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Photodesorption and physical properties of CO ice as a function of temperature

Munoz Caro, GM; Chen, Y-J; Aparicio, S; Jimenez-Escobar, A; Rosu-Finsen, A; Lasne, J; McCoustra, MRS; (2016) Photodesorption and physical properties of CO ice as a function of temperature. Astronomy & Astrophysics , 589 , Article A19. 10.1051/0004-6361/201628121. Green open access

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Abstract

CONTEXT: Ice photodesorption has been the topic of recent studies that aim to interpret the abundances of gas-phase molecules, in particular CO, toward cold interstellar regions. But little is known about the effect of the ice’s physical properties on the photodesorption rate. The linear decrease observed in the photodesorption rate, as a function of increasing CO ice deposition temperature, was provisionally attributed to a more compact CO ice structure. AIMS: The goal of this work is to monitor the physical properties of solid CO as a function of ice deposition temperature. Then, we evaluate the possible link between the structure of ice and the ice’s photodesorption rate. Methods. Infrared spectroscopy is an efficient tool to monitor the structural evolution of pure ices during warm-up or irradiation. The infrared absorption bands of molecular ice components observed toward various space environments allow for the detection of H2O, CO, CO2, CH3OH, NH3, etc. Typically, a pure ice that is composed of one of these species displays significant changes in their mid-infrared band profiles as a result of warm-up. But, at most, only very subtle changes appear in the narrow CO ice infrared absorption band as the result of warm-up. We, therefore, also used vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy of CO ice to monitor the effect of temperature in the physical properties of the ice. Finally, temperature-programmed desorption and photo-desorption experiments for different CO ice deposition temperatures were performed. RESULTS: Mid-infrared and vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy showed that warm-up of CO ice that is deposited at 8 K did not lead to structural changes. Only CO ice samples deposited at temperatures above 20 K displayed different spectroscopic properties compared to lower deposition temperatures. The observed gradual and linear drop in the photodesorption rate of CO ice, as a function of increasing ice deposition temperature in the 7 to 20 K range, is, therefore, not due to a gradual re-structuring toward a more compact and crystalline ice, which is only triggered above 20 K and increases for higher deposition temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that this decrease of the photodesorption rate is related to the disorder of CO dipole molecules within the amorphous or glassy state, which influences the necessary transfer of photon energy from the first excited molecule to the desorbing molecule on the ice surface. The photodesorption yield of CO deposited at 20 K is about four times lower than at 7 K. Dust models should adopt CO photodesorption yields that are compatible with the thermal history of the cloud.

Type: Article
Title: Photodesorption and physical properties of CO ice as a function of temperature
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201628121
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201628121
Language: English
Additional information: © ESO 2016. This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, astrochemistry, ISM: lines and bands, ultraviolet: ISM, methods: laboratory: solid state, ISM: molecules, techniques: spectroscopic, SOLID CO, CARBON-MONOXIDE, OPTICAL-CONSTANTS, DESORPTION, ANALOGS, BAND, SPECTROSCOPY, ABSORPTION, MOLECULES, SPECTRA
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10026191
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