An approach to numerical simulation of the gas distribution in the atmosphere of Enceladus

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94942/1/jgra20509.pd

The composition and structure of the Enceladus plume

The Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observed an occultation of the Sun by the water vapor plume at the south polar region of Saturn\u27s moon Enceladus. The Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum is dominated by the spectral signature of H(2)O gas, with a nominal line-of-sight column density of 0.90 +/- 0.23 x 10(16) cm(-2) (upper limit of 1.0 x 10(16) cm(-2)). The upper limit for N(2) is 5 x 10(13) cm(-2), or \u3c 0.5% in the plume; the lack of N(2) has significant implications for models of the geochemistry in Enceladus\u27 interior. The inferred rate of water vapor injection into Saturn\u27s magnetosphere is similar to 200 kg/s. The calculated values of H(2)O flux from three occultations observed by UVIS have a standard deviation of 30 kg/s (15%), providing no evidence for substantial short-term variability. Collimated gas jets are detected in the plume with Mach numbers of 5-8, implying vertical gas velocities that exceed 1000 m/sec. Observations at higher altitudes with the Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer indicate correlated structure in the plume. Our results support the subsurface liquid model, with gas escaping and being accelerated through nozzle-like channels to the surface, and are consistent with recent particle composition results from the Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer

Compaction of microporous amorphous solid water by ion irradiation

We have studied the compaction of vapor-deposited amorphous solid water by energetic ions at 40 K. The porosity was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and methane adsorption/desorption. These three techniques provide different and complementary views of the structural changes in ice resulting from irradiation. We find that the decrease in internal surface area of the pores, signaled by infrared absorption by dangling bonds, precedes the decrease in the pore volume during irradiation. Our results imply that impacts from cosmic rays can cause compaction in the icy mantles of the interstellar grains, which can explain the absence of dangling bond features in the infrared spectrum of molecular clouds.Fil: Raut, U.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Teolis, B. D.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Loeffler, M. J.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Vidal, Ricardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Famá, M.. University of Virginia; Estados UnidosFil: Baragiola, R. A.. University of Virginia; Estados Unido

Limits on the Contribution of Endogenic Radiolysis to the Presence of Molecular Oxygen in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Radiolytic production has been proposed as a potential source for the molecular oxygen observed in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Radiolysis can be exogenic or endogenic, the latter due to radionuclides present in the dust constitutive of the comet nucleus. We investigated the possibility of forming a significant amount of molecular oxygen through endogenic radiolysis. We applied a model of radiolytic production, developed for an Earth rock-water mixture, and improved it to account for the effect of the size of a radionuclide-bearing grain on the net radiation deposited in its ice mantle. We calculated the possible production of molecular oxygen considering the available experimental values of radiolytic yields. We found that endogenic radiolysis cannot account for the totality of the 3.8% (relative to water) O2abundance derived from the ROSINA observations, with an end member case of our model producing at most a 1% abundance. By contrast, we predict H2O2production leads to an abundance up to two orders of magnitude above observed values

On the origin and evolution of the material in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

International audiencePrimitive objects like comets hold important information on the material that formed our solar system. Several comets have been visited by spacecraft and many more have been observed through Earth- and space-based telescopes. Still our understanding remains limited. Molecular abundances in comets have been shown to be similar to interstellar ices and thus indicate that common processes and conditions were involved in their formation. The samples returned by the Stardust mission to comet Wild 2 showed that the bulk refractory material was processed by high temperatures in the vicinity of the early sun. The recent Rosetta mission acquired a wealth of new data on the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G) and complemented earlier observations of other comets. The isotopic, elemental, and molecular abundances of the volatile, semi-volatile, and refractory phases brought many new insights into the origin and processing of the incorporated material. The emerging picture after Rosetta is that at least part of the volatile material was formed before the solar system and that cometary nuclei agglomerated over a wide range of heliocentric distances, different from where they are found today. Deviations from bulk solar system abundances indicate that the material was not fully homogenized at the location of comet formation, despite the radial mixing implied by the Stardust results. Post-formation evolution of the material might play an important role, which further complicates the picture. This paper discusses these major findings of the Rosetta mission with respect to the origin of the material and puts them in the context of what we know from other comets and solar system objects

Distillation Kinetics of Solid Mixtures of Hydrogen Peroxide and Water and the Isolation of Pure Hydrogen Peroxide in Ultrahigh Vacuum

We present results of the growth of thin films of crystalline H2O2 and H2O2.2H2O (dihydrate) in ultrahigh vacuum by distilling an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. We traced the process using infrared reflectance spectroscopy, mass loss on a quartz crystal microbalance, and in a few cases ultraviolet-visible reflectance. We find that the different crystalline phases-water, dihydrate, and hydrogen peroxide-have very different sublimation rates, making distillation efficient to isolate the less volatile component, crystalline H2O2