Processing of 72-K water-rich ices by keV and MeV oxygen ions: implications for the Saturnian moon Enceladus

Author(s)

Rachid, M. G. ^{[1, 2]} ; Pilling, S. ^[2] ; Rocha, W. R. M. ^{[2, 3, 4]} ; Agnihotri, A. ^[5] ; Rothard, H. ^[5] ; Boduch, P. ^[5]

Affiliation

^[1] Leiden Univ, Leiden Observ, POB 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden - Netherlands

^[2] Univ Vale Paraiba UNIVAP, Lab Astroquim & Astrobiol LASA, At Shishima Hifumi 2911, BR-12244000 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Inst, Oster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen - Denmark

^[4] Univ Copenhagen, Ctr Star & Planet Format, Oster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen - Denmark

^[5] Normandie Univ, Ctr Rech Ions Mat & Photon, ENSICAEN, UNICAEN, CEA, CNRS, CIMAP, F-14000 Caen - France

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society; v. 494, n. 2, p. 2396-2409, MAY 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The processing of H2O:CO2:CH4 (10:1:1) and H2O:CO2:CH4:NH3 (10:1:1:1) ices at 72 K by oxygen ions was studied in an attempt to simulate the physicochemical effects induced by energetic ions on the surface of Enceladus (or similar cold surfaces in the outer Solar System). The experiments were carried out at the Grand Accelerateur National d'Ions Lourds (GANIL) in Caen/France. The samples were irradiated with 15.7-MeV O5+ at the IRRadiation SUD (IRRSUD) beamline and with 108-key O6+ at the Accelerateurs pour les Recherches avec les Ions de Basses Energies (ARIBE) beamline. The frozen samples were monitored by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) spectroscopy (4000-650 cm(-1), 2.5-15.4 mu m, at 1 cm(-1) resolution). The identified molecular species formed during irradiation were CO, OCN-,CH3OH, HCN, CN-, H2CO3, HNCO, HCO and CO3. The effective formation cross-sections for the synthesis of new species and the effective molecular destruction cross-sections of the parent species in the experiments with MeV ions were found to be of the order of 10(14)-10(-13) cm(2). For the keV ion experiments, these values were of the order of 10(-16)-10(-15) cm(2). The fluence at which the sample reaches chemical equilibrium and the molecular abundances in this region (equilibrium branching ratios) were estimated. These experiments suggest that the chemical inventory on the surface of Enceladus can be influenced by the incidence of charged particles on to the moon's surface. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/11334-5 - Experimental simulation of the effects of energetic particles (ions and electrons) on the surface of icy bodies in the Solar System: physicochemical transformation of ices mixtures containing H2O,CO2,CH4 (10:1:1)
• Grantee: Marina Gomes Rachid
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 17/07283-9 - Processing of warm ices by low energy ions: probing the effects of solar wind and low energy magnetospheric ions on frozen Solar System bodies
• Grantee: Marina Gomes Rachid
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• FAPESP's process: 13/07657-5 - Computational modeling of circumstellar environment of protostars by employing data of bombarded ices with cosmic rays simulated in laboratory.
• Grantee: Will Robson Monteiro Rocha
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 16/22018-7 - Production of complex organic molecules on Solar System icy moons induced by swift ions (cosmic ray analogs).
• Grantee: Sergio Pilling Guapyassu de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research