Speaker
Description
Simple and complex species are expected to be formed in a variety of interstellar environments at the surface of ice grains by means of a combination of processes. Interstellar ice mantles are continuously exposed to energetic and non-energetic processing by photons, electrons, ions and atoms in different regions of the interstellar medium. Here I will focus on the chemical role of electrons on the surface ice chemistry in light of our latest laboratory results on the formation of molecules after exposure to 1 keV electron bombardment. We applied VUV, UV-vis and mid-IR absorption spectroscopy to study interstellar ices before and after irradiation. VUV and UV-vis spectra were obtained at the synchrotron facility ASTRID2 ISA, University of Aarhus, while mid-IR data was collected at the Molecular Astrophysics Lab at the Open University. Experimental results will help understanding the molecular complexity induced by the interaction of electrons and ices and will support past (e.g., Hubble Space Telescope) and future (JUICE - JUpiter ICy moons Explorer; http://sci.esa.int/juice/) astronomical missions.