Laboratory and Computational Studies of Interstellar Ices

TL;DR

This paper reviews laboratory and computational research on interstellar ices, highlighting their role in astrochemistry during star and planet formation, and emphasizing the importance of understanding ice processes for accurate modeling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in laboratory spectroscopy, computational methods, and their application to ice physics and chemistry in astrophysical contexts.

Findings

Laboratory and computational studies aid in interpreting astronomical ice spectra.

Understanding ice processes is essential for reliable astrochemical models.

The significance of different ice processes varies throughout star and planet formation.

Abstract

Ice mantles play a crucial role in shaping the astrochemical inventory of molecules during star and planet formation. Small-scale molecular processes have a profound impact on large-scale astronomical evolution. The areas of solid-state laboratory astrophysics and computational chemistry study these processes. We review the laboratory effort on ice spectroscopy; methodological advances and challenges; and laboratory and computational studies of ice physics and ice chemistry. The latter we put in context with the ice evolution from clouds to disks. Three takeaway messages from this review are - Laboratory and computational studies allow interpretation of astronomical ice spectra in terms of identification, ice morphology and, local environmental conditions as well as the formation of the involved chemical compounds. - A detailed understanding of the underlying processes is needed to build reliable astrochemical models to make predictions on the abundances in space. - The relative importance of the different ice processes studied in the laboratory and computationally changes along the process of star and planet formation.