Abstract
We review molecular evolution in low-mass star-forming regions and discuss what we can observe with ALMA. Recent observations have revealed chemical fractionation, i.e. spatial variation of molecular abundances, in dense prestellar cores. In the central regions of cold prestellar cores, CO is heavily depleted, while the depletion of N-bearing species are rare. Models show that CO is frozen onto grains, while N-bearing species survive because of the CO depletion and slow formation of N2 in the gas phase. CO depletion also enhances the molecular D/H ratio. Chemical fractionation and its variation among cores can be an indicator of evolutionary stage and/or accumulation process of cores.
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