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Abstract: In Titan''s atmosphere consisting of N2 and CH4, large amounts of atomic hydrogen are produced by photochemical reactions during the formation of complex organics. This atomic hydrogen may undergo heterogeneous reactions with organic aerosol in the stratosphere and mesosphere of Titan. In order to investigate both the mechanisms and kinetics of the heterogeneous reactions, atomic deuterium is irradiated onto Titan tholin formed from N2 and CH4 gas mixtures at various surface-temperatures of the tholin ranging from 160 to 310 K. The combined analyses of the gas species and the exposed tholin indicate that the interaction mechanisms of atomic deuterium with the tholin are composed of three reactions; (a) abstraction of hydrogen from tholin resulting in gaseous HD formation (HD recombination), (b) addition of D atom into tholin (hydrogenation), and (c) removal of carbon and/or nitrogen (chemical erosion). The reaction probabilities of HD recombination and hydrogenation are obtained as and , respectively. The chemical erosion process is very inefficient under the conditions of temperature range of Titan''s stratosphere and mesosphere. Under Titan conditions, the rates of hydrogenation > HD recombination ≫ chemical erosion. Our measured HD recombination rate is about 10 times (with an uncertainty of a factor of 3–5) the prediction of previous theoretical model. These results imply that organic aerosol can remove atomic hydrogen efficiently from Titan''s atmosphere through the heterogeneous reactions and that the presence of aerosol may affect the subsequent organic chemistry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new numerical code based on the Distinct Element Method (DEM) is developed to study the impact cratering processes on granular material. This code has a potential advantage to simulate the cratering process on granular material, since the movement of discrete particles can be treated. To show the physical plausibility of this code, we conduct 3-D numerical simulations of vertical impact into granular material targets that consist of 384,000 particles, and compare the results with those from experimental studies. It is shown that the excavation stage of cratering derived from experimental studies is represented well by our simulation: the size of the crater cavity, and the ejecta velocity and angle distributions are consistent with those obtained in laboratory experiments. The impact simulation code developed in this study is thus suggested to be useful for the analysis of the impact cratering process on granular material. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We propose that the shape of impact fragments reflects their fragmentation mechanisms; the fragmentation process that generates smaller fragments (fractal crack bifurcation) produces the shapes frequently observed in the previous studies, and those that generate larger fragments (spallation, random tessellation, and geometrical effects) produce flatter fragments. Fragment shape analyses derived from hypervelocity impact experiments in a variety of mass distribution ranges qualitatively support this view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methanol (CH 3 OH) is one of the primordial volatiles contained within icy solids in the outer solar nebula. This paper investigates the impact chemistry of CH 3 OH ice through a series of impact experiments. We discuss its fate during the accretion and evolution stages of large icy bodies, and assess the possibility of intact delivery of cometary volatiles to the lunar surface. Our experimental results show that the peak shock pressures for initial and complete dissociation of CH 3 OH ice are approximately 9 and 28 GPa, respectively. We also found that CO is more abundant than CH 4 in the gas-phase products of impact-induced CH 3 OH dissociation. Our results further show that primordial CH 3 OH within icy planetesimals could have survived low-velocity impacts during accretion of icy satellites and dwarf planets. These results suggest that CH 3 OH may have been a source of soluble reducing carbon and that it may have acted as antifreeze in liquid interior oceans of large icy bodies. In contrast, CH 3 OH acquired by accretion on icy satellites and Ceres would have been dissociated efficiently by subsequent impacts, perhaps during the heavy bombardment period, owing to the expected high impact velocities. For example, if Callisto originally contained CH 3 OH, cometary impacts during the late heavy bombardment period would have resulted in the formation of a substantial atmosphere (ca. ⩾10 −4 bar) composed of CO, H 2 , and CH 4 . To account for the current CO levels in Titan’s atmosphere, the CH 3 OH content in its crust may have been much lower than that typical of comets. Our numerical simulations also indicate that intact delivery of cometary CH 3 OH to the lunar surface would not have occurred, which suggests that CH 3 OH found in a persistently-shadowed lunar region probably formed through low-temperature surface chemistry on regolith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well-established constraint on the size of non-porous olivine grains or the porosity of aggregates consisting of small olivine grains from prominent narrow peaks in thermal infrared spectra characteristic of crystalline silicates is reexamined. To thoroughly investigate thermal infrared peaks, we make theoretical argument for the absorption and scattering of light by non-porous, non-spherical olivine particles, which is followed by numerical verification. Our study provides perfectly rational explanations of the physics behind the small-particle effect of emission peaks in the framework of classical electrodynamics and convincing evidence of small-particle's emission peaks in the literature. While resonant absorption excited by surface roughness on the order of submicrometer scales can be identified even for non-porous olivine particles with a radius of 10 μ m, it makes only a negligible contribution to thermal infrared spectra of the particles. In contrast, the porosity of non-spherical particles has a significant impact on the strength and wavelength of the peaks, while the resonant absorption excited by an ensemble of small grains takes place at a wavelength different than one expects for surface roughness. We finally reaffirm that twin peaks of olivine in thermal infrared spectra of dust particles in astronomical environments are the intrinsic diagnostic characters of submicrometer-sized small grains and their aggregate particles in fluffy and porous configurations. • Twin peaks of olivine particles in the infrared spectra are revisited in the framework of classical electrodynamics. • Resonant absorption excited by submicrometer-sized surface roughness is negligible to the infrared peaks. • The porosity of non-spherical particles has a significant impact on the strength and wavelength of the peaks. • Twin spectral peaks of olivine particles in the thermal infrared diagnose the sizes and porosities of the particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The synthesis of organic molecules via chemical reactions within impact vapor plumes has been proposed as a mechanism to supply organics on a planet. However, the kinetics of chemical reactions within a rapidly expanding vapor plume or quenching process of the reactions has not been studied extensively. In this study, we constructed a new numerical model that calculates kinetics of the entire chemical reactions within an impact vapor plume. Numerical results revealed that the semi-analytical models proposed so far, in which the final amount of a chemical species was given by the equilibrium abundance at the quenching temperature of the fastest reaction path involving the species, underestimates the yield of organic molecules, such as HCN, by up to a factor of 10. This is because the previously used assumption that a species can achieve equilibrium with the rest of the reaction system via the fastest reaction path involving the species is not necessarily valid. Our analysis of the high-temperature H/C/N/O reaction system suggests that the quenching of slow reactions divides the reaction network into smaller reaction sub-systems isolated from the rest of the reaction system. Then, the fastest reaction path cannot equilibrate an isolated reaction sub-system with the rest of the reaction system. Simulation of this actual disequilibrium mechanism requires a simultaneous numerical calculation of the entire reaction network, which is equivalent to conducting a full kinetic model calculation, such as our model. Our numerical code makes it possible to discuss quantitatively the impact chemistry for various situations, such as the Galilean satellites. In this study, our numerical model is applied to the delivery of organic molecules via cometary impact on the Galilean satellites. Our numerical results indicate that small-particle impacts would produce HCN efficiently. Resulting HCN may freeze out immediately and be deposited on satellite surfaces, where it may be eventually converted into complex organics via irradiation of charged particle. On the other hand, large-size impacts may form transient CH4–N2 atmospheres, in which complex organics (tholin) may be formed via energy deposition of UV and/or charged particle. Resulting complex organics may subsequently precipitate on the satellite surfaces without clear correlation with the locations of impact craters. Such distribution of complex organics created by chemical reactions within vapor plumes due to cometary impacts may explain an absorption (4.57μm) on Galilean satellites nonassociated with observable (moderate- and large-size) impact craters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chemical reactions and volatile supply through hypervelocity impacts may have played a key role for the origin and evolution of both planetary and satellite atmospheres. In this study, we evaluate the role of impact-induced N2 production from reduced nitrogen-bearing solids proposed to be contained in Titan’s crust, ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), for the replenishment of N2 to the atmosphere in Titan’s history. To investigate the conversion of (NH4)2SO4 into N2 by hypervelocity impacts, we measured gases released from (NH4)2SO4 that was exposed to hypervelocity impacts created by a laser gun. The sensitivity and accuracy of the measurements were enhanced by using an isotope labeling technique for the target. We obtained the efficiency of N2 production from (NH4)2SO4 as a function of peak shock pressure ranging from ∼8 to ∼45GPa. Our results indicate that the initial and complete shock pressures for N2 degassing from (NH4)2SO4 are ∼10 and ∼25GPa, respectively. These results suggest that cometary impacts on Titan (i.e., impact velocity vi >∼8km/s) produce N2 efficiently; whereas satellitesimal impacts during the accretion (i.e., vi <4km/s) produce N2 only inefficiently. Even when using the proposed small amount of (NH4)2SO4 content in the crust (∼4 wt.%) (Fortes, A.D. et al., 2007. Icarus 188, 139–153), the total amount of N2 provided through cometary impacts over 4.5Ga reaches ∼2–6 times the present atmospheric N2 (i.e., ∼7×1020–2×1021 [mol]) based on the measured production efficiency and results of a hydrodynamic simulation of cometary impacts onto Titan. This implies that cometary impacts onto Titan’s crust have the potential to account for a large part of the present N2 through the atmospheric replenishment after the accretion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper describes observations of crater growth up to the time of transient crater formation and presents a new empirical model for transient crater growth as a function of time. Polycarbonate projectiles were impacted vertically into soda-lime glass sphere targets using a single-stage light-gas gun. Using a new technique with a laser sheet illuminating the target [Barnouin-Jha, O.S., Yamamoto, S., Toriumi, T., Sugita, S., Matsui, T., 2007. Non-intrusive measurements of the crater growth. Icarus, 188, 506–521], we measured the temporal change in diameter of crater cavities (diameter growth). The rate of increase in diameter at early times follows a power law relation, but the data at later times (before the end of transient crater formation) deviates from the power law relation. In addition, the power law exponent at early times and the degree of deviation from a power law at later times depend on the target. In order to interpret these features, we proposed to modify Maxwell’s Z-model under the assumption that the strength of the excavation flow field decreases exponentially with time. We also derived a diameter growth model as: , where is the apparent diameter of the crater cavity at time t after impact, and and are constants. We demonstrated that the diameter growth model could represent well the experimental data for various targets with different target material properties, such as porosity or angle of repose. We also investigated the diameter growth for a dry sand target, which has been used to formulate previous scaling relations. The obtained results showed that the dry sand target has larger degree of deviation from a power law, indicating that the target material properties of the dry sand target have a significant effect on diameter growth, especially at later times. This may suggest that the previously reported scaling relations should be reexamined in order to account for the late-stage behavior with the effect of target material properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the key components controlling the chemical composition and climatology of Titan''s atmosphere is the removal of reactive atomic hydrogen from the atmosphere. A proposed process of the removal of atomic hydrogen is the heterogeneous reaction with organic aerosol. In this study, we investigate the effect of heterogeneous reactions in Titan''s atmospheric chemistry using new measurements of the heterogeneous reaction rate [Sekine, Y., Imanaka, H., Matsui, T., Khare, B.N., Bakes, E.L.O., McKay, C.P., Sugita, S., 2008. Icarus 194, 186–200] in a one-dimensional photochemical model. Our results indicate that 60–75% of the atomic hydrogen in the stratosphere and mesosphere are consumed by the heterogeneous reactions. This result implies that the heterogeneous reactions on the aerosol surface may predominantly remove atomic hydrogen in Titan''s stratosphere and mesosphere. The results of our calculation also indicate that a low concentration of atomic hydrogen enhances the concentrations of unsaturated complex organics, such as C4H2 and phenyl radical, by more than two orders in magnitude around 400 km in altitude. Such an increase in unsaturated species may induce efficient haze production in Titan''s mesosphere and upper stratosphere. These results imply a positive feedback mechanism in haze production in Titan''s atmosphere. The increase in haze production would affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere, which might induce further haze production. Such a positive feedback could tend to dampen the loss and supply cycles of CH4 due to an episodic CH4 release into Titan''s atmosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An experimental technique to measure crater growth is presented whereby a high speed video captures profiles of a crater forming after impact obtained using a vertical laser sheet centered on the impact point. Unlike previous so called “quarter-space experiments,” where projectiles were launched along a transparent Plexiglas sheet so that growth of half a crater could be viewed, the use of the laser sheet permits viewing changes in crater shape without any physical interference to the cratering process. This technique indicates that for low velocity impacts () into 220 μm glass beads that are without cohesion and where the projectile is not disrupted, craters initially grow somewhat proportionally, but that later their depths remain essentially constant while their diameters continue to expand. In addition, these experiments indicate that as the impact velocity increases, the rate of growth and the transient depth to diameter ratio at the end of ejecta excavation decreases. These last two observations are probably due to the large time of penetration of the projectile, which becomes a significant fraction of the time of crater formation. This is contrary to the expectations for the scaling rules, which assumes a point source. Very high curtain angles (>45°) are also seen, and could be due to the low friction angle of the target. Significant crater modification, which is rarely seen in “quarter-space experiments,” is also observed and appears to be controlled by the dynamic angle of repose of the target. These latter observations indicate that differences in target friction angles may need to be considered when determining near rim ejecta-mass distributions and large-scale crater modification processes on the planets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We experimentally studied the formation and collapse processes of transient craters. Polycarbonate projectiles with mass of 0.49 g were impacted into the soda-lime glass sphere target (mean diameters of glass spheres are ∼36, 72, and 220 μm, respectively) using a single-stage light-gas gun. Impact velocity ranged from 11 to 329 m s−1. We found that the transient crater collapses even at laboratory scales. The shape (diameter and depth) of the transient crater differs from that of the final crater. The depth–rim diameter ratios of the final and transient craters are 0.11–0.14 and 0.26–0.27, respectively. The rim diameter of both the transient and final crater depends on target material properties; however, the ratio of final to transient crater diameter does not. This suggests that target material properties affect the formation process of transient craters even in the gravity regime, and must be taken into account when scaling experimental results to planetary scales. By observing impacts into glass sphere targets, we show that although the early stage of the excavation flow does not depend on the target material properties, the radial expansion of the cavity after the end of vertical expansion does. This suggests that the effect of target material properties is specifically important in the later part of the crater excavation and collapse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We measured the velocity distributions of impact ejecta with velocities higher than ∼100 m s−1 (high-velocity ejecta) for impacts at variable impact angle α into unconsolidated targets of small soda-lime glass spheres. Polycarbonate projectiles with mass of 0.49 g were accelerated to ∼250 m s−1 by a single-stage light-gas gun. The impact ejecta are detected by thin aluminum foils placed around the targets. We analyzed the holes on the aluminum foils to derive the total number and volume of ejecta that penetrated the aluminum foils. Using the minimum velocity of the ejecta for penetration, determined experimentally, the velocity distributions of the high-velocity ejecta were obtained at , 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The velocity distribution of the high-velocity ejecta is shown to depend on impact angle. The quantity of the high-velocity ejecta for vertical impact () is considerably lower than derived from a power-law relation for the velocity distribution on the low-velocity ejecta (less than 10 m s−1). On the other hand, in oblique impacts, the quantity of the high-velocity ejecta increases with decreasing impact angle, and becomes comparable to those derived from the power-law relation. We attempt to scale the high-velocity ejecta for oblique impacts to a new scaling law, in which the velocity distribution is scaled by the cube of projectile radius (scaled volume) and a horizontal component of impactor velocity (scaled ejection velocity), respectively. The high-velocity ejecta data shows a good correlation between the scaled volume and the scaled ejection velocity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fischer–Tropsch catalysis, which converts CO and H2 into CH4 on the surface of iron catalyst, has been proposed to produce the CH4 on Titan during its formation process in a circum-planetary subnebula. However, Fischer–Tropsch reaction rate under the conditions of subnebula have not been measured quantitatively yet. In this study, we conduct laboratory experiments to determine CH4 formation rate and also conduct theoretical calculation of clathrate formation to clarify the significance of Fischer–Tropsch catalysis in a subnebula. Our experimental result indicates that the range of conditions where Fischer–Tropsch catalysis proceeds efficiently is narrow () in a subnebula because the catalysts are poisoned at temperatures above 600 K under the condition of subnebula (i.e., H2/CO=1000). This suggests that an entire subnebula may not become rich in CH4 but rather that only limited region of a subnebula may enriched in CH4 (i.e., CH4-rich band formation). Our experimental result also suggests that both CO and CO2 are converted into CH4 within time significantly shorter than the lifetime of the solar nebula at the optimal temperatures around 550 K. The calculation result of clathration shows that CO2-rich satellitesimals are formed in the catalytically inactive outer region of subnebula. In the catalytically active inner region, CH4-rich satellitesimals are formed. The resulting CH4-rich satellitesimals formed in this region play an important role in the origin of CH4 on Titan. When our experimental data are applied to a high-pressure model for subnebula evolution, it would predict that there should be CO2 underneath the Iapetus subsurface and no thick CO2 ice layer on Titan''s icy crust. Such surface and subsurface composition, which may be observed by Cassini–Huygens mission, would provide crucial information on the origin of icy satellites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has a thick nitrogen/methane atmosphere with a thick global organic haze. A laboratory analogue of Titan''s haze, called tholin, was formed in an inductively coupled plasma from nitrogen/methane=90/10 gas mixture at various pressures ranging from 13 to 2300 Pa. Chemical and optical properties of the resulting tholin depend on the deposition pressure in cold plasma. Structural analyses by IR and UV/VIS spectroscopy, microprobe laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy suggest that larger amounts of aromatic ring structures with larger cluster size are formed at lower pressures (13 and 26 Pa) than at higher pressures (160 and 2300 Pa). Nitrogen is more likely to incorporate into carbon networks in tholins formed at lower pressures, while nitrogen is bonded as terminal groups at higher pressures. Elemental analysis reveals that the carbon/nitrogen ratio in tholins increases from 1.5–2 at lower pressures to 3 at 2300 Pa. The increase in the aromatic compounds and the decrease in C/N ratio in tholin formed at low pressures indicate the presence of the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds in tholin formed at low pressures. Tholin formed at high pressure (2300 Pa) consists of a polymer-like branched chain structure terminated with &z.sbnd;CH3, &z.sbnd;NH2, and &z.sbnd;C&z.tbnd;N with few aromatic compounds. Reddish-brown tholin films formed at low pressures (13–26 Pa) shows stronger absorptions (almost 10 times larger k-value) in the UV/VIS range than the yellowish tholin films formed at high pressures (160 and 2300 Pa). The tholins formed at low pressures may be better representations of Titan''s haze than those formed at high pressures, because the optical properties of tholin formed at low pressures agree well with that of Khare et al. (1984a, Icarus 60, 127–137), which have been shown to account for Titan''s observed geometric albedo. Thus, the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds we find in tholin formed at low pressure may be present in Titan''s haze. These aromatic compounds may have a significant influence on the thermal structure and complex organic chemistry in Titan''s atmosphere, because they are efficient absorbers of UV radiation and efficient charge exchange intermediaries. Our results also indicate that the haze layers at various altitudes might have different chemical and optical properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]