Organizers:
Prof. Ralf I. Kaiser (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
Prof. Robert J. McMahon (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Overview:

Organosilicon molecules such as the cyclic silicon dicarbide (c-SiC₂) and bicyclic silicon tricarbide (c-SiC₃) are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium (ISM) and in circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) of carbon stars such as of IRC+10216 (CW Leo), but their formation mechanisms have remained largely elusive until now. An investigation of these processes is of fundamental importance in initiating a chain of chemical reactions leading eventually to the formation of organosilicon molecules – among them key precursors to silicon carbide grains – in circumstellar shells contributing critically to the galactic carbon and silicon budgets with up to 80% of the ejected materials infused into the interstellar medium. This symposium will provide a forum to address new findings on the observation (space, laboratory), formation, and (photo) chemical reactivity of silicon-bearing molecules – primarily hydrogen deficient chains and molecules with exotic chemical bonding containing silicon – in interstellar and circumstellar environments in an attempt to eventually constrain the pathways to silicon–carbon bearing molecules in our galaxy.

Session Topics:

1. Astronomical observations and laboratory spectroscopy of silicon-bearing molecules
2. Dynamics and kinetics of elementary gas phase reactions leading to silicon-bearing molecules (ion molecule, neutral-neutral) in space
3. Chemical bonding and electronic structure of exotic silicon-bearing molecules
4. Physical organic chemistry of organosilicon molecules
5. Computational astrochemistry & astrochemical modeling of silicon-bearing molecules

Invited speakers include: