International audienceWe present an experimental study on ion irradiation of carbonaceous chondrites, simulating solar wind irradiation on primitive asteroids, to better constrain the space weathering processes of low albedo objects. The irradiations were performed on pressed pellets of the CV Allende, CO Frontier Mountain 95002 and Lancé, CM Mighei, CI Alais, and ungrouped Tagish Lake meteorites, as well as on some silicate samples (olivine and diopside). We used 40keV He+He+ with fluences up to 6 × 1016 ions/cm2 corresponding to timescales of 103–104 years for an object in the Main Belt. Reflectance spectra were acquired ex situ before and after irradiations in the visible to mid-infrared range (0.4–16 µm). Several spectral modifications are observed. In the MIR range, we observe a shift of the phyllosilicates (near 3 and 10 µm) and silicates (near 10 µm) bands toward longer wavelength. In the visible-NIR range, spectral darkening and reddening are observed for some samples, while others show spectral brightening and blueing. Results are also compared with previous irradiation on ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites. We find that the spectral modifications in the visible range are correlated with the initial albedo/composition. We propose a model for space weathering effects on low albedo objects, showing that those with initial albedo between 5 and 9% shall not suffer SpWe effects in the visible range. These experiments provide new clues on spectroscopic features modifications within the visible-infrared ranges that could be detected in situ by future sample return missions (Hayabusa-2/JAXA and OSIRIS-REx/NASA)

Context. Many dense interstellar clouds are observable in emission in the near-IR (J, H, and K photometric bands), commonly referred to as "Cloudshine", and in the mid-IR (Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands), the so-called "Coreshine". These C-shine observations have usually been explained in terms of grain growth but no model has yet been able to self-consistently explain the dust spectral energy distribution from the near-IR to the submm. Aims. Our new core/mantle evolutionary dust model, The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model at the IaS (THEMIS), has been shown to be valid in the far-IR and submm. We want to demonstrate its ability to reproduce the C-shine observations. Methods. Our starting point is a physically motivated core/mantle dust model. It consists of three dust populations: small polyaromatic-rich carbon grains, bigger core/mantle grains with mantles of aromatic-rich carbon, and cores made of either amorphous aliphatic-rich carbon or amorphous silicate. Then, we assume an evolutionary path where these grains, when entering denser regions, may first form a second aliphatic-rich carbon mantle (coagulation of small grains, accretion of carbon from the gas phase), second coagulate together to form large aggregates, and third accrete gas phase molecules coating them with an ice mantle. To compute the corresponding dust emission and scattering, we use a 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. Results. We show that our global evolutionary dust modelling approach THEMIS allows us to reproduce C-shine observations towards dense starless clouds. Dust scattering and emission is most sensitive to the cloud central density and to the steepness of the cloud density profile. Varying these two parameters leads to changes that are stronger in the near-IR, in both the C-shine intensity and profile. Conclusions. With a combination of aliphatic-rich mantle formation and low-level coagulation into aggregates, we can selfconsistently explain the observed C-shine and far-IR/submm emission towards dense starless clouds.

Context. A 3.4 μm absorption band (around 2900 cm −1 ), assigned to aliphatic C-H stretching modes of hydrogenated amorphous carbons (a-C:H), is widely observed in the diffuse interstellar medium, but disappears or is modified in dense clouds. This spectral difference between different phases of the interstellar medium reflects the processing of dust in different environments. Cosmic ray bombardment is one of the interstellar processes that make carbonaceous dust evolve. Aims. We investigate the effects of cosmic rays on the interstellar 3.4 μm absorption band carriers. Methods. Samples of carbonaceous interstellar analogues (a-C:H and soot) were irradiated at room temperature by swift ions with energy in the MeV range (from 0.2 to 160 MeV). The dehydrogenation and chemical bonding modifications that occurred during irradiation were studied with IR spectroscopy. Results. For all samples and all ions/energies used, we observed a decrease of the aliphatic C-H absorption bands intensity with the ion fluence. This evolution agrees with a model that describes the hydrogen loss as caused by the molecular recombination of two free H atoms created by the breaking of C-H bonds by the impinging ions. The corresponding destruction cross section and asymptotic hydrogen content are obtained for each experiment and their behaviour over a large range of ion stopping powers are inferred. Using elemental abundances and energy distributions of galactic cosmic rays, we investigated the implications of these results in different astrophysical environments. The results are compared to the processing by UV photons and H atoms in different regions of the interstellar medium. Conclusions. The destruction of aliphatic C-H bonds by cosmic rays occurs in characteristic times of a few 10 8 years, and it appears that even at longer time scales, cosmic rays alone cannot explain the observed disappearance of this spectral signature in dense regions. In diffuse interstellar medium, the formation by atomic hydrogen prevails over the destruction by UV photons (destruction by cosmic rays is negligible in these regions). Only the cosmic rays can penetrate into dense clouds and process the corresponding dust. However, they are not efficient enough to completely dehydrogenate the 3.4 μm carriers during the cloud lifetime. This interstellar component should be destroyed in interfaces between diffuse and dense interstellar regions where photons still penetrate but hydrogen is in molecular form.

Comets are composed of dust and frozen gases. The ices are mixed with the refractory material either as an icy conglomerate, or as an aggregate of pre-solar grains (grains that existed prior to the formation of the Solar System), mantled by an ice layer. The presence of water-ice grains in periodic comets is now well established. Modelling of infrared spectra obtained about ten kilometres from the nucleus of comet Hartley 2 suggests that larger dust particles are being physically decoupled from fine-grained water-ice particles that may be aggregates, which supports the icy-conglomerate model. It is known that comets build up crusts of dust that are subsequently shed as they approach perihelion. Micrometre-sized interplanetary dust particles collected in the Earth's stratosphere and certain micrometeorites are assumed to be of cometary origin. Here we report that grains collected from the Jupiter-family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko come from a dusty crust that quenches the material outflow activity at the comet surface. The larger grains (exceeding 50 micrometres across) are fluffy (with porosity over 50 per cent), and many shattered when collected on the target plate, suggesting that they are agglomerates of entities in the size range of interplanetary dust particles. Their surfaces are generally rich in sodium, which explains the high sodium abundance in cometary meteoroids. The particles collected to date therefore probably represent parent material of interplanetary dust particles. This argues against comet dust being composed of a silicate core mantled by organic refractory material and then by a mixture of water-dominated ices. At its previous recurrence (orbital period 6.5 years), the comet's dust production doubled when it was between 2.7 and 2.5 astronomical units from the Sun, indicating that this was when the nucleus shed its mantle. Once the mantle is shed, unprocessed material starts to supply the developing coma, radically changing its dust component, which then also contains icy grains, as detected during encounters with other comets closer to the Sun.

Context. The observed cloudshine and coreshine (C-shine) have been explained in terms of grain growth leading to enhanced scattering from clouds in the J, H, and K photometric bands and the Spitzer IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands. Aims. Using our global dust-modelling approach THEMIS (The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model at the IaS), we explore the effects of dust evolution in dense clouds, through aliphatic-rich carbonaceous mantle formation and grain-grain coagulation. Methods. We model the effects of wide band gap a-C:H mantle formation and the low-level aggregation of diffuse interstellar medium dust in the moderately-extinguished outer regions of molecular clouds. Results. The formation of wide band gap a-C:H mantles on amorphous silicate and amorphous carbon (a-C) grains leads to a decrease in their absorption cross-sections but no change in their scattering cross-sections at near-infrared wavelengths, resulting in higher albedos. Conclusions. The evolution of dust, with increasing density and extinction in the diffuse-to-dense molecular cloud transition, through mantle formation and grain aggregation, appears to be a likely explanation for the observed C-shine.

Context. Cosmic ray ion irradiation affects the chemical composition of and triggers physical changes in interstellar ice mantles in space. One of the primary structural changes induced is the loss of porosity, and the mantles evolve toward a more compact amorphous state. Previously, ice compaction was monitored at low to moderate ion energies. The existence of a compaction threshold in stopping power has been suggested. Aims. In this article we experimentally study the effect of heavy ion irradiation at energies closer to true cosmic rays. This minimises extrapolation and allows a regime where electronic interaction always dominates to be explored, providing the ice compaction cross section over a wide range of electronic stopping power. Methods. High-energy ion irradiations provided by the GANIL accelerator, from the MeV up to the GeV range, are combined with in-situ infrared spectroscopy monitoring of ice mantles. We follow the IR spectral evolution of the ice as a function of increasing fluence (induced compaction of the initial microporous amorphous ice into a more compact amorphous phase). We use the number of OH dangling bonds of the water molecule, i.e. pending OH bonds not engaged in a hydrogen bond in the initially porous ice structure as a probe of the phase transition. These high-energy experiments are combined with lower energy experiments using light ions (H, He) from other facilities in Catania, Italy, and Washington, USA. Results. We evaluated the cross section for the disappearance of OH dangling bonds as a function of electronic stopping power. A cross-section law in a large energy range that includes data from different ice deposition setups is established. The relevant phase structuring time scale for the ice network is compared to interstellar chemical time scales using an astrophysical model. Conclusions. The presence of a threshold in compaction at low stopping power suggested in some previous works seems not to be confirmed for the high-energy cosmic rays encountered in interstellar space. Ice mantle porosity or pending bonds monitored by the OH dangling bonds is removed efficiently by cosmic rays. As a consequence, this considerably reduces the specific surface area available for surface chemical reactions.

Context. UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs) represent a small fraction of interplanetary dust particles reaching the Earth's surface and contain large amounts of an organic component not found elsewhere. They are most probably sampling a contribution from the outer regions of the solar system to the local interplanetary dust particle (IDP) flux. Aims. We characterize UCAMMs composition focusing on the organic matter, and compare the results to the insoluble organic matter (IOM) from primitive meteorites, IDPs, and the Earth. Methods. We acquired synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy (µFTIR) and µRaman spectra of eight UCAMMs from the Concordia/CSNSM collection, as well as N/C atomic ratios determined with an electron microprobe. Results. The spectra are dominated by an organic component with a low aliphatic CH versus aromatic C=C ratio, and a higher nitrogen fraction and lower oxygen fraction compared to carbonaceous chondrites and IDPs. The UCAMMs carbonyl absorption band is in agreement with a ketone or aldehyde functional group. Some of the IR and Raman spectra show a C≡N band corresponding to a nitrile. The absorption band profile from 1400 to 1100 cm −1 is compatible with the presence of C-N bondings in the carbonaceous network, and is spectrally different from that reported in meteorite IOM. We confirm that the silicate-to-carbon content in UCAMMs is well below that reported in IDPs and meteorites. Together with the high nitrogen abundance relative to carbon building the organic matter matrix, the most likely scenario for the formation of UCAMMs occurs via physicochemical mechanisms taking place in a cold nitrogen rich environment, like the surface of icy parent bodies in the outer solar system. The composition of UCAMMs provides an additional hint of the presence of a heliocentric positive gradient in the C/Si and N/C abundance ratios in the solar system protoplanetary disc evolution.

Aims. The goal of this study is to simulate space weathering processes on primitive bodies. We use ion implantation as a simulation of solar wind irradiation, which has been suggested by several authors to be the major component of space weathering on main belt asteroids. The laboratory analogs we irradiate and analyze are carbonaceous chondrites; we started the study with the Allende CV meteorite and in this companion paper we present results on the Murchison CM meteorite. Methods. We performed irradiations on pressed pellets of Murchison with 40 keV He+ and Ar + ions using fluences up to 3 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 . Reflectance spectra were acquired ex situ before and after irradiation in the visible to mid-infrared range (0.4-16 µm). A Raman analysis was also performed to investigate the modifications of the aromatic carbonaceous component. Results. Our results indicate that spectral variations after irradiation within the visible range are smaller than spectral variations due to sample grain size or viewing geometry of the Murchison meteorite. The aqueous alteration band profile near 3 µm changes after irradiation, as adsorbed water is removed, and phyllosilicates are affected. Raman spectroscopy highlights the insoluble organic matter (IOM) modification under irradiation. We observe a shift of the silicates band at 9.9 µm, probably due to a preferential loss of Mg (compared to Fe, the lighter Mg is more easily sputtered backward) and/or amorphization of Mg-rich materials. We compare our results to previous experiments on organic-rich materials (like asphaltite or carbonaceous chondrites), and on ordinary chondrites and olivine grains. We find that the reddening/darkening trend observed on silicate-rich surfaces is not valid for all carbonaceous chondrites, and that the spectral modifications after irradiation are a function of the initial albedo.