Interstellar formamide (NH$_2$CHO), a key prebiotic precursor. (arXiv:1909.11770v1 [astro-ph.SR])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Lopez_Sepulcre_A/0/1/0/all/0/1">Ana López-Sepulcre</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Balucani_N/0/1/0/all/0/1">Nadia Balucani</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Ceccarelli_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Cecilia Ceccarelli</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Codella_C/0/1/0/all/0/1">Claudio Codella</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Dulieu_F/0/1/0/all/0/1">Francois Dulieu</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Theule_P/0/1/0/all/0/1">Patrice Theulé</a>
Formamide (NH$_2$CHO) has been identified as a potential precursor of a wide
variety of organic compounds essential to life, and many biochemical studies
propose it likely played a crucial role in the context of the origin of life on
our planet. The detection of formamide in comets, which are believed to have
–at least partially– inherited their current chemical composition during the
birth of the Solar System, raises the question whether a non-negligible amount
of formamide may have been exogenously delivered onto a very young Earth about
four billion years ago. A crucial part of the effort to answer this question
involves searching for formamide in regions where stars and planets are forming
today in our Galaxy, as this can shed light on its formation, survival, and
chemical re-processing along the different evolutionary phases leading to a
star and planetary system like our own. The present review primarily addresses
the chemistry of formamide in the interstellar medium, from the point of view
of (i) astronomical observations, (ii) experiments, and (iii) theoretical
calculations. While focusing on just one molecule, this review also more
generally reflects the importance of joining efforts across multiple scientific
disciplines in order to make progress in the highly interdisciplinary science
of astrochemistry.
Formamide (NH$_2$CHO) has been identified as a potential precursor of a wide
variety of organic compounds essential to life, and many biochemical studies
propose it likely played a crucial role in the context of the origin of life on
our planet. The detection of formamide in comets, which are believed to have
–at least partially– inherited their current chemical composition during the
birth of the Solar System, raises the question whether a non-negligible amount
of formamide may have been exogenously delivered onto a very young Earth about
four billion years ago. A crucial part of the effort to answer this question
involves searching for formamide in regions where stars and planets are forming
today in our Galaxy, as this can shed light on its formation, survival, and
chemical re-processing along the different evolutionary phases leading to a
star and planetary system like our own. The present review primarily addresses
the chemistry of formamide in the interstellar medium, from the point of view
of (i) astronomical observations, (ii) experiments, and (iii) theoretical
calculations. While focusing on just one molecule, this review also more
generally reflects the importance of joining efforts across multiple scientific
disciplines in order to make progress in the highly interdisciplinary science
of astrochemistry.
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