PSI-COM · Photo Stability of Ice-bound Complex Organic Molecules
Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2024-02-01 → 2026-01-31
- EU contribution
- €187,624
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Photo Stability of Ice-bound Complex Organic Molecules
The chemical pathways which ice-bound molecules follow when subjected to energetic processing is a crucial part of accurately modelling the distribution of COMs -- many of which are considered the ``building blocks of life" -- in developing solar systems. This represents one of the key ways in which laboratory experiments assist in the understanding of astronomical processes; by recreating the conditions of space, and controlling factors such as incident flux, ice composition, and temperature, instrumentalists can obtain quantitative as well as qualitative insight into the chemistry occurring in star- and planet-forming regions. Such studies have shown that many of the molecular precursors to life are formed when icy mantles on dust grains are subjected to high-energy irradiation. Paradoxically, many complex organic molecules are unstable with respect to such irradiation, hinting at a balance between constructive and destructive forces in the molecular inventory of interstellar space. This project was aimed at probing this balance by performing experiments where astronomically-relevant COMs were embedded in icy environments and irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet light. The extent to which the COM degraded was correlated with the composition of the surrounding ice matrix, and some mechanistic insight was gained by studying the root of these effects. The quantitative results for this work can be used in astronomical simulations, better accounting for the prevalence of ethanol in astronomical observations.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The universality of life i.e. the likelihood that life can form in extra-terrestrial environments hinges upon the availability of certain molecular building blocks. Whether the biomolecules of which we are made form before or after planet formation is an open question in astrochemistry; answering this question requires an understanding of the life cycle of biomolecular precursors (BPs) in various circum- and interstellar environments. Numerous complex organic molecules (COMs) with biological significance have been identified in star- and planet-forming regions through astronomical observations, motivating laboratory studies aiming to uncover the mechanisms by which prebiotic molecules are born during the early stages of planetary evolution. However, formation of BPs can only partially answer questions regarding the likelihood of life evolving elsewhere in the universe. It is also critical to understand the stability of such species in the harsh environment of the interstellar medium (ISM).Whether small BPs would have sufficient lifetimes in the ISM to eventually coalesce into larger COMs is the central question of this research proposal, which concerns the Photo-Stability of Ice-bound Complex Organic Molecules (PSI-COM). Laboratory experiments on interstellar ice analogues containing selected BPs will be performed using a fully operational and highly-specialized ultra-high vacuum apparatus. Ices will be bombarded with ultraviolet radiation characteristic of that produced in dense interstellar clouds as well as in the diffuse ISM, and the chemical evolution will be tracked to yield kinetic and mechanistic information useful to astronomical models of star and planet formation. The results will be compared with or used to steer observational studies, such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN · LeidenCoordinatorNetherlands
Links
- View on CORDIS
- DOI: 10.3030/101107752
- https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/documents/downloadPublic?documentIds=080166e5178fd77c&appId=PPGMS
Data: CORDIS, © European Union