Abstract
Most of our knowledge on the physical and chemical properties of ices in space is based on the comparison between observations and laboratory experiments performed at low temperature (10–100 K). After ion bombardment and UV photolysis the chemical composition and the structure of the sample is modified. Both more volatile and less volatile species are formed and if C-bearing species are present in the original sample a refractory residue is also formed. Here we present some laboratory experiments which show the formation of (complex) molecular species in ion irradiated simple ices and in the organic residues formed after warm up of the processed ices at room temperature. In particular it will be shown that complex organic species found in organic residues, could have contributed to provide the early Earth with the seeds from which life has initiated.
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Baratta, G.A., Palumbo, M.E., Scirè, C. (2023). High-Energy Processing of Ices in Space. In: Mennella, V., Joblin, C. (eds) European Conference on Laboratory Astrophysics ECLA2020. ECLA 2021. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol 59. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29003-9_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29003-9_24
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