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.
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.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Introduction1. General Introduction: historical perspective and current state-of-the-art
2. Observations and history: From clouds to proto-stars
3. Observations and history: From disks to planets
Part 2: Observations
4. Observations of gas phase: simple molecules inc. mapping
5. Observations of gas phase: COMs inc. mapping
6. Observations of ices
Part 3: Astrochemical modelling
7. The use of databases in astrochemistry
8. Astrochemical modelling
Part 4: Gas phase astrochemistry
9. Experimental gas phase atomic and molecular spectroscopy
10. Theoretical gas phase spectroscopy
11. Experimental gas phase processes: scattering, photodissociation, dynamics and kinetics of molecule formation
12. Theoretical gas phase processes: scattering, photodissociation, dynamics and kinetics of molecule formation
Part 5: Grain and aerosol chemistry
13. Grains: origins, observations and astrophysical roles; composition, size and shape origins, space-weathering, surface composition
14. Bare grain chemistry: small molecule formation; theory and experimental
15. Aerosol Processes Experiment and Theory
Part 6: Chemistry in ices
16. Ice formation: experimental and theoretical
17. Thermal and non-thermal desorption of ices
18. Energetic processing of ices
19. Ice spectroscopy/solid state spectroscopy/optical constants and theory
Part 7: Moving from molecules to planets and life
20. From dust to planetesimals
21. Experimental, Computational and Modelling studies of Exoplanetary Atmospheres
22. From astrochemistry towards astrobiology
23. The origins of chirality
Part 8: Conclusions
24. Conclusions and Forward Look