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Environmental Temperature Effect on the Far-Infrared Absorption Features of Aromatic-Based Titan's Aerosol AnalogsBenzene detection has been reported in Titans atmosphere both in the stratosphere at ppb levels by remote sensing and in the thermosphere at ppm levels by the Cassini's Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer. This detection supports the idea that aromatic and heteroaromatic reaction pathways may play an important role in Titans atmospheric chemistry, especially in the formation of aerosols. Indeed, aromatic molecules are easily dissociated by ultraviolet radiation and can therefore contribute significantly to aerosol formation. It has been shown recently that aerosol analogs produced from a gas mixture containing a low concentration of aromatic and/or heteroaromatic molecules (benzene, naphthalene, pyridine, quinoline and isoquinoline) have spectral signatures below 500/cm, a first step towards reproducing the aerosol spectral features observed by Cassini's Composite InfraRed Spectrometer (CIRS) in the far infrared. In this work we investigate the influence of environmental temperature on the absorption spectra of such aerosol samples, simulating the temperature range to which aerosols, once formed, are exposed during their transport through Titans stratosphere. Our results show that environmental temperature does not have any major effect on the spectral shape of these aerosol analogs in the far-infrared, which is consistent with the CIRS observations.
Document ID
20180001741
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Gautier, Thomas
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Trainer, Melissa G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Loeffler, Mark J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Sebree, Joshua A.
(University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA, United States)
Anderson, Carrie M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
March 7, 2018
Publication Date
August 3, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Publisher: Elsevier
Volume: 281
ISSN: 0019-1035
e-ISSN: 1090-2643
Subject Category
Chemistry And Materials (General)
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN40583
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 10-PATM10-0027
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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