Electron-Induced Radiolysis of Water Ice and the Buildup of Oxygen

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Tinner, Chantal, Galli, André, Bär, Fiona, Pommerol, Antoine, Rubin, Martin, Vorburger, Audrey, Wurz, Peter
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Tinner, Chantal
Galli, André
Bär, Fiona
Pommerol, Antoine
Rubin, Martin
Vorburger, Audrey
Wurz, Peter
author_facet Tinner, Chantal
Galli, André
Bär, Fiona
Pommerol, Antoine
Rubin, Martin
Vorburger, Audrey
Wurz, Peter
contents Irradiation by energetic ions, electrons, and UV photons induces sputtering and chemical processes (radiolysis) in the surfaces of icy moons, comets, and icy grains. Laboratory experiments, both of ideal surfaces and of more complex and realistic analog samples, are crucial to understand the interaction of surfaces of icy moons and comets with their space environment. This study shows the first results of mass spectrometry measurements from porous water ice regolith samples irradiated with electrons as a representative analogy to water-ice rich surfaces in the solar system. Previous studies have shown that most electron-induced H2O radiolysis products leave the ice as H2 and O2 and that O2 can be trapped under certain conditions in the irradiated ice. Our new laboratory experiments confirm these findings. Moreover, they quantify residence times and saturation levels of O2 in originally pure water ice. H2O may also be released from the water ice by irradiation, but the quantification of the released H2O is more difficult and the total amount is sensitive to the electron flux and energy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_04079
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Electron-Induced Radiolysis of Water Ice and the Buildup of Oxygen
Tinner, Chantal
Galli, André
Bär, Fiona
Pommerol, Antoine
Rubin, Martin
Vorburger, Audrey
Wurz, Peter
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Irradiation by energetic ions, electrons, and UV photons induces sputtering and chemical processes (radiolysis) in the surfaces of icy moons, comets, and icy grains. Laboratory experiments, both of ideal surfaces and of more complex and realistic analog samples, are crucial to understand the interaction of surfaces of icy moons and comets with their space environment. This study shows the first results of mass spectrometry measurements from porous water ice regolith samples irradiated with electrons as a representative analogy to water-ice rich surfaces in the solar system. Previous studies have shown that most electron-induced H2O radiolysis products leave the ice as H2 and O2 and that O2 can be trapped under certain conditions in the irradiated ice. Our new laboratory experiments confirm these findings. Moreover, they quantify residence times and saturation levels of O2 in originally pure water ice. H2O may also be released from the water ice by irradiation, but the quantification of the released H2O is more difficult and the total amount is sensitive to the electron flux and energy.
title Electron-Induced Radiolysis of Water Ice and the Buildup of Oxygen
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.04079