A Computational Investigation into Hydrocarbon Growth on Extraterrestrial Mineral Surfaces toward Understanding the Carbon Discrepancy in Space
Lily A. Clague,
Courtney Ennis,
Anna L. Garden
Abstract:The distribution and chemical form of carbon in the universe are of great interest to astrobiology; however, the measured abundance of carbon in interstellar environments is significantly less than that predicted by astrochemical modeling. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been postulated to account for some of this discrepancy, given that carbon in this molecular form is difficult to measure by astronomical techniques due to their large partition functions, resulting in weak spectroscopic signature… Show more
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