Solid-state production of complex organic molecules: H-atom addition versus UV irradiation

Abstract

Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been observed in comets, hot cores and cold dense regions of the interstellar medium. It is generally accepted that these COMs form on icy dust grain through the recombination reaction of radicals triggered by either energetic UVphoton or non-energetic H-atom addition processing. In this work, we present for the first time laboratory studies that allow for quantitative comparison of hydrogenation and UV-induced reactions as well as their cumulative effect in astronomically…