Understanding Interstellar Aromatic Chemistry: An Integrated Experimental, Theoretical, and Astronomical Approach

通过将发射信号与地球上精确的实验室测量相匹配，射电望远镜在太空中识别分子。 利用这种协调的努力，超过200个分子，许多含有碳？生命的核心元素已经在我们的银河系中被发现。 在这项研究中，科学家们将对可能用射电望远镜探测到的大型含碳分子进行新的实验室测量。 曾经非常精确的分子测量？如果在实验室中制造出独特的信号，科学家们将使用射电望远镜在太空中寻找相同信号的证据。 他们将主要在被广泛认为是恒星诞生地的大型气体云中寻找这些新分子。这些云非常冷（在绝对零度的几度之内），密度非常低，但已知含有丰富的小碳分子。 通过这些观测，科学家们将了解在极端条件下太空中可以形成什么类型的分子。 这些观察结果被用来推断在如此恶劣的条件下合成更复杂分子的途径。 具有环状或环形形状的分子之所以受到关注，是因为它们特别稳定，通常作为地球上药物、聚合物和DNA等较大分子的构建单元。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Molecules are identified in space with radio telescopes by matching emission signals with precise laboratory measurements made on Earth. Using this coordinated effort, more than 200 molecules, many containing carbon ? an element central to life ? have been identified in our Milky Way galaxy. In this research effort, scientists will make new laboratory measurements of large carbon-bearing molecules that might be detected with radio telescopes. Once very precise measurements of the molecules? unique signature are made in the laboratory, scientists will use radio telescopes to search for evidence of the same signals in space. They will search for these new molecules primarily in large clouds of gas which are widely believed to be the birthplace of stars. These clouds are extremely cold (within a few degrees of absolute zero) and have very low density but are known to harbor a rich inventory of small carbon molecules. From these observations, scientists will learn what types of molecules can be formed in space under extreme conditions. These observations are used to infer the pathways by which more complex molecules are synthesized under such inhospitable conditions. Molecules with cyclic or ring shapes are of interest because they are especially stable, commonly serving as the building blocks for larger molecules such as pharmaceutical drugs, polymers, and DNA on Earth.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.