Project description
Written in (between) the stars
The number of stars in the universe has been compared to the number of grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. However, unlike sand, the stars are distantly spaced. Filling the spaces is the interstellar medium (ISM), consisting of about 99 % gas and 1 % dust. Understanding the physical properties and chemical behaviours of the constituents of the ISM is of critical importance to our understanding of star and galaxy formation and evolution, planet formation and the origins of life. However, relatively little is known about the structure and evolution of the ISM in large part due to the very low abundance of constituents. The EU-funded AstroSsearch project plans to increase our knowledge regarding the gaps between the stars with a combination of laboratory experiments and astronomy observations.
Objective
The fellowship AstroSsearch addresses open questions related to the abundance of sulfur and metals in the interstellar medium. While some species have been detected in astronomical environments, their abundance and complexity is quite low, thereby preventing a full understanding of the chemistry occurring in these environments. We will attack this problem with a synergic approach exploiting new laboratory microwave spectroscopy developments and radio astronomy observations. The key objectives include the generation of high-resolution rotational spectra of previously undetected sulfur/metal containing compounds and ions by mating broadband (chirped-pulse Fourier transform) microwave spectroscopy techniques with electrical discharge and laser ablation sources. Additionally, a novel discharge source will be developed in which the chemistry can be controlled to reveal likely reaction pathways that produce the observed species. This will allow for the postulation of viable astronomical formation mechanisms. The expected results are:
(1) Development of a new controlled reactive chemistry source that can be paired with laser ablation.
(2) High-resolution, rotational spectra of complex sulfur and metal containing species leading to their unambiguous identification in interstellar environments and their inclusion in theoretical models.
(3) Elucidation of viable reaction pathways in astronomical environments for targeted and detected species and the insertion of these pathways into existing models.
These results will facilitate radio astronomy detections, expanding our comprehension of astronomical chemistry. The synergy of laboratory spectroscopy and observational astrophysics will bring together all facets of the multidisciplinary field of astrochemistry, broadening our understanding of the chemistry that is occurring in interstellar and circumstellar environments and shedding light on the chemical complexity of the universe.
Fields of science
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyradio astronomy
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencescelestial mechanics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticslaser physics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyastrochemistry
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
47002 VALLADOLID
Spain