Interstellar and cometary ices are thought to be the breeding ground for complex organic chemistry in interstellar and protostellar environments. These ices may be the starting point for the development of biologically-relevant chemistry during the star- and planet-forming process. Small organics have been detected in interstellar ices through infrared absorption observations. Likewise, organics and prebiotic molecules have been detected in cometary ices through both observations and sample-return measurements. The chemistry of these ices is driven by thermal and photo processing that leads to production of small radical species that can then go on and react to form larger, more complex organics. Numerous laboratory studies have investigated the chemistry occurring in the ice during thermal and photo processing, but few experiments probe the gas-phase chemistry above the ice during processing. We have developed a new experimental method that couples an ice analog experiment with a millimeter and submillimeter direct absorption spectrometer. We have confirmed proof-of-concept for this technique by detecting water photodesorption from a pure water ice. We have also observed the CO photoproduct from processing of a pure methanol ice. We are now conducting additional experiments that seek to examine the thermal release of CO and methanol during and after methanol photoprocessing. We will present the results of these experiments and discuss future possibilities for this novel experimental setup.

Gas-phase chemistry above interstellar and cometary ice analogs

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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