Production of organic molecules in interstellar ices Original Research Article

Complex organic species are readily created when astrophysical ice analogs containing molecules like CO, H2CO and CH3OH are exposed to energetic processes like warm-up, UV photolysis and irradiation with energetic ions. We review the organic products that have been identified in such experiments and discuss the possible relevance of these results for the origin the organic molecules that are observed in comets and in the hot cores of star-forming regions.