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
2024 Astronomy Astrophysics An image of the the James