Ariel – a window to the origin of life on early earth?

Is there life beyond Earth? An ideal research program would first ascertain how life on Earth began and then use this as a blueprint for its existence elsewhere. But the origin of life on Earth is still not understood, what then could be the way forward? Upcoming observations of terrestrial exoplanets provide a unique opportunity for answering this fundamental question through the study of other planetary systems. If we are able to see how physical and chemical environments similar to the early Earth evolve we open a window into our own Hadean eon, despite all information from this time being long lost from our planet’s geological record. A careful investigation of the chemistry expected on young exoplanets is therefore necessary, and the preparation of reference materials for spectroscopic observations is of paramount importance. In particular, the deduction of chemical markers identifying specific processes and features in exoplanetary environments, ideally “uniquely”. For instance, prebiotic feedstock molecules, in the form of aerosols and vapours, could be observed in transmission spectra in the near future whilst their surface deposits could be observed from reflectance spectra. The same detection methods also promise to identify particular intermediates of chemical and physical processes known to be prebiotically plausible. Is Ariel truly able to open a window to the past and answer questions concerning the origin of life on our planet and the universe? In this paper, we discuss aspects of prebiotic chemistry that will help in formulating future observational and data interpretation strategies for the Ariel mission. This paper is intended to open a discussion and motivate future detailed laboratory studies of prebiotic processes on young exoplanets and their chemical signatures

Enabling planetary science across light-years. Ariel Definition Study Report

Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets, simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, enabling planetary science far beyond the boundaries of the Solar System. The payload consists of an off-axis Cassegrain telescope (primary mirror 1100 mm x 730 mm ellipse) and two separate instruments (FGS and AIRS) covering simultaneously 0.5-7.8 micron spectral range. The satellite is best placed into an L2 orbit to maximise the thermal stability and the field of regard. The payload module is passively cooled via a series of V-Groove radiators; the detectors for the AIRS are the only items that require active cooling via an active Ne JT cooler. The Ariel payload is developed by a consortium of more than 50 institutes from 16 ESA countries, which include the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and a NASA contribution

Spectral data sources for air pollutants identification

Department of Inorganic ChemistryKatedra anorganické chemieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: application in a study of transient species in discharge and ablation plasma

The present dissertation consists of two thematically related parts. The first one (includes two publications) deals with the study of chemical pro- cesses and spectroscopy of highly reactive particles produced in the discharge plasma. This part includes the analysis of ro-vibronic CN radical transitions in the infrared region and the study of chemical reactions in pulsed dischar- ges. The discharge was used as a tool for research of decomposition of simple precursors (acetonitrile, formamide and BrCN) and the subsequent formation of intermediates and reaction products in plasma. The obtained experimental results were interpreted using a numerical model developed in context of this work and used to simulate the kinetics of the studied systems. The second part (includes seven works) is aimed at high-resolved spectro- scopy of metals in the ablation plasma. A total of six different metals were studied: Au, Ag, Cu, Cs, K and Na. The main motivation for spectroscopic research on metals in the infrared region is to obtain information on atomic metals transitions, which are particularly important for astronomical identi- fication of lines in the spectra of stars and their spectroscopic assignments. Each publication contains a summary of the analyzed atomic transitions of which a considerable portion had not..

Time Resolved FT Spectroscopy of transient Species

Department of Physical and Macromolecular ChemistryKatedra fyzikální a makromol. chemieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Spectral data sources for air pollutants identification

Department of Inorganic ChemistryKatedra anorganické chemieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Time Resolved FT Spectroscopy of transient Species

Department of Physical and Macromolecular ChemistryKatedra fyzikální a makromol. chemieFaculty of SciencePřírodovědecká fakult

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy: application in a study of transient species in discharge and ablation plasma

The present dissertation consists of two thematically related parts. The first one (includes two publications) deals with the study of chemical pro- cesses and spectroscopy of highly reactive particles produced in the discharge plasma. This part includes the analysis of ro-vibronic CN radical transitions in the infrared region and the study of chemical reactions in pulsed dischar- ges. The discharge was used as a tool for research of decomposition of simple precursors (acetonitrile, formamide and BrCN) and the subsequent formation of intermediates and reaction products in plasma. The obtained experimental results were interpreted using a numerical model developed in context of this work and used to simulate the kinetics of the studied systems. The second part (includes seven works) is aimed at high-resolved spectro- scopy of metals in the ablation plasma. A total of six different metals were studied: Au, Ag, Cu, Cs, K and Na. The main motivation for spectroscopic research on metals in the infrared region is to obtain information on atomic metals transitions, which are particularly important for astronomical identi- fication of lines in the spectra of stars and their spectroscopic assignments. Each publication contains a summary of the analyzed atomic transitions of which a considerable portion had not..

Modification of Vibrational Parameters of a <i>D</i>_∞<i>h</i>-Symmetric Triatomic Molecule in a Laser Plasma

We estimate theoretically the strong-field-modified vibrational parameters of three-atomic ABA molecules with D∞h symmetry in a laser-induced plasma. The linear CO2 and CS2 molecules in the X1Σg state are considered as examples. We show that double degeneracy of the Πu mode is removed due to reduction of the ABA molecule symmetry by the laser field. The linear form of ABA molecule is preserved, the bond length being elongated