1. Ion radiation in icy space environments: Synthesis and radioresistance of complex organic molecules
- Author
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Nicolas Nieuwjaer, Hermann Rothard, Aditya N. Agnihotri, Frédéric Lecomte, Charles Desfrançois, Gabriel S. Vignoli Muniz, Bruno Manil, R. Martinez, Philippe Boduch, B. Augé, Prudence C. J. Ada Bibang, Alicja Domaracka, Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique (CIMAP - UMR 6252), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-École Nationale Supérieure d'Ingénieurs de Caen (ENSICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche sur les Matériaux Avancés (IRMA), Normandie Université (NU)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Institut national des sciences appliquées Rouen Normandie (INSA Rouen Normandie), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers (LPL), Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Normandie Université (NU)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
010302 applied physics ,Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Cosmic ray ,Electron ,01 natural sciences ,Ionizing radiation ,Ion ,Fragmentation (mass spectrometry) ,Chemical physics ,0103 physical sciences ,Radiolysis ,Molecule ,ddc:530 ,Irradiation ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,[PHYS.COND]Physics [physics]/Condensed Matter [cond-mat] ,010306 general physics - Abstract
International audience; Ices are omnipresent in cold regions in space on, e.g., comets, dust grains, transneptunian objects, surfaces of planets and their satellites. The dominant molecule in such ices is water, but also other small molecules or even complex organic molecules (COMs) may be present. Ionizing radiation (UV photons, electrons, ions from cosmic rays or solar wind) induces several physico-chemical processes such as radiolysis. The fragmentation of initial molecules followed by chemical reactions between radicals may lead to formation of new molecules. Furthermore, also implanted projectiles can contribute to chemistry by forming new molecular species. Other observed effects include structural changes (compaction, amorphization) and desorption (sputtering) of particles from the surface. At CIMAP (Caen, France), using the different beam lines of the GANIL facility, and at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany), the interaction of swift highly charged heavy ions with astrophysical ices has been studied in a wide projectile energy range from keV to GeV. Here, two examples of our studies on astrophysical and astrochemical applications will be discussed in detail: 1) the synthesis of COMs under irradiation of ices made of small molecules, and 2) radiosensitivity of COMs such as pyridine, glycine and adenine, both for isolated molecules in the gas phase and in condensed phase. Special emphasis is given on pyridine and pyridine in water matrix.
- Published
- 2019
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