Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.2728r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #27.28; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.532
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
In the upper Titan's atmosphere its main constituents, CH4 and N2, are photolyzed and radiolyzed by solar photons and magnetospheric electrons. The primary products of these chemical interactions evolve to heavier organic compounds which are likely to associate to form the haze layers observed on Titan's upper atmosphere. Different theories and models have been used to explain the physical, chemical and optical properties of the haze material, but only with limited success. Among the parameters involved in these models, the complex refractive index is one of the most critical due to the influence that chemical composition and structural organization of the solid have on the n and k values. As part of a continued systematical study for the synthesis and characterization of Titan's aerosol analogues initiated in our group, we have subjected mixtures of CH4 in N2 to laser irradiation to produce layer of aerosol analogues. A set of optical properties values directly calculated from the transmission and reflectance curves, as well as a chemical characterization, by tandem mass spectroscopy, of the laboratory analogues will be presented. Our experimental protocol avoids some of the difficulties usually faced on laboratory simulations (over-irradiation, contamination with atmospheric oxygen, accurate ratio of initial gas mixture), porosity influences will also be discussed. The optical values can be used to determine how the chemical and optical properties of these aerosols influence the matching with the observed geometric albedo spectrum and how they participate in the radiative equilibrium processes in Titan's atmosphere. They will certainly help in the interpretation of the observations made by the Huygens descend through Titan's atmosphere last January and in all the new information about Titan generated since then.
Financial support from CONACyT (40449) and PROMEP (103.5/03/1134) is acknowledged. SIRJ acknowledges a travel grant from PIFI 3.2.
Agarwal Vinod
Contreras Gonzalo
Ramirez Sandra I.
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