Complex organic molecules have been observed for decades in the interstellar medium. Some of them might be considered as small bricks of the macromolecules at the base of terrestrial life. It is hence particularly important to understand organic chemistry in Solar-like star-forming regions. In this article, we present a new observational project: Seeds Of Life In Space (SOLIS). This is a Large Project using the IRAM-NOEMA interferometer, and its scope is to image the emission of several crucial organic molecules in a sample of Solar-like star-forming regions in different evolutionary stages and environments. Here we report the first SOLIS results, obtained from analyzing the spectra of different regions of the Class 0 source NGC 1333-IRAS4A, the protocluster OMC-2 FIR4, and the shock site L1157-B1. The different regions were identified based on the images of formamide (NH 2 CHO) and cyanodiacetylene (HC 5 N) lines. We discuss the observed large diversity in the molecular and organic content, both on large (3000-10,000 au) and relatively small (300-1000 au) scales. Finally, we derive upper limits to the methoxy fractional abundance in the three observed regions of the same order of magnitude of that measured in a few cold prestellar objects, namely 10 12 --10 −11 with respect to H 2 molecules.

The interstellar delivery of carbon atoms locked into molecules might be one of the key ingredients for the emergence of life. Cyanopolyynes are carbon chains delimited at their two extremities by an atom of hydrogen and a cyano group, meaning that they could be excellent reservoirs of carbon. The simplest member, HC 3 N, is ubiquitous in the galactic interstellar medium and found also in external galaxies. Thus, understanding the growth of cyanopolyynes in regions forming stars similar to our Sun, and what affects them, is particularly relevant. In the framework of the IRAM/NOEMA Large Program SOLIS (Seeds Of Life In Space), we have obtained a map of two cyanopolyynes, HC 3 N and HC 5 N, in the protocluster OMC-2 FIR4. Because our Sun is thought to be born in a rich cluster, OMC-2 FIR4 is one of the closest and best known representatives of the environment in which the Sun may have been born. We find a HC 3 N/HC 5 N abundance ratio across the source in the range ∼1−30, with the smallest values (≤10) in FIR5 and in the eastern region of FIR4. The ratios ≤10 can be reproduced by chemical models only if: (1) the cosmic-ray ionisation rate ζ is ∼4 × 10 −14 s −1 ; (2) the gaseous elemental ratio C/O is close to unity; and (3) oxygen and carbon are largely depleted. The large ζ is comparable to that measured in FIR4 by previous works and was interpreted as due to a flux of energetic (≥10 MeV) particles from embedded sources. We suggest that these sources could lie east of FIR4 and FIR5. A temperature gradient across FIR4, with T decreasing from east to west by about 10 K, could also explain the observed change in the HC 3 N/HC 5 N line ratio, without the need of a cosmic ray ionisation rate gradient. However, even in this case, a high constant cosmic-ray ionisation rate (of the order of 10 −14 s −1) is necessary to reproduce the observations.

Context. Modern versions of the Miller-Urey experiment claim that formamide (NH 2 CHO) could be the starting point for the formation of metabolic and genetic macromolecules. Intriguingly, formamide is indeed observed in regions forming solar-type stars and in external galaxies. Aims. How NH 2 CHO is formed has been a puzzle for decades: our goal is to contribute to the hotly debated question of whether formamide is mostly formed via gas-phase or grain surface chemistry. Methods. We used the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) interferometer to image NH 2 CHO towards the L1157-B1 blue-shifted shock, a well-known interstellar laboratory, to study how the components of dust mantles and cores released into the gas phase triggers the formation of formamide. Results. We report the first spatially resolved image (size ∼9 , ∼2300 AU) of formamide emission in a shocked region around a Sun-like protostar: the line profiles are blueshifted and have a FWHM 5 km s −1 . A column density of N NH 2 CHO = 8 × 10 12 cm −1 and an abundance, with respect to H-nuclei, of 4 × 10 −9 are derived. We show a spatial segregation of formamide with respect to other organic species. Our observations, coupled with a chemical modelling analysis, indicate that the formamide observed in L1157-B1 is formed by a gas-phase chemical process and not on grain surfaces as previously suggested. Conclusions. The Seeds of Life in Space (SOLIS) interferometric observations of formamide provide direct evidence that this potentially crucial brick of life is efficiently formed in the gas phase around Sun-like protostars.

Corresponding author: Anna Punanova punanova@mpe.mpg.de * This work is based on observations carried out under project number L15AA with the IRAM NOEMA Interferometer and on observations carried out with the IRAM 30 m telescope. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany) and IGN (Spain).

We have investigated the young stellar population in and around SFO 38, one of the massive globules located in the northern part of the galactic H ii region IC 1396, using the Spitzer IRAC and MIPS observations (3.6 to 24 µm) and followed up with ground based optical photometric and spectroscopic observations. Based on the IRAC and MIPS colors and Hα emission we identify ∼ 45 Young Stellar Objects (Classes 0/I/II) and 13 probable Pre Main Sequence candidates. We derive the spectral types (mostly K-and M-type stars), effective temperatures and individual extinction of the relatively bright and optically visible Class II objects. Most of the Class II objects show variable Hα emission as well as optical and near-infrared photometric variability which confirm their "youth". Based on optical photometry and theoretical isochrones, we estimate the spread in stellar ages to be between 1-8 Myr with a median age of 3 Myr and a mass distribution of 0.3-2.2 M ⊙ with a median value around 0.5 M ⊙ . Using the width of the Hα emission line measured at 10% peak intensity, we derive the mass accretion rates of individual objects to be between 10 −10 to 10 −8 M ⊙ /yr. From the continuum-subtracted Hα line image, we find that the Hα emission of the globule