Handbook of Astrochemistry

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 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 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.

• SECTION 1: Introduction1. General Introduction: Historical Perspective and Current State-of-the-artSECTION 2: Observations2. Observations of the Gas Phase: Simple Molecules including Mapping3. Observations of complex organic molecules in the gas phase of the interstellar medium4. Observations of IcesSECTION 3: Astrochemical Modelling5. Astrochemical ModellingSECTION 4: Gas Phase Astrochemistry6. Experimental Gas Phase Molecular Spectroscopy7. Theoretical Gas Phase Spectroscopy8. Gas Phase Processes: Experimental Studies of Scattering, Photodissociation and Photoionisation, and the Dynamics and Kinetics of Molecule Formation9. Gas Phase Processes: Theoretical Studies of Scattering, Photodissociation and Photoionisation, and the Dynamics and Kinetics of Molecule FormationSECTION 5: The Astrochemistry of Dust Grains10. Grains: Origins, Observations and Astrophysical Roles; Solid State and Surface Composition, Size and Shape and Space-weathering11. Interstellar PAHs and Fullerenes12. Experimental Techniques in Solid State and Surface Astrochemistry13. Bare Grain Chemistry: Experimental Studies of Small Molecule Formation14. Bare Grain Chemistry: Theoretical Studies of Surface Structures, Spectroscopy and Small Molecule FormationSECTION 6: Chemistry in ices15. Ice Infrared Spectroscopy, Band Strengths, and Optical Constants16. Thermal and Non-thermal Desorption of Ices17. Thermal and Non-thermal Processing of IcesSECTION 7: Moving from Molecules, Grains and Ices to Planets and Life18. MeteoritesSECTION 8: Conclusions19. Conclusions and Forward Look