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One of the few carbon-rich environments found in interstellar space is the ejecta of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Such material, which forms a circumstellar envelope, becomes enriched in carbon due to “dredge-up” phenomena associated with nucleosynthesis. A unique organic synthesis flourishes in the gas phase in these envelopes, and radio and millimeter observations have identified a wide range of C-bearing compounds, including long acetylenic chains such as HC5N, HC7N, C4H, C6H, C8H, C6H−, C8H−, and C3O. Oxygen-rich envelopes also have a non-negligible carbon chemistry, fostering species such as HCN and HCO+. Phosphorus chemistry appears to be active as well in circumstellar shells, as evidenced by the recent detections of HCP, CCP, and PO. Radio observations also indicate that some fraction of the circumstellar molecular material survives into the planetary nebula stage, and then becomes incorporated into diffuse, and eventually, dense clouds. The complex organic molecules found in dense clouds such as Sgr B2(N) may be the products of “seed” material that can be traced back to the carbon-enriched circumstellar gas.
