Frontiers of chemical complexity in the interstellar medium: unveiling the cosmic origins of life

@misc{rivilla2026frontiers,
  title = {{Frontiers of chemical complexity in the interstellar medium: unveiling the cosmic origins of life}},
  author = {Víctor M. Rivilla and Miguel Sanz-Novo and Maite Beltrán and Jes Jørgensen and Laura Colzi and Alain Baudry and Maria Drozdovskaya and Timea Csengeri and Sébastien Maret and Frederique Motte and Maryvonne Gerin and Sergio Martín and Audrey Coutens and Claudia Toci and Katharine Johnston and Pamela Klaassen and Eleonora Bianchi and Claudio Codella and Linda Podio and Giovanni Sabatini and Marta de Simone and Francesco Fontani and Álvaro Sánchez-Monge and Izaskun Jiménez-Serra and Aurore Bacmann and Gary Fuller and Peter Schilke and Michael Küffmeier and Shaoshang Zeng and Adam Ginsburg and Brett McGuire and Pablo García and Nami Sakai and Maxime Tanious and Korash Assani and Miguel A. Requena-Torres},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.21849},
  eprint = {2610.21849},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21849},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Frontiers of chemical complexity in the interstellar medium: unveiling the cosmic origins of life
AU  - Víctor M. Rivilla
AU  - Miguel Sanz-Novo
AU  - Maite Beltrán
AU  - Jes Jørgensen
AU  - Laura Colzi
AU  - Alain Baudry
AU  - Maria Drozdovskaya
AU  - Timea Csengeri
AU  - Sébastien Maret
AU  - Frederique Motte
AU  - Maryvonne Gerin
AU  - Sergio Martín
AU  - Audrey Coutens
AU  - Claudia Toci
AU  - Katharine Johnston
AU  - Pamela Klaassen
AU  - Eleonora Bianchi
AU  - Claudio Codella
AU  - Linda Podio
AU  - Giovanni Sabatini
AU  - Marta de Simone
AU  - Francesco Fontani
AU  - Álvaro Sánchez-Monge
AU  - Izaskun Jiménez-Serra
AU  - Aurore Bacmann
AU  - Gary Fuller
AU  - Peter Schilke
AU  - Michael Küffmeier
AU  - Shaoshang Zeng
AU  - Adam Ginsburg
AU  - Brett McGuire
AU  - Pablo García
AU  - Nami Sakai
AU  - Maxime Tanious
AU  - Korash Assani
AU  - Miguel A. Requena-Torres
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.21849
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21849
AB  - The interstellar medium (ISM) contains a rich molecular inventory that provides a unique window into the chemistry operating during star and planet formation and its connection to prebiotic chemistry. More than 350 interstellar molecules are currently known, including increasingly complex organic molecules and species containing elements beyond the second row of the periodic table. Yet the limits that interstellar chemical complexity can reach, its evolution from molecular clouds to planetary systems, and its contribution to the molecular feedstock of life remain poorly constrained. Addressing these questions requires sensitive, broadband observations capable of detecting multiple weak rotational transitions of molecular species, such as amino acids, nucleobases, sugars and lipids, towards star- and planet-forming environments. Current facilities, including ALMA, are limited by instantaneous spectral coverage, sensitivity (especially on extended spatial scales), and the trade-off between total bandwidth and integration time. The proposed ALMA2040 facility would overcome these limitations through at least a tenfold improvement in spectral-line sensitivity, high-fidelity imaging from sub-arcsecond to tens-of-arcsecond scales, and ultra-broad instantaneous frequency coverage from 35 to 950 GHz at high spectral resolution. These capabilities would allow systematic detections of species with molecular abundances with respect to H_2 below 10^−11, facilitating the identification of new complex and heavy-element-bearing species through multiple transitions, and providing complete molecular inventories across evolutionary stages. ALMA2040 would thus make it possible to comprehensively investigate the emergence and evolution of chemical complexity, and to determine whether molecular precursors of prebiotic chemistry are widespread throughout the Galaxy.
ER  -