INFRA-ICE: an ultra-high vacuum experimental station for laboratory astrochemistry
Gonzalo Santoro, Jesús. M. Sobrado, Guillermo Tajuelo-Castilla, Mario Accolla, Lidia Martínez, Jon Azpeitia, Koen Lauwaet, José Cernicharo, Gary J. Ellis, José Ángel Martín-Gago
实验室天体化学的目的是在实验室中模拟在宇宙不同区域运行的一些化学和物理过程。在实验室中可以解决的各种天体化学问题中，星际介质（ISM）不同区域中宇宙尘埃颗粒的演化及其在通过催化过程形成新化学物种中的作用引起了人们的极大兴趣。特别是在ISM的乌云中，尘埃颗粒被冰冷的地幔覆盖，人们认为冰-尘埃相互作用在太空中观察到的化学复杂性的发展中起着至关重要的作用。在这里，我们提出了一个新的超高真空实验站，致力于模拟ISM最冷地区的复杂条件。INFRA-ICE机器可以作为一个独立的装置运行，也可以并入一个名为Stardust的大型实验站，该实验站致力于模拟演化恒星中宇宙尘埃的形成。因此，INFRA-ICE扩展了星尘的能力，允许模拟宇宙尘埃在太空中的完整旅程，从其在渐近巨星分支星（AGB）中的形成到其在分子云中的处理和与冰冷地幔的相互作用。为了证明INFRA-ICE的一些能力，我们提出了十一烷（C $_{11}$ H $_{24}$）在14 K的紫外光化学的选择性结果。脂族化合物是碳质宇宙尘埃的一部分，最近，在彗星67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko中原位检测到脂族化合物和短正烷烃。
英文摘要：
Laboratory astrochemistry aims at simulating in the laboratory some of the chemical and physical processes that operate in different regions of the Universe. Amongst the diverse astrochemical problems that can be addressed in the laboratory, the evolution of cosmic dust grains in the different regions of the interstellar medium (ISM) and its role in the formation of new chemical species through catalytic processes present significant interest. In particular, in the dark clouds of the ISM dust grains are coated by icy mantles and it is thought that the ice-dust interaction plays a crucial role in the development of the chemical complexity observed in space. Here, we present a new ultra-high vacuum experimental station devoted to simulate the complex conditions of the coldest regions of the ISM. The INFRA-ICE machine can be operated as a standing alone setup or incorporated in a larger experimental station called Stardust, which is dedicated to simulate the formation of cosmic dust in evolved stars. As such, INFRA-ICE expands the capabilities of Stardust allowing the simulation of the complete journey of cosmic dust in space, from its formation in asymptotic giant branch stars (AGBs) to its processing and interaction with icy mantles in molecular clouds. To demonstrate some of the capabilities of INFRA-ICE, we present selected results on the UV photochemistry of undecane (C$_{11}$H$_{24}$) at 14 K. Aliphatics are part of the carbonaceous cosmic dust and, recently, aliphatics and short n-alkanes have been detected in-situ in the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
The hunt for formamide in interstellar ices: A toolkit of laboratory infrared spectra in astronomically relevant ice mixtures and comparisons to ISO, Spitzer, and JWST observations
