Astrophysical: Astrochemistry

  • Publication
    Amino acids in comets and meteorites: stability under gamma radiation and preservation of the enantiomeric excess
    Amino acids in Solar system bodies may have played a key role in the chemistry that led to the origin of life on Earth. We present laboratory studies testing...
  • Publication
    An artificial neural network approach to the solution of molecular chemical equilibrium
    A novel approach is presented for the solution of instantaneous chemical equilibrium problems. The chemical equilibrium can be considered, due to its...
  • Publication
    Are C60 Molecules Detectable in Circumstellar Shells of R Coronae Borealis Stars?
    The hydrogen-poor, helium-rich, and carbon-rich character of the gas around R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars has been suggested to be a site for formation of C60...
  • Talk
    Asteroids as the parent bodies of meteorites: compositional
    Due to their orbits, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) have been considered the most evident parent bodies of meteorites. Dynamical models show that NEAs come...
  • Talk
    Complex Organic Molecules in the Interstellar Medium
    More than 200 species have been detected in the interstellar medium (ISM), among them many molecules, radicals and ions, containing the −C≡N functional group...
  • Publication
    Diffuse Interstellar Bands in (Proto-) Fullerene-Rich Environments
    The recent infrared detection of fullerenes (C60 and C70) in Planetary Nebulae (PNe) and R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars offers a beautiful opportunity for...
  • Publication
    Diffuse interstellar bands in fullerene planetary nebulae: the fullerenes - diffuse interstellar bands connection
    We present high-resolution (R ~ 15 000) VLT/UVES optical spectra of two planetary nebulae (PNe; Tc 1 and M 1-20) where C60 (and C70) fullerenes have already...
  • Publication
    Far infrared spectroscopy and other spectral and thermal properties of [Li@C60]PF6
    The endohedral fullerene [Li@C60]+PF6− was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), by electronic absorption spectroscopy in the spectral range...
  • Publication
    Far- and mid-infrared spectroscopy of complex organic matter of astrochemical interest: coal, heavy petroleum fractions and asphaltenes
    The coexistence of a large variety of molecular species (i.e. aromatic, cycloaliphatic and aliphatic) in several astrophysical environments suggests that...