Valerio Pirronello

Jacek Krelowski

Giulio Manicò

The fundamental role that Astrochemistry plays into regulating the processes that in interstellar clouds lead to the formation of stars, and how these processes concur into affecting the shape and the dynamics of galaxies and hence into showing the Universe in the way it appears to us is well established. Together with those occurring in the gas phase a special relevance is recognized to processes that involve interstellar dust grains, the solid component of matter diffused among stars. The school on "Solid State Astrochemistry", held at the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice (Sicily) from the 5th to the 15th of June 2000, was the fifth course of the International School of Space Chemistry. In spite of its very focused aim it was attended by 66 participants from 17 different countries, that in the very special environment provided by the Majorana Centre, discussed in great details the various aspects of the subject.

Solid State Astrochemistry

The fundamentals of astrochemistry in the gas phase are relatively well established, in contrast to the special relevance attributed to processes involving interstellar dust grains - the solid component of matter diffused among the stars. This book presents the state of the art in relation to the ways grains interact with gases, the catalytic role played by dust that allows key molecular species (H2 as well as many complex, possibly prebiotic species) to be formed on its surface - which cannot be obtained efficiently by any other mechanisms, and the interaction between solids (dust grains, icy mantles, cometary nuclei, satellites of the giant planets and minor bodies in the Solar system) in space and energetic agents such as UV photons and fast particles. The presence and importance of PAH, which may represent the smallest component of the grains, is considered in relation to possible astrobiological pathways and the ever-present mystery of the ubiquitous presence of Diffuse Interstellar Bands and their carriers.

Jacek Krelowski

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