A large fraction of interstellar carbon is locked up in solid grains. The nature, origin and
evolution of these grains have been investigated for decades. A combination of …

Evolved stars are foundries of chemical complexity, gas and dust that provide the building
blocks of planets and life, and dust nucleation first occurs in their photosphere. The …

Dust grains play a central role in the physics and chemistry of cosmic environments. They
influence the optical and thermal properties of the medium due to their interaction with stellar …

Carbon is ubiquitous in space and plays a key role in prebiotic chemistry. Astronomical
observations have found interstellar carbon in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons …

Carbon because of its electronic structure can formulate several types of bonds and
allotropes. In the ranking of elements in the Universe, carbon is the fourth most abundant …

Photochemistry in H2O: NH3: CO2 cosmic ice analogues was studied at temperatures of 75,
120, and 150 K, relevant to hot cores and warmer regions in protostellar envelopes and …

In this article, a new multi-functional high-vacuum astrophysical ice setup, VIZSLA (Versatile
Ice Zigzag Sublimation Setup for Laboratory Astrochemistry), is introduced. The instrument …

Pure CO ice has been irradiated with electrons of energy in the range 150− 1000 eV with the
Interstellar Energetic-Process System. The main products of irradiation are carbon chains C …

The formation and growth of refractory matter on pre-existing interstellar dust grain surfaces
was studied experimentally by annealing neon-ice matrices in which potential precursors of …

Here, we present the results of the first solid-phase ex situ analysis of cosmic grain analogs
produced at low temperature (< 200 K) in the NASA Ames COsmic SImulation Chamber …