Titan Tholins: Simulating Titan Organic Chemistry in the Cassini-Huygens Era
Authors: M.L. Cable, S.M. Hörst, R. Hodyss, P.M. Beauchamp, M.A. Smith, P.A. Willis http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cr200221x
Amino acids generated from hydrated Titan tholins: Comparison with Miller–Urey electric discharge products
Authors: H.J. Cleaves II, C. Neish, M.P. Callahan, E. Parker, F.M. Fernández, J.P. Dworkin Various analogues of Titan haze particles (termed ‘tholins’) have been made in the laboratory. In certain geologic environments on Titan, these haze particles may come into contact with aqueous ammonia (NH3) solutions, hydrolyzing them into molecules of astrobiological interest. A Titan tholin analogue hydrolyzed in aqueous…
On the Radiolysis of Ethylene Ices by Energetic Electrons and Implications to the Extraterrestrial Hydrocarbon Chemistry
Authors: L. Zhou, S. Maity, M. Abplanalp, A. Turner, R.I. Kaiser The chemical processing of ethylene ices (C2H4) by energetic electrons was investigated at 11 K to simulate the energy transfer processes and synthesis of new molecules induced by secondary electrons generated in the track of galactic cosmic ray particles. A combination of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (solid state) and…
Galactic Cosmic Rays and N2 Disassociation on Titan
Authors: L.A. Capone, J. Dubach, S.S. Prasad, R.C. Whitten The electromagnetic and particle cascade resulting from the absorption of galactic cosmic rays in the atmosphere of Titan is shown to be an important mechanism for driving the photochemistry at pressures of 1 to 50 mbar in the atmosphere. In particular, the cosmic ray cascade dissociates N2, a process necessary for…
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….
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…
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…