ALMA detection of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the atmosphere of Saturn

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Manna, Arijit, Pal, Sabyasachi
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2021
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author Manna, Arijit
Pal, Sabyasachi
author_facet Manna, Arijit
Pal, Sabyasachi
contents In the planetary atmosphere, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is an important nitrogen (N)-bearing molecule that plays a key role in the formation of several biomolecules via chain reactions. The presence of HCN characterizes the stratospheric composition of the solar gas planets and exoplanets. For several years, many observations have failed to identify the rotational and vibrational emission lines of HCN from the atmosphere of Saturn using ground- and space-based radio telescopes. We present the successful detection of the rotational emission line of HCN from the atmosphere of Saturn using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) band 7. We detected the J = 4$-$3 transition line of the HCN from the eastern and western limbs of Saturn with $\geq5σ$ statistical significance. The derived abundances of HCN in the western and eastern limbs are 6.19 ppb and 2.90 ppb, respectively. We claim that HCN is formed in the atmosphere of Saturn via the photolysis of methane (CH$_{4}$) and ammonia (NH$_{3}$).
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2104_10474
institution arXiv
publishDate 2021
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle ALMA detection of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the atmosphere of Saturn
Manna, Arijit
Pal, Sabyasachi
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Biological Physics
In the planetary atmosphere, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is an important nitrogen (N)-bearing molecule that plays a key role in the formation of several biomolecules via chain reactions. The presence of HCN characterizes the stratospheric composition of the solar gas planets and exoplanets. For several years, many observations have failed to identify the rotational and vibrational emission lines of HCN from the atmosphere of Saturn using ground- and space-based radio telescopes. We present the successful detection of the rotational emission line of HCN from the atmosphere of Saturn using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) band 7. We detected the J = 4$-$3 transition line of the HCN from the eastern and western limbs of Saturn with $\geq5σ$ statistical significance. The derived abundances of HCN in the western and eastern limbs are 6.19 ppb and 2.90 ppb, respectively. We claim that HCN is formed in the atmosphere of Saturn via the photolysis of methane (CH$_{4}$) and ammonia (NH$_{3}$).
title ALMA detection of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in the atmosphere of Saturn
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.10474