Astrochemistry

VIZSLA — Versatile Ice Zigzag Sublimation Setup For Laboratory Astrochemistry

By Keith Cowing

astro-ph.IM

July 2, 2021

Filed under astrochemistry

VIZSLA — Versatile Ice Zigzag Sublimation Setup For Laboratory Astrochemistry — The main UHV chamber of VIZSLA. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section. FTIR IN and OUT: entrance and exit of the IR beam of the FT-IR spectrometer; UV-VIS IN and OUT: entrance and exit of the light beam of the UV-Visible spectrometer; HABS: hydrogen atom beam source; EGUN: electron gun; Laser: tunable OPO laser beam (213௅2800 nm); MW lamp: microwave discharge H-atom lamp (H Lyman-D source); MS: quadruple mass spectrometer. Except for FTIR IN and OUT and UV-VIS IN and OUT, the other components can easily be exchanged on the ports according to the requirements of the experiment. (The attachment of the UV-Visible spectrometer to the systems is still under construction.)

In this article a new, multi-functional, high-vacuum astrophysical ice setup, VIZSLA (Versatile Ice Zigzag Sublimation Setup for Laboratory Astrochemistry), is introduced. The instrument allows the investigation of astrophysical processes both in a low-temperature para-H2 matrix and in astrophysical analog ices.

In para-H2 matrix the reaction of astrochemical molecules with H atoms and H+ ions can be studied very effectively. For the investigation of astrophysical analog ices the setup is equipped with different irradiation and particle sources: an electron gun, for modeling cosmic rays; an H atom beam source (HABS); a microwave H atom lamp, for generating H Lyman-alpha radiation, and a tunable (213 nm to 2800 nm) laser source. For analysis, an FT-IR (and a UV-Visible) spectrometer and a quadrupole mass analyzer are available.

The setup has two cryostats, offering novel features for analysis. Upon the so-called temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) the molecules, desorbing from the first cryostat, can be mixed with Ar and can be deposited onto the substrate of the other cryostat. The well-resolved spectrum of the molecules isolated in an Ar matrix serves a unique opportunity to identify the desorbing products of a processed ice. Some examples are provided to show how the para-H2 matrix experiments and the TPD — matrix-isolation recondensation experiments can help to understand astrophysically important chemical processes at a low temperature. It is also discussed, how these experiments can complement the studies carried out by similar astrophysical ice setups.

Gábor Bazsó, István Pál Csonka, Sándor Góbi, György Tarczay

Comments: 37 pages, 14 figures, 1table
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: arXiv:2107.00445 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2107.00445v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
Submission history
From: Sandor Gobi
[v1] Thu, 1 Jul 2021 13:45:46 UTC (1,442 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.00445
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

Follow on Twitter