In person for CfA members and streaming on YouTube.
Astrochemistry is an interdisciplinary field that brings together astronomy, physics, and chemistry. Despite the hostile conditions in space, more than 330 interstellar and circumstellar molecules have been detected so far. These molecules open up detailed windows to the physical conditions of the environment in which they are found.
During the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase near the end of their lives, stars like our Sun lose their outer envelope via a stellar outflow to the interstellar medium (ISM). AGB outflows are rich astrochemical laboratories: close to 100 molecules have been detected so far, along with some 15 types of newly formed dust. Besides their chemical complexity, AGB outflows also show dynamical complexity. Large-scale density structures, such as spirals and disks, are ubiquitous and thought to be caused by binary interaction with a stellar or planetary companion.
Chemistry is crucial to understanding the driving mechanism and dynamics of the outflow. I will discuss the successes and challenges of chemical models in interpreting observations. Discrepancies with observations reveal gaps in our understanding of mass loss and interaction between chemistry and dynamics, opening the way for further model developments. More specifically, dust formation remains a crucial open question, as it is the small-scale chemical process of dust formation that launches the large-scale outflow.
LOCATION:Phillips Auditorium STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20260402T150000Z DTEND:20260402T160000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR