Related papers: Real-time optical spectroscopy of VUV irradiated p…
This paper reports the first measurements of solid-phase vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) absorption cross-sections of heavy isotopologues present in icy dust grain mantles of dense interstellar clouds and cold circumstellar environments. Pure ices…
The VUV absorption cross sections of most molecular solids present in interstellar ice mantles with the exception of H2O, NH3, and CO2 have not been reported yet. Models of ice photoprocessing depend on the VUV absorption cross section of…
Isoprene and its oligomers, terpenes, are expected to be present, along with other complex organic molecules, in the diverse environments of the ISM and in our solar system. Due to insufficient spectral information of these molecules at low…
Dust grains in cold circumstellar regions and dark-cloud interiors at 10-20 K are covered by ice mantles. A nonthermal desorption mechanism is invoked to explain the presence of gas-phase molecules in these environments, such as the…
Molecular oxygen, nitrogen, and ozone have been detected in the Solar System. They are also expected to be present in ice-grain mantles within star-forming regions. Laboratory experiments that simulate energetic processing (ions, photons,…
Context. Icy dust grains play an important role in the formation of complex inter- and circumstellar molecules. Observational studies show that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are abundantly present in the ISM in the gas phase. It…
Ice mantles detected on the surface of dust grains toward the coldest regions of the interstellar medium can be photoprocessed by the secondary ultraviolet (UV) field present in dense cloud interiors. In this work, we present UV-irradiation…
Vacuum-UV (VUV) photodesorption from water-rich ice mantles coating interstellar grains is known to play an important role in the gas-to-ice ratio in star- and planet-forming regions. Quantitative photodesorption yields from water ice are…
Ice mantles that formed on top of dust grains are photoprocessed by the secondary ultraviolet (UV) field in cold and dense molecular clouds. UV photons induce photochemistry and desorption of ice molecules. Experimental simulations…
Carbonic acid (H2CO3) is a weak acid relevant to astrobiology which, to date, remains undetected in space. Experimental work has shown that the beta-polymorph of H2CO3 forms under space relevant conditions through energetic (UV photon,…
Gaseous H2O has been detected in several cold astrophysical environments, where the observed abundances cannot be explained by thermal desorption of H2O ice or by H2O gas phase formation. These observations hence suggest an efficient…
\ Nitrous oxide (N$_2$O) ice is likely to exist in trans-Neptunian objects such as Pluto and Triton, potentially formed through ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun or cosmic ray irradiation of N$_2$ and CO ices. However, the…
Photon-stimulated desorption (PSD) is a process of interest for the two seemingly unrelated topics of accelerator vacuum dynamics and astrochemistry. Here we present an approach to studying PSD of interstellar ice analogs, i.e. condensed…
The photodesorption of icy grain mantles has been claimed to be responsible for the abundance of gas-phase molecules toward cold regions. Being water a ubiquitous molecule, it is crucial to understand its role in photochemistry and its…
The astrochemistry of CO2 ice analogues has been a topic of intensive investigation due to the prevalence of CO2 throughout the interstellar medium and the Solar System, as well as the possibility of it acting as a carbon feedstock for the…
The main goal of this work is to compare the effects induced in ices of astrophysical relevance by high-energy ions, simulating cosmic rays, and by vacuum ultraviolet (UV) photons. This comparison relies on in situ infrared spectroscopy of…
The Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet host stars (SISTINE) is a rocket-borne ultraviolet (UV) imaging spectrograph designed to probe the radiation environment of nearby stars. SISTINE…
Among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pyrene is widely used as an optical probe thanks to peculiar ultraviolet absorption and infrared emission features. Interestingly, this molecule is also an abundant component of the interstellar…
Methanol and formaldehyde are two simple organic molecules that are ubiquitously detected in the interstellar medium. An origin in the solid phase and a subsequent nonthermal desorption into the gas phase is often invoked to explain their…
Infrared spectroscopic observations have established the presence of hydrocarbon ices on Pluto and other TNOs, but the abundances of such molecules cannot be deduced without accurate optical constants (n, k) and reference spectra. In this…