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Since the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995 more than 5000 exoplanets have been detected (https://exoplanets.nasa.gov). This indicates that planet formation is a robust mechanism and nearly every star in our Galaxy hosts a system of planets, like the Solar System (SS). However, little is known about the chemical processes which were at work during the formation of the Sun and its planets, and which concurred to determine the chemical composition of the SS and of an habitable planet, like the Earth.
The SS is born from a dense core in a molecular cloud which underwent gravitational collapse giving rise to a star, the Sun, and a disk of gas and dust, the protosolar nebula, where planets formed due to dust grains growth and assemble. The chemical composition of planets and small bodies depends on the location and timescale for their formation and is connected to the spatial distribution and abundance of molecules in gaseous and solid-phase in the protosolar nebula.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES:
The goals of CHEMICAL ORIGINS are:
to unveil our chemical origins, i.e. to test wether, and how much, the chemistry of the SS is inherited by the early phases of its formation, by comparing the chemistry of protostellar and protoplanetary disks around young Solar analogs with the fossil composition of the SS, imprinted in Outer Solar System Objects (OSSOs).
to investigate the chemical formation routes in protostellar regions of key molecules to test the inheritance and reset scenarios (complex organics, deuterated molecules, salts). This will also allow us to reveal possible paths from the molecules detected around young Solar analogs and in OSSOs to the formation of prebiotic molecules.
The achievement of these goals requires an interdisciplinary approach, hence the collaboration between researchers working on different areas. This in turn, will allow us to reach our third goal:
to strengthen the Astrochemistry community in Italy by reinforcing the collaboration between INAF-based astrophysicists working on Star Formation and Solar System and the chemists of the University of Perugia. This synergy will enhance the leading role of Italy in the field of Astrochemistry.
PROJECT ORGANISATION:
The achievement of the CHEMICAL ORIGINS goals requires a multi-disciplinary approach, namely the synergy between:
astrophysicists working on the characterisation of the disk chemistry (WP1: DISKS);
experts on observations and modelling of Outer Solar System Objects (WP2: OSSOs);
chemists working on quantum-chemical calculations to investigate the formation routes of key molecules in SFRs (WP3: CHEMISTRY).Â
The organisation of the CHEMICAL ORIGINS project is summarised below.
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