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Civiš S, Pastorek A, Ferus M, Yurchenko SN, Boudjema NI. Infrared Spectra of Small Radicals for Exoplanetary Spectroscopy: OH, NH, CN and CH: The State of Current Knowledge. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28083362. [PMID: 37110598 PMCID: PMC10143568 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28083362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In this study, we present a current state-of-the-art review of middle-to-near IR emission spectra of four simple astrophysically relevant molecular radicals-OH, NH, CN and CH. The spectra of these radicals were measured by means of time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the 700-7500 cm-1 spectral range and with 0.07-0.02 cm-1 spectral resolution. The radicals were generated in a glow discharge of gaseous mixtures in a specially designed discharge cell. The spectra of short-lived radicals published here are of great importance, especially for the detailed knowledge and study of the composition of exoplanetary atmospheres in selected new planets. Today, with the help of the James Webb telescope and upcoming studies with the help of Plato and Ariel satellites, when the investigated spectral area is extended into the infrared spectral range, it means that detailed knowledge of the infrared spectra of not only stable molecules but also the spectra of short-lived radicals or ions, is indispensable. This paper follows a simple structure. Each radical is described in a separate chapter, starting with historical and actual theoretical background, continued by our experimental results and concluded by spectral line lists with assigned notation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svatopluk Civiš
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Pastorek
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
| | - Martin Ferus
- J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Dolejškova 2155/3, 18200 Prague 8, Czech Republic
| | - Sergei N Yurchenko
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Noor-Ines Boudjema
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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Elkins-Tanton LT, Asphaug E, Bell JF, Bierson CJ, Bills BG, Bottke WF, Courville SW, Dibb SD, Jun I, Lawrence DJ, Marchi S, McCoy TJ, Merayo JMG, Oran R, O’Rourke JG, Park RS, Peplowski PN, Prettyman TH, Raymond CA, Weiss BP, Wieczorek MA, Zuber MT. Distinguishing the Origin of Asteroid (16) Psyche. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2022; 218:17. [PMID: 35431348 PMCID: PMC9005435 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-022-00880-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The asteroid (16) Psyche may be the metal-rich remnant of a differentiated planetesimal, or it may be a highly reduced, metal-rich asteroidal material that never differentiated. The NASA Psyche mission aims to determine Psyche's provenance. Here we describe the possible solar system regions of origin for Psyche, prior to its likely implantation into the asteroid belt, the physical and chemical processes that can enrich metal in an asteroid, and possible meteoritic analogs. The spacecraft payload is designed to be able to discriminate among possible formation theories. The project will determine Psyche's origin and formation by measuring any strong remanent magnetic fields, which would imply it was the core of a differentiated body; the scale of metal to silicate mixing will be determined by both the neutron spectrometers and the filtered images; the degree of disruption between metal and rock may be determined by the correlation of gravity with composition; some mineralogy (e.g., modeled silicate/metal ratio, and inferred existence of low-calcium pyroxene or olivine, for example) will be detected using filtered images; and the nickel content of Psyche's metal phase will be measured using the GRNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda T. Elkins-Tanton
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | - Erik Asphaug
- Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 USA
| | - James F. Bell
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | - Carver J. Bierson
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | | | | | - Samuel W. Courville
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | - Steven D. Dibb
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | - Insoo Jun
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
| | - David J. Lawrence
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723 USA
| | | | - Timothy J. McCoy
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013 USA
| | - Jose M. G. Merayo
- National Space Institute, Danish Technical University, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Rona Oran
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA
| | - Joseph G. O’Rourke
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 86387-2001 USA
| | - Ryan S. Park
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
| | | | | | | | - Benjamin P. Weiss
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA
| | - Mark A. Wieczorek
- Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
| | - Maria T. Zuber
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 USA
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Zellner NEB, McCaffrey VP, Butler JHE. Cometary Glycolaldehyde as a Source of pre-RNA Molecules. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1377-1388. [PMID: 32985898 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Over 200 molecules have been detected in multiple extraterrestrial environments, including glycolaldehyde (C2(H2O)2, GLA), a two-carbon sugar precursor that has been detected in regions of the interstellar medium. Its recent in situ detection on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and through remote observations in the comae of others provides tantalizing evidence that it is common on most (if not all) comets. Impact experiments conducted at the Experimental Impact Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center have shown that samples of GLA and GLA mixed with montmorillonite clays can survive impact delivery in the pressure range of 4.5 to 25 GPa. Extrapolated to amounts of GLA observed on individual comets and assuming a monotonic impact rate in the first billion years of Solar System history, these experimental results show that up to 1023 kg of cometary GLA could have survived impact delivery, with substantial amounts of threose, erythrose, glycolic acid, and ethylene glycol also produced or delivered. Importantly, independent of the profile of the impact flux in the early Solar System, comet delivery of GLA would have provided (and may continue to provide) a reservoir of starting material for the formose reaction (to form ribose) and the Strecker reaction (to form amino acids). Thus, comets may have been important delivery vehicles for starting molecules necessary for life as we know it.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jayden H E Butler
- Department of Physics, Albion College, Albion, Michigan, USA
- Department of Physics, California State University - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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