Astrochemistry of dust, ice and gas: introduction and overview

TL;DR

This paper provides an overview of astrochemistry, emphasizing the interplay of dust, ice, and gas in space, recent advances in models, and future prospects with new observational tools.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive summary of recent developments in astrochemistry, highlighting the shift towards gas-grain chemistry and the impact of new observational facilities.

Findings

Gas-grain chemistry dominates star and planet formation regions.

Recent models improve understanding of molecular processes in space.

Future observations will significantly advance astrochemical knowledge.

Abstract

A brief introduction and overview of the astrochemistry of dust, ice and gas and their interplay is presented, aimed at non-specialists. The importance of basic chemical physics studies of critical reactions is illustrated through a number of recent examples. Such studies have also triggered new insight into chemistry, illustrating how astronomy and chemistry can enhance each other. Much of the chemistry in star- and planet-forming regions is now thought to be driven by gas-grain chemistry rather than pure gas-phase chemistry, and a critical discussion of the state of such models is given. Recent developments in studies of diffuse clouds and PDRs, cold dense clouds, hot cores, protoplanetary disks and exoplanetary atmospheres are summarized, both for simple and more complex molecules, with links to papers presented in this volume. In spite of many lingering uncertainties, the future of astrochemistry is bright: new observational facilities promise major advances in our understanding of the journey of gas, ice and dust from clouds to planets.