Azimuthal molecular variations in the AB Aur planet-forming disk

Late infall episodes are emerging as an important driver of disk evolution. Observed as filamentary streamers in molecular lines and scattered light, such accretion perturbs disk structures, yet its chemical consequences remain unconstrained. We present NOEMA 1.2 mm observations of AB Aur, a structured young Herbig disk showing evidence for ongoing infall and planet formation. We detect azimuthal chemical diversity: SO emission is enhanced in the northern disk near the inferred streamer-disk interaction region, while C 2 H peaks on the opposite southern side; CS forms a nearly axisymmetric ring. HCN and HCO+ peak near the dust continuum overdensity in the dust ring. Rotational diagram analyses show higher SO rotational temperatures and column densities in the north, whereas CS remains axisymmetric with lower rotational temperatures, suggesting that the species probe different disk layers. For C 2 H, temperature variations may contribute to but cannot fully explain the asymmetries. The HCO+ /H 13 CO+ line ratio indicates that HCO+ is optically thick across the molecular ring, while the elevated ratio inside the cavity suggests enhanced gas-phase 12 C/ 13 C, consistent with isotope-selective photodissociation. Comparison with chemical models favors gas-phase C/O ratios near or above unity, with higher effective C/O in the C 2 H-bright sector. We discuss two origins for the chemical asymmetries: (i) infall-induced heating and desorption of O-bearing ices enhance SO and lower gas-phase C/O near the streamer's impact site, and (ii) planet-driven substructures and localized heating or enhanced UV irradiation promote hydrocarbon-rich chemistry in the southern disk. These results highlight that environmental accretion and planet formation can jointly imprint azimuthal variations in disk chemistry, with potential impacts on forming planets' compositions.