Handbook of Astrochemistry - Research and Markets

Handbook of Astrochemistry provides a comprehensive overview of astrochemistry as a series of tutorial reviews by leading experts on all experimental, theoretical, computational, and astronomical aspects of this field. Starting from an overview of the observational molecular Universe, it then moves on to describe the state-of-the-art knowledge in the fields of gas-phase and solid-phase laboratory and computational astrochemistry; its use in astrochemical modelling; and finally how observations of molecules shape our understanding of how stars and planets form and of the chemical origins of biology.

Combining the knowledge and experience of an international team of experts, this book is an authoritative, accessible guide for all those working in related fields.

SECTION 1: Introduction
1. General Introduction: Historical Perspective and Current State-of-the-art

SECTION 2: Observations
2. Observations of the Gas Phase: Simple Molecules including Mapping
3. Observations of complex organic molecules in the gas phase of the interstellar medium
4. Observations of Ices

SECTION 3: Astrochemical Modelling
5. Astrochemical Modelling

SECTION 4: Gas Phase Astrochemistry
6. Experimental Gas Phase Molecular Spectroscopy
7. Theoretical Gas Phase Spectroscopy
8. Gas Phase Processes: Experimental Studies of Scattering, Photodissociation and Photoionisation, and the Dynamics and Kinetics of Molecule Formation
9. Gas Phase Processes: Theoretical Studies of Scattering, Photodissociation and Photoionisation, and the Dynamics and Kinetics of Molecule Formation

SECTION 5: The Astrochemistry of Dust Grains
10. Grains: Origins, Observations and Astrophysical Roles; Solid State and Surface Composition, Size and Shape and Space-weathering
11. Interstellar PAHs and Fullerenes
12. Experimental Techniques in Solid State and Surface Astrochemistry
13. Bare Grain Chemistry: Experimental Studies of Small Molecule Formation
14. Bare Grain Chemistry: Theoretical Studies of Surface Structures, Spectroscopy and Small Molecule Formation

SECTION 6: Chemistry in ices
15. Ice Infrared Spectroscopy, Band Strengths, and Optical Constants
16. Thermal and Non-thermal Desorption of Ices
17. Thermal and Non-thermal Processing of Ices

SECTION 7: Moving from Molecules, Grains and Ices to Planets and Life
18. Meteorites

SECTION 8: Conclusions
19. Conclusions and Forward Look

Authors

Wendy A. Brown Professor, Department of Chemistry, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. Wendy Brown is a surface scientist who has studied surface processes of relevance to astrochemistry for almost 20 years. Her main areas of expertise related to astrochemistry include experimental studies of adsorption, reaction, dynamics and surface processing of species adsorbed on model grain surfaces at ~25 K and under ultra-high vacuum using a wide range of surface analytical techniques. She is currently Professor of Physical Chemistry and Head of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sussex, where she has been since 2013. Martin R.S. McCoustra Professor, Institute of Chemical Sciences, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh, UK. Martin McCoustra is ScotChem Professor of Chemical Physics at Heriot-Watt University and a surface scientist with over 30 years experience. His expertise lies in the surface physics and chemistry of thermal and energetic processes on complex surfaces (dust grains, ices and polymers) in ultra-high vacuum over a wide range of temperatures. He is especially interested in the dynamics and kinetics of such processes and employs a range of tools in his work including molecular beam and laser methods in addition to classical surface analytical methods. Serena Viti Astronomer, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, The Netherlands. Serena Viti is an astronomer who has worked in the field of Astrochemistry for over 20 years. Her research interests span a wide range of topics but they are all centred on the role of molecules in space, especially in the dense gas of the interstellar medium, of star forming regions and of nearby galaxies. She is currently a Professor of Astronomy at Leiden University where she has been since 2020, after moving from University College London where she was the Head of the Astrophysics Group.

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Authors

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