Abstract

Invited Talk - Plenary

Friday, 13 September 2024, 09:30   (Aula 1&2 / virtual plenum)

One by one - the decoding of our molecular universe using high-resolution infrared spectroscopy

Guido W. Fuchs
Universität Kassel

We live in a molecular universe at a time when stars are born and die, and matter is in a constant state of change. If we want to understand our place and origin in cosmic evolutionary history, we also need to understand the history and interactions of chemical matter in space - especially that of molecules. Modern observatories such as JWST, SOFIA, ALMA, IRAM, YEBES and others have made it possible to identify hundreds of different molecules in space. These and other successes are only possible because precise, high-resolution spectra are available - spectra that have first to be studied and decoded in our terrestrial laboratories. So far, mostly radio wavelengths have been used to identify molecules in space, but high-resolution infrared observations are also a useful tool for studying our cosmic molecular inventory. As an example, infrared observations of small molecules in the vicinity of late-type stars using the SOFIA and IRTF observatories will be shown and the preceding laboratory work will be presented. Furthermore, the challenges of detecting interstellar complex molecules (iCOMs) at infrared wavelengths will also be discussed. Here we use the chiral molecule propylene oxide as an example.