Amino acid formation induced by high-power laser in CO2/CO-N2-H2O gas mixtures

Authors: S. Civiš, L. Juha, D. Babánková, J. Cvačka, O. Frank, J. Jehlička, B. Králiková, J. Krása, P. Kubát, A. Muck, M. Pfeifer, J. Skála, J. Ullschmied In a mixture of molecular gases with compositions (CO2–N2–H2O and CO–N2–H2O) and total pressure close to that of the EarthÕs early atmospheres, a centimeter-sized plasma was created by focusing a single 85-J, 450-ps…

Nitrogen compounds’ formation in aqueous solutions under high ionizing radiation: An overview

Authors: G.R. Dey Generation of NO-3 and NO-2 in aqueous phase within high ionizing radiation zone is normal phenomena. Their formation mechanisms, and controls still remain a challenge with reference to creation of corrosive environment. Nitrogen in such system relates mainly to air ingress, and from added nitrogen compounds, which are used to control pH and dissolved oxygen. Under radiation…

Nitrile gas chemistry in Titan’s atmosphere

Authors: T. Gautier, N. Carrasco, A. Buch, C. Szopa, E. Sciamma-O’Brien, G. Cernogora, This work presents the first study of the gaseous products resulting from the partial dissociation of meth- ane and nitrogen in the PAMPRE experimental setup simulating Titan’s atmospheric chemistry. Using cryogenic trapping, the gaseous products generated from the chemical reactions occurring in the reactor have been trapped….

Spectroscopic investigations of high-energy-density plasma transformations in a simulated early reducing atmosphere containing methane,

Authors: M. Civiš, M. Ferus, A. Knížek, P. Kubelik, M. Kamas, P. Španel, K. Drahina, V. Shestivska, L. Juha, P. Skrehot, V. Laitl, S. Civiš Large-scale plasma was created in gas mixtures containing methane using high-power laser-induced dielectric breakdown (LIDB). The composition of the mixtures corresponded to a cometary and/or meteoritic impact into the early atmosphere of either Titan or…

Cyanomethylene Formation from the Reaction of Excited Nitrogen Atoms with Acetylene: A Crossed Beam and ab Initio Study

Authors: N. Balucani, M. Alagia, L. Cartechini, P. Casavecchia, G. G. Volpi, K. Sato, T. Takayanagi, Y. Kurosaki The reaction of excited nitrogen atoms, N(2D), with the simplest alkyne, C2H2, was investigated for the first time under single-collision conditions in crossed beam experiments with mass spectrometric detection. The experimental results combined with electronic structure calculations and RRKM predictions allow us…

Abiotic synthesis of amino acids by x-ray irradiation of simple inorganic gases

Authors: Jun-ichi Takahashi, Teruo Hosokawa, Hitomi Masuda, Takeo Kaneko, Kensei Kobayashi, Takeshi Saito, Yuichi Utsumi 1–2 keV x-ray irradiation was carried out using a synchrotron radiation source on simulated primitive earth environment: a gas mixture of carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and water at atmospheric pressure. High-speed liquid chromatography of the hydrolyzed product solution detected amino acids. The amount of amino acids…

Origins of building blocks of life: A review

Authors: N. Kitadai, S. Maruyama How and where did life on Earth originate? To date, various environments have been proposed as plausible sites for the origin of life. However, discussions have focused on a limited stage of chemical evolution, or emergence of a specific chemical function of proto-biological systems. It remains unclear what geochemical situations could drive all the stages…

Vertical Distribution of Titan’s Atmospheric Neutral Constituents

Authors: L. M. Lara The vertical distribution of Titan’s neutral atmosphere compounds is calculated from a new photochemical model extending from 40 to 1432 km. This model makes use of many updated reaction rates, and of the new scheme for methane photolysis proposed by Mordauntet al. [1993].The model also includes a realistic treatment of the dissociation of N2, of the…

Photochemistry of Methane and the Formation of Hydrocyanic Acid (HCN) in the Earth’s Early Atmosphere

The photochemistries of methane and HCN are discussed in the context of the primitive terrestrial atmosphere,using a detailed numerical model. In the absenceof abundant O2, absorption of solar EUV (λ < 1023Å) by N2 provides a large thermosphersic source of atomic nitrogen. Methane is oxidized cleanly and efficiently,provided CO2 is more abundant than CH,•. Otherwise,a large fraction of the methane…