HR: 1340h
AN: SA13A-1127    [Abstracts]
TI: Sugars, Alcohols, and Cometary Astrobiochemistry
AU: * Hudson, R L
EM: hudsonrl@eckerd.edu
AF: Eckerd College, 4200 54th Avenue South Department of Chemistry, St. Petersburg, FL 33711 United States
AU: * Hudson, R L
EM: hudsonrl@eckerd.edu
AF: Goddard Center for Astrobiology (NASA Astrobiology Institute), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Moore, M H
EM: ummhm@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 691 Astrochemistry Branch, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Moore, M H
EM: ummhm@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: Goddard Center for Astrobiology (NASA Astrobiology Institute), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Gerakines, P A
EM: gerak@uab.edu
AF: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Physics, Birmingham, AL 35294 United States
AB: Radio and IR observations have revealed that a rich organic chemistry exists in comets and in a variety of interstellar regions. Among the organic molecules detected are acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and nitriles. The simplest sugar, glycolaldehyde, has been reported (Hollis et al., ApJ, 2000, 540, L107), as has an amino acid, glycine (Kuan et al., ApJ, 2003, 593, 848; but see Hollis et al., ApJ, 2003, 588, 353). Gas-phase reactions to produce many of these molecules are not well understood, and solid-phase chemistry is thought to make an important contribution. To better understand organic chemistry in cold cosmic environments, we have performed photo- and radiation chemical experiments on icy materials at 10 - 100 K. Gas-phase molecules are frozen in a vacuum chamber, and then exposed to either MeV protons or vacuum-UV photons to mimic cosmic-ray bombardment or cosmic-UV exposure, respectively. Changes in ice composition are followed in situ with IR spectroscopy. In this AGU presentation we will describe our latest results for glycolaldehyde, as well as a few prebiological organics. Solid-state IR spectra and reaction pathways will be presented, and predictions will be made for the chemical composition of selected Solar System objects. -- This research is funded through NASA's Planetary Atmospheres and SARA programs, and through the NASA Astrobiology Program under RTOP 344-53-51-01 to M. J. Mumma (NASA GSFC).
DE: 7831 Laboratory studies
DE: 6008 Composition
DE: 6020 Ice
DE: 6045 Physics and chemistry of materials
DE: 6060 Radiation and spectra
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting