Title: The Origin of Complex Organic Matter in the Universe
Speaker: Prof. Sun Kwok (Director of Laboratory for Space Research, The University of Hong Kong, China)
Time: 10:30 AM, October 5 (Thursday), 2017
Place: Dr. Poe Lecture Hall, IAMS (本所浦大邦講堂　臺大校園內)
Contact: Dr. Huan-Cheng Chang 張煥正博士

 

 

Complex organic compounds of mixed aromatic/aliphatic structures are now known to be widespread in the Universe, ranging from objects in our solar system to distant galaxies.  Spectral signatures of complex organics can be found as early as 10 billion years ago, but the origin of these organics is not known.  Through the techniques of millimeter-wave spectroscopy, over 170 molecules have been identified through their rotational transitions.  The list contains organic molecules of every kind, including hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, aldehydes, amines, ethers, etc.  Space infrared spectroscopy has detected the stretching and bending modes of compounds with aromatic and aliphatic structures and showed that complex organic compounds can be synthesized in evolved stars over periods as short as several hundred years.  Analyses of samples of meteorites, comets, asteroids, and interplanetary dust also reveals a rich content of organic substances, some of which could be of extra-solar origin.  How complex organics can be synthesized under very low density conditions over very short time scales represent a major challenge in astrochemistry.

 

We review the current state of understanding of the origin, evolution, nature, and distribution of organic matter in space.  The possibility of existence of primordial organics on Earth and the implications of extraterrestrial organics on the origin of life on Earth will be discussed.  Also discussed are a number of unexplained astronomical phenomena whose origins could be traced to organic carriers.

 

 

References

 

Kwok, S. The Synthesis of Organic and Inorganic Compounds in Evolved Stars, Nature, 430, 985 (2004) 

Kwok, S. and Zhang, Y.  Mixed aromatic/aliphatic organic nanoparticles as carriers of unidentified infrared emission features, Nature, 479, 80 (2011) 

Kwok, S. Complex organics in space: from Solar System to distant galaxies, A&A Rev., 24, 1-27 (2016)

 

 

About the speaker

 

Sun Kwok is the Director of the Laboratory for Space Research and Chair Professor of Space Science at the University of Hong Kong.  He has previously served as Director and Distinguished Fellow of the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan, and Faculty Professor at the University of Calgary in Canada.  He currently serves as President of IAU International Astronomical Union (IAU) Commission on Astrobiology.  Previously, he has served as the President of IAU Commission on Interstellar Matter (2012-2015) and chairman of IAU Planetary Nebulae Working Group (1994-2001).

 

He is the author of many books, including The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Nebulae (Cambridge, 2000), Cosmic Butterflies (Cambridge, 2001), Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium (University Science Books, 2007), Organic Matter in the Universe (Wiley, 2012), Stardust: the cosmic seeds of life (Springer 2013) and Our Place in the Universe (Springer, 2017).