"Is it possible that we did not evolve from apes but were created by something else using ape DNA through many failures that we have in our museums?"
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Mechanistical Studies on the Non-Equilibrium Chemistry of Unusual Carbon Oxide in Solar System Ices
Project Investigators: Ralf Kaiser
Other Project Members
Chris Bennett (Doctoral Student)Summary
Higher carbon oxides of the form COn (n=3-8) have long been known as important molecules in atmospheric (Earth, Mars) and solid state chemical reactions. For instance, the CO3 molecule is considered as an important reaction intermediate in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars for quenching electronically excited oxygen atoms and in contributing to the anomalous 18O isotope enrichment. The geometry of the CO3 intermediate plays an important role in explaining these effects; however, only the cyclic (C2v) isomer has been experimentally confirmed prior to the project.
Astrobiology Roadmap Objectives:
- Objective 2.2: Outer Solar System exploration
- Objective 3.1: Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts
Project Progress
We have identified for the first time five higher carbon oxides via low temperature spectroscopy at 10 K by irradiating carbon dioxide ices with energetic electrons and probing the newly formed molecules via infrared spectroscopy (solid state) and a quadrupole mass spectrometer (gas phase): CO3 [D3h], CO4 [C2v; D2d], CO5 [C2], and CO6 [Cs]. These assignments have been confirmed in 12C18O2, 13C16O2, and 13C18O2 systems. The time-dependent concentration profiles of the carbon oxides suggest that the CO3 molecules are initially formed by an addition of a suprathermal oxygen atom, generated via unimolecular decomposition of the carbon dioxide molecule, to the carbon-oxygen double bond and to the carbon atom to form CO3 [C2v] and CO3 [D3h], respectively. As the irradiation time increased, the ring structure is expanded successively to form CO4 [C2v], CO5 [C2], and CO6 [Cs]. The investigation of the formation route to CO4 [D2d] is still in progress; preliminary fits of the temporal profile suggest that suprathermal oxygen atoms add to the carbon-oxygen double bond of CO3 [C2v].
- HANDBOOK OF STAR FORMING REGIONS
- A Rare low mass quadruple spectroscopic AND eclipsing binary
- A search for Main Belt Comets in Pan-STARRS 1
- A search for primordial water from deep in the Earth's mantle
- A spectroscopically unique Main Belt asteroid: 10537 (1991 RY16)
- A Supertree Analysis of the Metazoan Phylogeny
- Acquisition and Installation of a new Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe
- Acquisition and Installation of Witec Confocal Raman microscope scanning system
- Amorphization of Crystalline Water Ice in the Solar System
- Assessing the likelihood of supernova impact of protoplanetary disks
- Carbonate Lithologies on Devon Island, Canada
- Chemistry and biology of ultramafic-hosted alkaline springs
- Chemistry of the NH3/H2O system
- DIVERSITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE UNIQUE TROPICAL PHYLUM PLACOZOA
- Dynamical Evolution of Astroid Belt and the Parent Bodies of Iron Meteorites
- Ecology of a Hawaiian lava cave microbial mat
- FMARS Long Duration Mission: a simulation of manned Mars exploration in an analogue environment, Devon Island, Canada
- Formation and Detection of Hot-Earth Objects in Systems with Close-in Jupiters
- Formation and the Prospects of the Detection of Habitable Planets in Extreme Planetary Systems
- Formation of Molecular Hydrogen via Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Hydrocarbon Ices in the Interstellar Medium
- Formation of Planetesimals in a Dynamically Evolving Nebula
- FU ORIONIS ERUPTIONS
- Ice Ages on Mars
- Ice at the Mars Phoenix Landing Site
- Ice on Main Belt Comets
- Icelandic subglacial lakes
- Mechanisms of Marine Microbial Community Structuring
- Mechanistical Studies on the Non-Equilibrium Chemistry of Unusual Carbon Oxide in Solar System Ices
- Modeling grain surface reaction pathways for large organic molecules
- Molecular Deuteration on grain surfaces
- NEWBORN BINARIES
- Observations and Models of comet 17P/Holmes
- Origin and Activation Mechanism of Main Belt Comets
- Origin of Irregular Satellites
- Recovery of comet 85P/Boethin for the Deep Impact Extended Mission
- Sediment-buried basement deep biosphere
- Serpentinazation and abiogenic methane in the Mariana Forearc
- Sleeping through the Arctic Martian Sol
- Spectropolarimetric studies of stars with hot jupiters
- TES study of intracrater low albedo deposits, Amazonis Planitia, Mars
- The delivery of short-lived radionucleides to the solar system
- The effect of lunar-like satellites on the orbital infrared lightcurves of Earth-analog planets
- The Main Belt distribution of basaltic asteroids
- The Size Distribution of Small KBOs
- THE VYSOS PROJECT
- Ultra-violet processing of ices in the Rosette Nebula
- Unveiling the evolution and interplay of ice and gas in quiescent clouds
- Variable Young Stellar Objects Survey (VYSOS)
- Water on Mars
- X-ray- and UV-bright low-mass stars in the solar neighborhood