Measurements of diffusion of volatiles in amorphous solid water: application to interstellar medium environments

TL;DR

This study measures the diffusion parameters of simple molecules in amorphous solid water, providing essential data for modeling chemical processes in interstellar environments, using a novel in situ infrared technique.

Contribution

First comprehensive set of diffusion parameters for molecules in amorphous solid water, improving modeling accuracy of interstellar chemistry.

Findings

Diffusion energy barriers for CO, O₂, N₂, CH₄, and Ar in ASW were determined.

Arrhenius pre-exponents and activation energies were measured for these molecules.

Argon desorption energy distribution on non-porous ASW was characterized.

Abstract

The diffusion of atoms and molecules in ices covering dust grains in dense clouds in interstellar space is an important but poorly characterized step in the formation of complex molecules in space. Here we report the measurement of diffusion of simple molecules in amorphous solid water (ASW), an analog of interstellar ices, which are amorphous and made mostly of water molecules. The new approach that we used relies on measuring in situ the change in band strength and position of mid-infrared features of OH dangling bonds as molecules move through pores and channels of ASW. We obtained the Arrhenius pre-exponents and activation energies for diffusion of CO, O$_2$, N$_2$, CH$_4$, and Ar in ASW. The diffusion energy barrier of H$_2$ and D$_2$ were also measured, but only upper limits were obtained. These values constitute the first comprehensive set of diffusion parameters of simple molecules on the pore surface of ASW, and can be used in simulations of the chemical evolution of ISM environments, thus replacing unsupported estimates. We also present a set of argon temperature programmed desorption experiments to determine the desorption energy distribution of argon on non-porous ASW.