Interstellar disparity: N- vs O-bearing molecules: A multidisciplinary perspective across interstellar environments
Abstract
Observations of O- and N-bearing molecules reveal systematic chemical differentiation across a wide range of interstellar environments. This pattern is peculiar and its origin likely reflects a combination of physical conditions, chemical pathways, and observational effects rather than a single mechanism. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the N-bearing and O-bearing species and their relative behaviour in the interstellar medium, integrating results from observations, laboratory experiments, chemical modelling, and theoretical studies. While inspired by discussions at the Lorentz Center workshop held in Leiden in August 2025, this work goes beyond a summary of the meeting and instead synthesizes the state of the field, highlights key open questions, and outlines future directions. We identify several key observational, experimental, and theoretical challenges that must be addressed to determine the origin of this chemical differentiation.
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BibTeX
@misc{bouvier2026interstellar,
title = {{Interstellar disparity: N- vs O-bearing molecules: A multidisciplinary perspective across interstellar environments}},
author = {Mathilde Bouvier and Joan Enrique-Romero and Marta De Simone},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.20551},
eprint = {2609.20551},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20551},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Interstellar disparity: N- vs O-bearing molecules: A multidisciplinary perspective across interstellar environments
AU - Mathilde Bouvier
AU - Joan Enrique-Romero
AU - Marta De Simone
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.20551
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20551
AB - Observations of O- and N-bearing molecules reveal systematic chemical differentiation across a wide range of interstellar environments. This pattern is peculiar and its origin likely reflects a combination of physical conditions, chemical pathways, and observational effects rather than a single mechanism. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the N-bearing and O-bearing species and their relative behaviour in the interstellar medium, integrating results from observations, laboratory experiments, chemical modelling, and theoretical studies. While inspired by discussions at the Lorentz Center workshop held in Leiden in August 2025, this work goes beyond a summary of the meeting and instead synthesizes the state of the field, highlights key open questions, and outlines future directions. We identify several key observational, experimental, and theoretical challenges that must be addressed to determine the origin of this chemical differentiation.
ER -