Characterization of laboratory analogs of interstellar/cometary organic residues using very high resolution mass spectrometry

Danger, Grégoire; Orthous‐Daunay, François‐Régis; Marcellus, Pierre de; Modica, Paola; Vuitton, V.; Duvernay, Fabrice; Flandinet, Laurène; d’Hendecourt, Louis Le Sergeant; Thissen, R.; Chiavassa, Thierry

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2013.05.015

Cited by 79 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Numerous laboratory experiments have been developed to study the complex organic chemistry occurring in interstellar and cometary ices (Allamandola et al 1988;Palumbo et al 2004;Briani et al 2013;Kobayashi et al 1995;Moore and Hudson 2005;Meinert et al 2012;Danger et al 2013). The principle of such experiments is the following; from observations of the most abundant species present in the ices in late stages of the molecular clouds (out of which stars and planetary systems form), together with some comparison with cometary atmospheres, one can built templates of ices to study their evolution in the laboratory.…”

Section: Interstellar and Cometary Organic Chemistry Simulation Facilmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diversity of organic compounds synthesized during such laboratory simulations is remarkable but their identification is not always evident (Colangeli et al 2004;Cottin et al 1999;Danger et al 2013), and depends on the various analytical methods and protocols used in the procedure. Surprisingly, if templates of abundant interstellar ices are considered, essentially containing H, C, O and N roughly in cosmic abundances, the nature of the complex molecules tends not to depend too much on the ice composition (Muñoz Caro and Schutte 2003).…”

Section: Interstellar and Cometary Organic Chemistry Simulation Facilmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

et al. 2017

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Scientists use the Earth as a tool for astrobiology by analyzing planetary field analogues (i.e. terrestrial samples and field sites that resemble planetary bodies in our Solar System). In addition, they expose the selected planetary field analogues in simulation chambers to conditions that mimic the ones of planets, moons and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space conditions, as well as the chemistry occurring in interstellar and cometary ices. This paper reviews the ways the Earth is used by astrobiologists: (i) by conducting planetary field analogue studies to investigate extant life from extreme environments, its metabolisms, adaptation strategies and modern biosignatures; (ii) by conducting planetary field analogue studies to investigate extinct life from the oldest rocks on our planet and its biosignatures; (iii) by exposing terrestrial samples to simulated space or planetary environments and producing a sample analogue to investigate changes in minerals, biosignatures and microorganisms. The European Space Agency (ESA) created a topical team in 2011 to investigate recent activities using the Earth as a tool for astrobiology and to formulate recommendations and scientific needs to improve ground-based astrobiological research. Space is an important tool for astrobiology (see Horneck et al. in Astrobiology, 16:201-243, 2016;Cottin et al., 2017), but access to space is limited. Complementing research on Earth provides fast access, more replications and higher sample throughput. The major conclusions of the topical team and suggestions for the future include more scientifically qualified calls for field campaigns with planetary analogy, and a centralized point of contact at ESA or the EU for the organization of a survey of such expeditions. An improvement of the coordinated logistics, infrastructures and funding system supporting the combination of field work with planetary simulation investigations, as well as an optimization of the scientific return and data processing, data storage and data distribution is also needed. Finally, a coordinated EU or ESA education and outreach program would improve the participation of the public in the astrobiological activities.

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Section: Interstellar and Cometary Organic Chemistry Simulation Facilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Interstellar and Cometary Organic Chemistry Simulation Facilmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

et al. 2017

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“…Finally, a non-volatile residue-a complex mixture of often organic polymers-might be formed from the processing of carbon-bearing ices; this results in a substantial overlap of vibrational modes in the infrared spectrum Modica et al 2012;Callahan et al 2013;Danger et al 2013;de Marcellus et al 2015). Although the infrared spectra of the residues can be deconvoluted, this leads to the identification of functional groups rather than specific molecules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COMPLEX HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY IN INTERSTELLAR AND SOLAR SYSTEM ICES REVEALED: A COMBINED INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND REFLECTRON TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF ETHANE (C₂H₆) AND D6-ETHANE (C₂D₆) ICES EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION

Abplanalp

Kaiser

2016

ApJ

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The irradiation of pure ethane (C 2 H 6 /C 2 D 6 ) ices at 5.5 K, under ultrahigh vacuum conditions was conducted to investigate the formation of complex hydrocarbons via interaction with energetic electrons simulating the secondary electrons produced in the track of galactic cosmic rays. The chemical modifications of the ices were monitored in situ using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and during temperature-programmed desorption via mass spectrometry exploiting a quadrupole mass spectrometer with electron impact ionization (EI-QMS) as well as a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled to a photoionization source (PI-ReTOF-MS). FTIR confirmed previous ethane studies by detecting six molecules: methane (CH 4 ), acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), the ethyl radical (C 2 H 5 ), 1-butene (C 4 H 8 ), and n-butane (C 4 H 10 ). However, the TPD phase, along with EI-QMS, and most importantly, PI-ReTOF-MS, revealed the formation of at least 23 hydrocarbons, many for the first time in ethane ice, which can be arranged in four groups with an increasing carbon-to-hydrogen ratio: C n H 2n+2 (n = 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), C n H 2n (n = 3-10),2 2 (n = 3-10), andn n 2 4 (n = 4-6). The processing of simple ethane ices is relevant to the hydrocarbon chemistry in the interstellar medium, as ethane has been shown to be a major product of methane, as well as in the outer solar system. These data reveal that the processing of ethane ices can synthesize several key hydrocarbons such as C 3 H 4 and C 4 H 6 isomers, which have been found to synthesize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons like indene (C 9 H 8 ) and naphthalene (C 10 H 8 ) in the ISM and in hydrocarbon-rich atmospheres of planets and their moons such as Titan.

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“…A small fraction of new refractory species is of high molecular mass, up to 4000 amu at room temperature (Danger et al 2012b), this material is generally called refractory organic residue, or simply residue. Large organic compounds are produced either by ice photoprocessing (Agarwal et al 1985;Briggs et al 1992;Bernstein et al 1995;Muñoz Caro & Schutte 2003;Muñoz Caro et al 2004), by ion bombardment (Cottin et al 2001;Strazzulla & Baratta 1992;Kobayashi et al 1995;Kaiser & Roessler 1998), or by thermal processes (Bossa et al 2009;Vinogradoff et al 2011;Danger et al 2011;Vinogradoff et al 2013Vinogradoff et al , 2012a.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Importance of thermal reactivity for hexamethylenetetramine formation from simulated interstellar ices

Vinogradoff

Fray

Duvernay

et al. 2013

A&A

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Context. Complex organic molecules are observed in a broad variety of astrophysical objects, but little is known about their formation mechanism. Laboratory simulations on interstellar ice analogues are therefore crucial for understanding the origin of these complex organic molecules. In this context, we focus on the thermal reactivity for the formation of the organic residue obtained after photolysis at 25 K of the interstellar ice analogue (H 2 O:CH 3 OH:NH 3 ) warmed to 300 K. Aims. We determine the formation mechanism of one major product detected in the organic residue: hexamethylenetetramine (HMT). We compare the warming of the photolysed interstellar ice analogue with the warming of the two non-photolysed specific ice mixtures H 2 CO:NH 3 :HCOOH and CH 2 NH:HCOOH, which are used as references. Using both general and specific approaches, we show the precise role of the UV photons and the thermal processing in the HMT formation. Methods. We used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to monitor the chemical changes induced by the heating of the photolysed ice analogue and characterize some important species that will subsequently evolve in the formation of HMT in the residue. Results. We show that the thermal processes play a key role in the HMT formation in photolysed ice analogues heated at 300 K. We identify the stable intermediates in the HMT formation that are formed during the warming: the aminomethanol (NH 2 CH 2 OH) and the protonated ion trimethyletriamine (TMTH + , C 3 H 10 N + 3 ). We also identify for the first time a new product in the organic residue, the polymethylenimine PMI (-(CH 2 -NH) n ). Results from this study will be interesting for the analysis of the forthcoming Rosetta mission.

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Characterization of laboratory analogs of interstellar/cometary organic residues using very high resolution mass spectrometry

Cited by 79 publications

References 54 publications

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

COMPLEX HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY IN INTERSTELLAR AND SOLAR SYSTEM ICES REVEALED: A COMBINED INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND REFLECTRON TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF ETHANE (C₂H₆) AND D6-ETHANE (C₂D₆) ICES EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION

Importance of thermal reactivity for hexamethylenetetramine formation from simulated interstellar ices

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Characterization of laboratory analogs of interstellar/cometary organic residues using very high resolution mass spectrometry

Cited by 79 publications

References 54 publications

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

Earth as a Tool for Astrobiology—A European Perspective

COMPLEX HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY IN INTERSTELLAR AND SOLAR SYSTEM ICES REVEALED: A COMBINED INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND REFLECTRON TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF ETHANE (C2H6) AND D6-ETHANE (C2D6) ICES EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION

Importance of thermal reactivity for hexamethylenetetramine formation from simulated interstellar ices

Contact Info

Product

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COMPLEX HYDROCARBON CHEMISTRY IN INTERSTELLAR AND SOLAR SYSTEM ICES REVEALED: A COMBINED INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AND REFLECTRON TIME-OF-FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETRY ANALYSIS OF ETHANE (C₂H₆) AND D6-ETHANE (C₂D₆) ICES EXPOSED TO IONIZING RADIATION