Klemperer William
Department of Chemistry, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Aug 15;103(33):12232-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0605352103. Epub 2006 Aug 7.
In the past half century, radioastronomy has changed our perception and understanding of the universe. In this issue of PNAS, the molecular chemistry directly observed within the galaxy is discussed. For the most part, the description of the molecular transformations requires specific kinetic schemes rather than chemical thermodynamics. Ionization of the very abundant molecular hydrogen and atomic helium followed by their secondary reactions is discussed. The rich variety of organic species observed is a challenge for complete understanding. The role and nature of reactions involving grain surfaces as well as new spectroscopic observations of interstellar and circumstellar regions are topics presented in this special feature.
在过去的半个世纪里，射电天文学改变了我们对宇宙的认知和理解。在本期《美国国家科学院院刊》中，探讨了在星系中直接观测到的分子化学。在很大程度上，分子转化的描述需要特定的动力学方案而非化学热力学。文中讨论了极为丰富的分子氢和原子氦的电离及其后续反应。所观测到的种类繁多的有机物种对全面理解构成了挑战。涉及颗粒表面的反应的作用和性质以及星际和恒星形成区的新光谱观测是本期专题所呈现的主题。
