Pascale Ehrenfreund

 
 
 
ASTROCHEMISTRY 
Organic molecules in the Universe -
P. Ehrenfreund & S.B. Charnley (2000) Annual Review of Astron. Astrophys. 38
This figure shows the cycle of organic molecules in the universe. Interstellar organics are formed in the interstellar gas, in stellar outflows and on dust grains. This organic material is integrated in the solar system and is partly chemically processed and/or destroyed.In the final stage of stars, dust and elements are returned to the interstellar medium. Organic molecules formed during this dust cycle may have seeded the early Earth.
 graphic art: ©2000 R. Ruiterkamp

Astrochemistry is a young and interdisciplinary research field which investigates the chemical processes in molecular clouds and solar-system environments. It monitors the evolution of gas and dust in star-forming regions until their incorporation into solar-system material such as comets and meteorites.

Astronomical observations from the ground and space, as well as laboratory simulation experiments and new methods for theoretical modeling, allowed us to determine the inventory and distribution of organic molecules in different environments, their role during the development of planetary systems, and their importance in the origin of Life.

The knowledge of organic chemistry in molecular clouds, comets and meteorites, and their common link provides constraints for the processes that lead to the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the Galaxy.
 

For more information, visit these sites:

Astrochemistry in Leiden - http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~lab/
Astrochemistry at NASA - http://web99.arc.nasa.gov/~astrochm/
Astrobiology - http://www.astrobiology.com/
Origins of Life - http://origins.jpl.nasa.gov/
 
 

My research topics are:
 
* Infrared (ISO, VLT) spectroscopy of ices in the interstellar medium and in star-forming regions;
* Radio observations of large organics in dense molecular clouds;
* Optical spectroscopy of diffuse interstellar clouds and circumstellar environments;
* Laboratory studies of interstellar and planetary ice analogs;
* Photostability of organics in space (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, fullerenes and prebiotic molecules);
* Analysis of carbonaceous meteorites;
* Evolutionary cycle of dust and molecules between evolved stars, the interstellar medium, forming stars, comets and meteorites;
* The link between interstellar gas and dust and cometary volatiles;
* Stability and survival of organic molecules in the Martian subsurface;
* Physical and chemical insights into the origin of life;
* Space research.

 

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