Our Unique Approach

We perform an “unbiased spectral survey” towards each protostar in our sample, which means that we observe a wide bandwidth (~33 GHz) and in one go probe all the emission lines from all the molecules that have spectroscopic lines in that frequency range. This is in contrast to the conventional approach of targeting narrow spectral windows in search of specific lines from a predetermined set of molecules. Unbiased spectral surveys carry a number of advantages:

• numerous lines from a single complex organic molecule can be covered, which facilitates accurate determination of excitation conditions and column density;
• a large set of molecules can be coherently probed, thereby allowing some of the most complete chemical inventories to be assembled;
• open doors to serendipitous discoveries of molecules not previously detected in the interstellar medium.

Our In- and Out-of-Field Impact

The systematic effort of COMPASS will provide a deep understanding of the complex organic inventories and isotopic ratios in Solar-type protostars depending on the ambient physical environment and evolutionary past. This will move the field forward in disentangling the formation of such molecules under interstellar conditions. The chemistry that occurs during the formation of stars and planets plays a critical role in determining the eventual architectures of planetary systems, the composition of exoplanet atmospheres, and, perhaps, the inventory of organic molecules delivered to planets that can serve as prebiotic building blocks for life. Ultimately, COMPASS will address how much diversity in organic inventories we can expect in emerging planetary systems.

Outlook

Here are some of our concrete plans for the future and our vision for next-generation facilities and methods.

JWST-COMPASS

We have been awarded 73 hours of observing time on JWST to follow-up part of the COMPASS source sample with NIRCAM and NIRSpec MSA. Follow the link for more about the technical details of our Cycle 3 program #5222. Stay tuned for our exciting results!

ACA-COMPASS

We have been awarded observing time on ALMA-ACA to map the distribution of select molecules in Band 3 on larger spatial scales for the COMPASS source sample. These are Cycle 10 (2023) and 11 (2024) programs 2023.1.01246.S (84 h on the 7-m array and 205 h on TP) and 2024.1.00685.S (86 h on the 7-m array and 171 h on TP). Stay tuned for our exciting results!