The chemistry of star forming regions heavily depend on the physical conditions of their gas. While there are many studies that have investigated such dependencies, the influence of the metallicity, as well as the initial elemental abundances, is less studied and, moreover, has only recently being investigated in the context of star forming regions in the outer galaxy. In this talk I shall...
Photodissociation Regions (PDRs) characterize the interface between the ionized and molecular gas phases. They are dominated by the presence of far-UV photons and play an important role in understanding the chemistry and the thermal balance of the interstellar medium (ISM), since it is in these regions that the atomic-to-molecular (HI-to-H2) transition occurs. I will review recent developments...
Low-energy (<1 TeV) cosmic rays (CRs) are a key element in several physical and chemical processes of the interstellar medium, from the large scales of molecular clouds to the small scales of protostellar systems. During the last decade, significant progress has been made in understanding their transport regimes at different depths of a cloud and their interaction with magnetic fields. I will...
I will review the status and results of astrochemical modeling of low-metallicity clouds, including the Magellanic Clouds. A particular emphasis will be placed on the results of grain-surface/ice chemical modeling. I will also present preliminary results from our most recent hot-core chemical models, using metallicities and gas-to-dust ratios appropriate to the outer galaxy. The influence on...
Understanding what sets the stellar initial mass function (IMF) in diverse environments remains a critical but unanswered question in astrophysics. The mass of stars that form is closely linked to the thermodynamics of interstellar gas, which controls how gas fragments as it collapses under gravity. As the Universe has grown in metal abundance over cosmic time, this thermodynamic behaviour has...
