title: Complex Organic Molecules as Gas-Phase Tracers of Ice Processing: HNCNH and NH2OH

authors: Brett A. McGuire

abstract: It is widely agreed that a majority of the complex organic molecules observed in the gas-phase ISM were initially formed in the icy mantles of dust grains.  Yet, the direct detection of anything more complex than methanol in these ices has proven exceedingly challenging.  Identifying gas-phase tracers of this processing, which can be more readily observed, is therefore desirable while work continues toward the detection of condensed-phase species.  Here, I will discuss observational work on two species, carbodiimide (HNCNH) and hydroxylamine (NH2OH), and how their detection and non-detection, respectively, provide insights into condensed-phase processes in the ISM.  I'll also briefly touch on laboratory and computational efforts exploring these processes, and their application to observations.