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We carried out experiments at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility to acquire data for modelling CO photochemistry in the vacuum ultraviolet. We report oscillator strengths and predissociation rates for four vibrational bands associated with transitions from the v = 0 level of the X¹Σ+ ground state to the v = 0-3 vibrational levels of the core excitedW¹Π Rydberg state, and for three overlapping bands associated with the 4pπ, 5pπ, and 5σ Rydberg states between 92.9 and 93.4 nm in 13C18O. These results complete those obtained in the same conditions for 12C16O, 13C16O, and 12C18O recently published by us, and extend the development of a comprehensive database of line positions, oscillator strengths, and linewidths of photodissociating transitions for CO isotopologues. Absorption spectra were recorded using the Vacuum UltraViolet Fourier Transform Spectrometer (VUV-FTS) installed on the Dichroïsme Et Spectroscopie par Interaction avec le Rayonnement Synchrotron (DESIRS) beamline at SOLEIL. The resolving power of the measurements, R = 300 000 to 400 000, allows the analysis of individual line strengths and widths within the bands. Gas column densities in the differentially pumped system were calibrated using the B-X (0-0) band at 115.1 nm in 13C18O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of astronomical environments containing CO require accurate molecular data to reproduce and interpret observations. We conduct experiments at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility to acquire data to model CO photochemistry in the vacuum ultraviolet. The improvement in UV spectroscopic instrumentation in both sensitivity and resolution provides more accurate laboratory spectroscopic determinations. We continue our work on photoabsorption oscillator strengths and predissociation rates for 12C16O; we report new measurements for two additional isotopologues, 13C16O and 12C18O, of four bands from X 1Σ+ (v′′ = 0) to the v′ = 0–3 vibrational levels of the core-excited W 1Π Rydberg state and for four overlapping bands (three resolved and one diffuse) between 92.97 and 93.35 nm. Some of the latter include unidentified perturbations. Absorption spectra were recorded using the vacuum-ultraviolet Fourier-transform spectrometer that is installed on the DESIRS beamline at SOLEIL which provides a resolving power R = 350 000. This resolution allows the analysis of individual line strengths and widths in the electronic transitions and the identification of a previously unobserved perturbation in the W(1) level. Gas column densities in the differentially-pumped system were calibrated using the B 1Σ+ – X 1Σ+ (v′ = 0,v′′ = 0) band. Absorption bands are analyzed by synthesizing line and band profiles and fitting them to the measured spectra. These considerably improved results are compared with earlier determinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on an experimental study on the formation of water, through the D + O2 pathway, on a sample of amorphous solid water, i.e. a realistic analogue of the surface of the interstellar grains of dense clouds. For improving our experimental conditions we use deuterium instead of hydrogen. We obtain, using both Temperature-Programmed Desorption Spectroscopy and Infrared Spectroscopy, that the morphology of the nascent water ice is mostly compact. We compare our results with those obtained previously by Oba et al. and show that the first technique is more effective in probing the morphology of amorphous water ice. We propose that the formation of compact ice is due to the heat of reactions which lead to the formation of water molecules. Water is synthesized, through the D + O2 pathway, on a film of compact amorphous solid water and on a porous substrate for comparison purposes. We show that in this latter case a gradual compaction of the sample takes place upon formation of new water molecules. We compare this reduction of water ice porosity with that one obtained by Accolla et al., due to recombination of deuterium atoms sent on the surface of an amorphous porous ice sample, and show that the compaction of the sample as a consequence of the water formation appears clearly more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The formation of H2 in the interstellar medium (ISM) involves complex processes, some of which are still not understood. In cold regions, it is assumed that H2 formation follows Langmuir kinetics, i.e. the immediate desorption of incoming atoms or molecules on a surface already saturated with molecules. Our experiments address this issue by studying the formation of H2 on a dust surface dosed with molecules prior to atomic exposure. We simulate ISM conditions at Tdust < 10 K and Tgas ∼ 90 K and use a synthesized amorphous silicate. By coupling laser detection to thermal desorption spectroscopy, we confirm that hydrogen recombination is promptly enhanced. We interpret this as a result of enhanced atomic diffusion (both hopping thermal and quantum mechanical tunnelling). Moreover, since H2 formation is the most exothermic chemical reaction per unit mass, we elucidate its importance as a non-thermal desorption mechanism. We apply these results to dense ISM regions where H2 formation and its induced desorption are curbed by a declining atomic gas-phase abundance. We further propose this as a pathway to deuterium fractionation in pre-stellar cores. More importantly, we show that dust remains an active catalyst even in the coldest ISM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of astronomical environments containing CO require accurate molecular data to reproduce and interpret observations. We are conducting experiments at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility to acquire data for modeling CO photochemistry in the vacuum ultraviolet. The improvement in UV spectroscopic instrumentation, both in sensitivity and resolution, provides more accurate laboratory spectroscopic determinations. We report new measurements yielding photoabsorption oscillator strengths and predissociation rates, for 12C16O at 295 K and 77 K, of four bands from X 1Σ+ (v" = 0) to the v' = 0-3 vibrational levels of the core-excited W 1Π Rydberg state and for six overlapping bands between 92.97 and 93.35 nm. Absorption spectra were recorded using the vacuum ultraviolet Fourier transform spectrometer installed on the DESIRS beamline at SOLEIL, providing a resolving power R = 350 000. This resolution allows the analysis of individual line strengths and widths in the electronic transitions and the identification of a previously unobserved perturbation in the W(1) level. Gas column densities in the differentially-pumped system were calibrated using the B 1Σ+ - X 1Σ+(0, 0) band. Absorption bands are analyzed by synthesizing line and band profiles with independently developed codes. These considerably improved results are compared with earlier determinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Sticking of H and D atoms on interstellar dust grains is the first step in molecular hydrogen formation, which is a key reaction in the interstellar medium. Isotopic properties of the sticking can have an incidence on the observed HD molecule. Aims. After studying the sticking coefficients of H2 and D2 molecules on amorphous silicate surfaces experimentally and theoretically, we extrapolate the results to the sticking coefficient of atoms and propose a formulae that gives the sticking coefficients of H and D on both silicates and icy dust grains. Methods. In our experiments, we used the King and Wells method for measuring the sticking coefficients of H2 and D2 molecules on a silicate surface held at 10 K. It consists of measuring with a QMS (quadrupole mass spectrometer) the signals of H2 and D2 molecules reflected by the surface during the exposure of the sample to the molecular beam at a temperature ranging from 20 K to 340 K. We tested the efficiency of a physical model, developed previously for sticking on water-ice surfaces. We applied this model to our experimental results for the sticking coefficients of H2 and D2 molecules on a silicate surface and estimated the sticking coefficient of atoms by a single measurement of atomic recombination and propose an extrapolation. Results. Sticking of H, D, HD, H2, and D2 on silicates grains behaves the same as on icy dust grains. The sticking decreases with the gas temperature, and is dependent on the mass of the impactor. The sticking coefficient for both surfaces and impactors can be modeled by an analytical formulae S (T) = S0(1 + βT/T0)/(1 + T/T0)β, which describes both the experiments and the thermal distribution expected in an astrophysical context. The parameters S0 and T0 are summarized in a table. Conclusions. Previous estimates for the sticking coefficient of H atoms are close to the new estimation; however, we find that, when isotopic effects are taken into account, the sticking coefficient variations can be as much as a factor of 2 at T = 100 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has always been a great deal of interest in the formation of H2 as well as in the binding energy released upon its formation on the surface of dust grains. The present work aims at collecting experimental evidence for how the bond energy budget of H2 is distributed between the reaction site and the internal energy of the molecule. So far, the non-detection of excited nascent H2 in dense quiescent clouds could be a sign that either predictions of emission line intensities are not correct or the de-excitation of the newly formed molecules proceeds rapidly on the grain surface itself. In this Letter, we present experimental evidence that interstellar molecular hydrogen is formed and then rapidly de-excited on the surface of porous water ice mantles. In addition, although we detect ro-vibrationally excited nascent molecules desorbing from a bare non-porous (compact) water ice film, we demonstrate that the amount of excited nascent hydrogen molecules is significantly reduced no matter the morphology of the water ice substrate at 10 K (both on non-porous and on porous water ice) in a regime of high molecular coverage as is the case in dark molecular clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]