The research actvity in the field of millimeter/submillimeter-wave spectroscopy is presented in a dedicated reasearch area. The focus is here on the investigation of molecules of astrophysical/astrochemical interest, with particular interest on prebiotic species. The support provided by theory is crucial.
This research line involves a strong collaboration with astronomers (V. Rivilla, CSIC; J. Cernicharo, CSIC; P. Caselli, MPE Garching) in order to exploit our measurements in the field of radioastronomical observations.
This research activity involves the development and application of integrated computational strategies (those already mentioned in the Computational Spectroscopy research line) aimed at providing reliable thermochemical and kinetic information on the formation processes of astrochemical complex organic molecules. This research line is carried out in collaboration with the group of Prof. V. Barone at the Scuola Normale Superiore and the group of Prof. C. Cavallotti at the politecnico di Milano.
The molecular energy level populations are rarely at local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) since the density in the interstellar medium (ISM) is usually so low that collisions compete with radiative processes. Under such conditions, the estimate of molecular abundances from spectral lines (assigned in the astronomical spectra) requires the knowledge of their collisional coefficients for the most abundant perturbing species.
The research actvity in the computational spectroscopy is presented in a dedicated reasearch area. The focus is here again on the investigation of molecules of astrophysical/astrochemical interest, with particular interest on prebiotic species. State-of-the-art computational methodologies are applied to the calculations of the most relevant parameters of rotational and vibrational spectropies with the aim of guiding laboratory experiments or astronomical searches.
