This paper will review the basic concepts of gas—phase and grain surface chemistry of dense molecular clouds, where low mass and high mass stars form. The chemistry of cold pre-stellar cloud cores, where molecular freezeout and deuterium fractionation dominate, will be presented. Then, following cloud evolution after protostellar birth, hot core and shock chemistry will be discussed in view of recent observations. A brief summary of the chemistry in protoplanetary disks will also be furnished. The aim is to identify important gas tracers in the various steps of the star formation process, pointing out the main problems still open in the field of astrochemistry.
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© 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc
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Caselli, P. (2005). Chemical Processes in Star Forming Regions. In: Kumar, M.S.N., Tafalla, M., Caselli, P. (eds) Cores to Clusters. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 324. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26357-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26357-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
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