Astrochemistry of Solar System precursors: the missing evidence of large carbon chains

Chemical processes taking place during the early protostellar phases strongly affect the final chemical composition of a forming planetary system. Indeed, while close to the protostar a chemical reset is expected, in the outer protostellar disk regions a consistent part of the molecular complexity is expected to be inherited from the early stages. The complex molecules formed in the disk are thus incorporated in planetesimals and planets, possibly triggering a more complex chemistry of prebiotic compounds.