Tetsuya Hama

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF CO2 FORMATION BY SURFACE REACTIONS OF NON-ENERGETIC OH RADICALS WITH CO MOLECULES

Surface reactions between carbon monoxide and non-energetic hydroxyl radicals were carried out at 10 K and 20 K in order to investigate possible reaction pathways to yield carbon dioxide in dense molecular clouds. Hydroxyl radicals, produced by dissociating water molecules in microwave-induced plasma, were cooled down to 100 K prior to the introduction of CO. The abundances of species were monitored in situ using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Formation of CO2 was clearly observed, even at 10 K, suggesting that reactions of CO with OH proceed with little or no activation barrier. The present results indicate that CO2 formation, due to reactions between CO and OH, occurs in tandem with H2O formation, and this may lead to the formation of CO2 ice in polar environments, as typically observed in molecular clouds.

Direct Measurements of Hydrogen Atom Diffusion and the Spin Temperature of Nascent H2 Molecule on Amorphous Solid Water

Physicochemical processes (H-atom sticking, diffusion, recombination, and the nuclear spin temperature of nascent H2 molecules) important in the formation of molecular hydrogen have been experimentally investigated on amorphous solid water (ASW). A new type of experiment is performed to shed light on a longstanding dispute. The diffusion rate of H atom is directly measured at 8 K and is found to consist of a fast and a slow component due to the presence of at least two types of potential sites with the energy depths of ~20 and >50 meV, respectively. The fast diffusion at the shallow sites enables efficient H2 formation on interstellar ice dust even at 8 K, while H atoms trapped in the deeper sites hardly migrate. The spin temperature of nascent H2 formed by recombination on ASW has been obtained for the first time and is higher than approximately 200 K. After formation, H2 molecules are trapped and their spin temperature decreases due to the conversion of spin states on ASW.

FORMATION OF CARBONIC ACID (H2CO3) BY SURFACE REACTIONS OF NON-ENERGETIC OH RADICALS WITH CO MOLECULES AT LOW TEMPERATURES

We present the experimental results of carbonic acid (H2CO3) formation through surface reactions of CO molecules with non-energetic hydroxyl (OH) radicals at 10-40 K. The formation of H2CO3 was clearly identified both in the IR spectra and in the thermally programmed desorption mass spectra. The H2CO3 yield was rather high, amounting to approximately 40%-70% relative to that of CO2 formed by the reaction of CO with OH. The structure of H2CO3 formed by reactions of CO with OH may differ from that formed by energetic processes such as UV irradiation, ion irradiation, and electron irradiation of H2O/CO2 binary ices. In this paper, we envisage some of the possible roles H2CO3 may have in the interstellar medium, such as enriching grain mantles of new molecules via acid-base reactions with basic species and contributing to the formation of the unidentified band at 6.8 μm; we suggest possible reasons for its non-detection yet and discuss the restoration of carbonic acid molecules in the gas phase.

Translational and Rotational Energy Measurements of Photodesorbed Water Molecules in their Vibrational Ground State from Amorphous Solid Water

For interstellar grains coated with water ice, the most important desorption mechanism at the edge of molecular clouds is photodesorption of water. To reveal details of the photodesorption mechanism, we have measured the translational and rotational energies of H2 O( v = 0) molecules photodesorbed from amorphous solid water and polycrystalline ice following excitation within the first absorption band using a 157 nm laser. The measured translational and rotational temperatures are 1800 K and 300 K, respectively. These energies are in good accord with those predicted by classical molecular dynamics calculations for the “kick-out” of an H2O molecule in the ice by an energetic H atom. The statistical ortho:para ratio of gOPR = 3 is appropriate for the Boltzmann rotational distribution of the H2O molecules.

A desorption mechanism of water following vacuum-ultraviolet irradiation on amorphous solid water at 90 K

Following 157 nm photoexcitation of amorphous solid water and polycrystalline water ice, photodesorbed water molecules (H(2)O and D(2)O), in the ground vibrational state, have been observed using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization detection methods. Time-of-flight and rotationally resolved spectra of the photodesorbed water molecules were measured, and the kinetic and internal energy distributions were obtained. The measured energy distributions are in good accord with those predicted by classical molecular dynamics calculations for the kick-out mechanism of a water molecule from the ice surface by a hot hydrogen (deuterium) atom formed by photodissociation of a neighboring water molecule. Desorption of D(2)O following 193 nm photoirradiation of a D(2)O/H(2)S mixed ice was also investigated to provide further direct evidence for the operation of a kick-out mechanism.

Measurements of Energy Partitioning in H2 Formation by Photolysis of Amorphous Water Ice

We demonstrate experimentally that photodissociation of amorphous solid water at 100 K results in formation of H2 molecules with an ortho/para ratio of gOPR = 3. Two distinct mechanisms can be identified: endothermic abstraction of a hydrogen atom from H2O by a photolytically produced H atom yields vibrationally cold H2 products, whereas exothermic recombination of two H-atom photoproducts yields translationally and internally hot H2. These results are in accord with predictions by molecular dynamics calculations and their astrophysical implications are discussed.

Desorption of hydroxyl radicals in the vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of amorphous solid water at 90 K

We have studied the desorption dynamics of OH radicals from the 157 nm photodissociation of amorphous solid water (ASW) as well as H(2)O(2) deposited on an ASW surface at 90 K. The translational and internal energy distributions of OH were measured using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization methods. These distributions are compared to reported molecular dynamics calculations for the condensed phase photodissociation of water ice and also reported results for the gas phase photodissociation of H(2)O at 157 nm. We have confirmed that OH radicals are produced from two different mechanisms: one from primary photolysis of surface H(2)O of ASW, and the other being secondary photolysis of H(2)O(2) photoproducts on the ASW surface after prolonged irradiation at 157 nm.

Hydrogen peroxide formation following the vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation of water ice films at 90 K

The production of gaseous OH radicals from the 300-350 nm photodissociation of H(2)O(2) that was photolytically produced on a water ice surface following the 157 nm photolysis of water ice at 90 K was directly monitored using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. The translational energy distribution estimated by the time-of-flight spectrum of the OH products is represented by a Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution with a translational temperature of 3750+/-250 K. The rotational temperature was estimated by a spectral simulation to be 225+/-25 K. Surface defects produced by HCl deposition on the water ice contributed to the higher production rate of H(2)O(2) in the 157 nm photoirradiation of water ice while surface coverage caused by CD(3)OH deposition decreased the H(2)O(2) production rate.

Release of hydrogen molecules from the photodissociation of amorphous solid water and polycrystalline ice at 157 and 193 nm.

The production of H(2) in highly excited vibrational and rotational states (v=0-5, J=0-17) from the 157 nm photodissociation of amorphous solid water ice films at 100 K was observed directly using resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization. Weaker signals from H(2)(v=2,3 and 4) were obtained from 157 nm photolysis of polycrystalline ice, but H(2)(v=0 and 1) populations in this case were below the detection limit. The H(2) products show two distinct formation mechanisms. Endothermic abstraction of a hydrogen atom from H(2)O by a photolytically produced H atom yields vibrationally cold H(2) products, whereas exothermic recombination of two H-atom photoproducts yields H(2) molecules with a highly excited vibrational distribution and non-Boltzmann rotational population distributions as has been predicted previously by both quantum-mechanical and molecular dynamics calculations.

Formation mechanisms of oxygen atoms in the O(1D2) state from the 157 nm photoirradiation of amorphous water ice at 90 K

Vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of water ice in the first absorption band was studied at 157 nm. Translational and internal energy distributions of the desorbed species, O((1)D) and OH(v=0,1), were directly measured with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization method. Two different mechanisms are discussed for desorption of electronically excited O((1)D) atoms from the ice surface. One is unimolecular dissociation of H(2)O to H(2)+O((1)D) as a primary photoprocess. The other is the surface recombination reaction of hot OH radicals that are produced from photodissociation of hydrogen peroxide as a secondary photoprocess. H(2)O(2) is one of the major photoproducts in the vacuum ultraviolet photolysis of water ice.