The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) is now entering its 8th cycle of scientific observations - starting with Cycle 0 in 2011. Cycle 7 should be one the last cycles that is considered "Steady State" Operations. With the commissioning of new capabilities over the next several years including wide field polarization, continuum single dish, new receiver bands and high frequency observations at long baselines, ALMA will begin "Full Science" operations. In addition, ALMA is approaching completion of its initially envisaged capabilities and, within the first five years of operations, the original fundamental science goals of ALMA have been essentially achieved. As such, a new ALMA Development Roadmap has been published that highlights the new fundamental science drivers for ALMA as we start the second decade of ALMA operations (https://www.almaobservatory.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/20180712-alma-development-roadmap.pdf). In this talk, I will detail the upcoming ALMA Cycle 7 observing capabilities, describe the process of selecting new observing modes for upcoming cycles and provide an update on the status of the ALMA Full Science capabilities including a brief description of the new fundamental science drivers for ALMA.

One of the most important problems of astrochemistry is to understand how, when and where complex organic and potentially prebiotic molecules are formed - and what is the link between the rich chemistry observed toward some star-forming regions and the emerging Solar System. From an observational point of view, ALMA is revolutionizing the field with its high sensitivity for faint lines, high spectral resolution limiting line confusion, and high angular resolution making it possible to study the structure of young protostars down to scales of their emerging protoplanetary disks. In this talk, I will discuss recent results on the chemistry of young solar-type protostars with ALMA. I will focus on a large ALMA survey of the low-mass protostellar binary and astrochemical template source, IRAS 16293-2422. The program, "Protostellar Interferometric Line Survey (PILS)", is more than an order of magnitude more sensitive than previous surveys of chemical complexity and provide images of the inner 25 AU of the gas around each of the young stars. The high sensitivity and spectral resolution of ALMA have led to the detection of a wealth of species for the first time toward solar-type protostars as well as the ISM in general - for example, molecules of importance for prebiotic chemistry such as peptide-bond containing species and simple sugars. Also, the data show the presence of numerous rare isotopologues of complex organic molecules and other species: the exact measurements of the abundances of these isotopologues shed new light onto the formation of such complex species and provide a chemical link between the embedded protostellar stages and our own Solar System including the composition of comets. Finally, I will discuss some of the issues encountered dealing with these complex datasets with spectra reaching the confusion limit and providing new challenges for laboratory spectroscopy.

Traditionally used model of evolution of molecular clouds in interstellar space is described as increasing of cloud gas density from diffuse to dense conditions, i.e., from an atomic-gas cloud to a star-forming region via a diffuse cloud and a dense cloud. However, reverse evolution of molecular clouds is suggested by Price et al. [1]. For example, outflow from a star-forming region makes a relatively-low-density cloud. To find a clue of reverse evolution, investigation of chemical composition of relatively-low-density clouds is necessary. Rotational transitions of CH₃CN can be observed by absorption, and they can be analyzed by using a model of the hot axis effect, which shows special rotational distributions of CH₃CN in a relatively-low-density cloud [2]. In our previous work, CH₃CN was detected via absorption lines of the J = 4–3 rotational transition in the envelope of Sagittarius B2(M) core in the Galactic Center region by using Nobeyama 45-m telescope [3]. In this work, using ALMA data archive [4], we investigated absorption lines of the J = 5–4 and 6–5 rotational transitions of CH₃CN in the envelope of Sagittarius B2(N) core, which is an adjacent core of the (M) core. The column density of CH₃CN in the envelope of the (N) core is derived to be (1.0 ±0.2) ×10¹⁵ cm⁻², which is 7 times larger than that in the envelope of the (M) core, while the (N) core has an 11-times larger column density than the (M) core [5]. Similar abundance relation was found in the case of HC₃N. Thus, as chemical compositions of relatively-low-density clouds, it was found that an abundant core has an abundant envelope and vice versa in the Sagittarius B2 region. To investigate reverse evolution, we will analyze additional molecules from now on. [1] Price et al., 2003, MNRAS, 343, 1257. [2] Araki et al., Astronomical Journal, 148, 87 (2014). [3] Araki et al., JpGU 2018, PPS09-01. [4] Project Code: 2016.1.00074.S. [5] Belloche et al., 2013, A&A, 559, 47

The EMoCA survey is a spectral line survey using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to study the hot-core complex Sagittarius B2(N). Recently, EMoCA revealed the presence of 5 hot cores in this complex, including N2, which is a rich source for the study of complex molecules due to its narrow linewidths. We seek to analyze data from the EMoCA survey to investigate the column densities and excitation temperatures of nitrile and isonitrile (i.e., cyanide and isocyanide) species. We report the first detection of CH₃NC and HCCNC in Sgr B2(N2). In addition, we calculate new upper limits for C₂H₅NC, C₂H₃NC, HNC₃ and HC₃NH⁺. We then use the coupled three-phase chemical kinetics code MAGICKAL to simulate their chemistry. Several new species, and over 100 new reactions have been added to the network. In addition, a new single-stage collapse/warm-up model has been implemented, thus eliminating the need for the previous two-stage models. A variable, visual extinction-dependent ζ is also incorporated into the model. Our updated chemical models do a reasonable job of reproducing the abundance ratios of the various isocyanide/cyanide pairs, with the best-fit model having an enhanced cosmic-ray ionization rate. Radiative transfer models are run on the best-fit chemical model. Column densities produced by the radiative transfer models are lower than those determined observationally. Excitation temperatures are reproduced for some molecules, but not others, indicating there is still work to be done on the model. The new single-stage chemical model should be a useful tool in analyzing other hot-core sources in the future.

Recent observations indicate that the cosmic rate ionization rate in the Galactic center is higher than elsewhere in the Galaxy by one to two orders of magnitudes. These measurements are based on infrared H3+ molecular spectroscopy studies. This interaction explains the ubiquitous warm molecular gas observed throughout the Galactic center as well as the unusual chemistry of molecular gas, as indicated by the high abundance of methanol, SiO and HCO+/HCN intensity ratios. I will present preliminary results of two molecular line surveys of the Galactic center that we have carried out using the CSO and ALMA. In particular, we discuss the intensity ratios of several molecular lines in the context of cosmic ray driven gas chemistry.

We have recently reported the first detection of a chiral molecule in the interstellar medium, toward Sgr B2(N) (McGuire & Carroll et al. 2016). Chiral molecules represent a critical class of organic species that drive biology. The cosmic origin of these species is proposed to have its origins in cometary and asteroidal material. The initial detection of propylene oxide was in the cold outer envelope of Sgr B2, however it is not clear how representative this population is of the more evolved hot core chemistry, which seeds planetesimal inventories, and the detection lacks any information on spatial distribution. Thus, propylene oxide, as well as several isotopically chiral species such as CH₃CHDCN and CH₃CHDOH, may persist through the hot core phase of star formation. In order to determine under what conditions chiral species might be incorporated into icy material in pre-solar environments, it is necessary to map the distribution of these species.To this end, we have conducted ALMA Band 7 observations of Sgr B2(N).We will present results of our observations, and discuss the abundance and excitation conditions of propylene oxide and other isotopically chiral species.

Molecular ions have long been known to drive rich, complex chemistry in the interstellar medium (ISM). Of particular interest is the protonated formaldehyde ion (H₂COH⁺) as it is the main reactant in the formation and destruction of formaldehyde (H₂CO) and a precursor to protonated methanol (H₃COH₂⁺) as well as the simplest amino acid, glycine (NH₂CH₂COOH). Using a pulsed supersonic expansion discharge source to produce the ion, the expansion was probed with millimeter/sub-millimeter light. The known 3_0,3 ← 2_0,2 transition at 190079.131 MHz has been previously detected in our lab utilizing a multipass optical set-up and the fast-sweep technique. However, in an effort to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the transition with fewer averages, the experimental set up was changed and the signal has not been recovered. Here we will present the status of the experiment and the results obtained thus far in the context of the experimental design and possible future improvements. Once this transition is detected again, the spectrum will be extended past 385 GHz up to 1 THz and compared to astronomical observations in order to more confidently determine its presence in the ISM and to provide a spectral catalog that can guide future high frequency observations.

On 31 March 1969, the era of modern radio astrochemistry started with the detection of interstellar formaldehyde (H₂CO). It was the first detection at radio wavelengths of a molecule with more than one heavy atom (previous detections up until this discovery were limited to hydrogen atoms attached to a single heavy atom, e.g. CH, OH or NH₃) and, with the improvements in radio frequency receivers and new astronomical facilities coming online, heralded an era of discovery that has lasted for now more than 50 years. During this time, the number of new molecule detections has remained nearly constant at 3.7 molecules/year with a vast majority of these discoveries taking place in the radio regime (McGuire, B. 2018, APJS, 239, 17). This presentation will take us back to the time of this first detection, a quick synopsis of how observations of formaldehyde has led to a better understanding of the physical and chemical environments of astronomical sources and finally a look to the future with recent Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations of the 4830 MHz transition and high frequency searches with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).