PF-05-0013

Next Generation Astrochemistry: Reconstruction of the Science Based on Fundamental Molecular Processes

Nami Sakai, Takahiro Oyama, Shogo Tachibana, Yuri Aikawa, Yuji Nakano, Hiroshi Imada, Naoki Watanabe, Toshiyuki Takayanagi, Satoshi Yamamoto, Hajime Tanuma, Yousoo Kim, Akira Kouchi

ALMA observations have revealed chemistry in planet-forming regions. Various complex organic molecules (COMs) are found in protoplanetary-disk forming regions, and their abundances vary significantly among objects. This indicates that the Solar System may not have been common in terms of its initial chemistry, which invokes the discussion on the rarity of our existence. Progress of the Solar-System exploration, including the recent successful return of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, makes it possible to analyze pristine Solar-System materials directly. The combination of such analysis with high-sensitivity observations of planet-forming regions will tell us the chemical origin of our Solar System and how common or rare it is in the universe. However, to tackle these questions, we have to revisit fundamental astrochemical processes. In the past decades, the astrochemical studies focused on chemistry under extremely low temperature and density conditions, where only barrierless exothermic reactions proceed efficiently. During the star/planet formation, however, the physical condition changes dynamically resulting in dynamic interactions of molecules between gas and dust(ice) surface. Investigation of such physical and chemical processes is crucial to understand the formation of COMs and the chemical variety of planet-forming regions. For that purpose, we aim at the re-establishment of “astrochemistry” through investigation of the microscopic chemical processes with the close collaboration of astronomy, planetary science, and molecular science. We have 5 teams: 1)Exploring Chemical Evolution along Formation of Planetary-System by High Resolution/Sensitivity Observations, 2)The Chemical Environment of the Solar System during its Formation, 3)Theoretical astrochemistry based on microscopic processes in the gas and solid phases, 4)Experimental study of gas phase chemical reaction by advanced beam technologies, 5)Molecular-scale elucidation of the reaction elementary processes on the model dust surfaces by single-molecule surface spectroscopy. Here, we also introduce one of our studies from team1: Molecular Spectroscopy by Using Technology Developed for Radio Astronomy.