In a study that pushed quantum mechanical theory and research
capabilities to the limit, UA researchers have found a way to
see the molecule that likely made the universe - or at least the
hot and fiery bits of it. Lurking in the vast, chilly regions
between stars, the unassuming molecule known as a triatomic
hydrogen ion, or H3+, may hold secrets of the formation of the
first stars after the Big Bang. At the University of Arizona,
then doctoral candidate Michele Pavanello spent months doing
painstaking calculations to find a way to spot H3+ and unveil
its pivotal role in astronomy and spectroscopy, supervised by
Ludwik Adamowicz, a professor in the UA's department of
chemistry and biochemistry. The groundbreaking results have been
published in a recent edition of Physical Review Letters. "Most
of the universe consists of hydrogen in various forms," said
Adamowicz, "but the H3+ ion is the most prevalent molecular ion
in interstellar space. It's also one of the most important
molecules in existence." Believed