Other
Scientific paper
Aug 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007phdt........17m&link_type=abstract
Proquest Dissertations And Theses 2007. Section 0028, Part 0490 69 pages; [Ph.D. dissertation].United States -- California: Uni
Other
High-Pressure, Planetary Evolution, Formic Acid, Cyanuric Acid, Prebiotic Chemistry
Scientific paper
Organic materials, containing only H, C, N, and O, are observed in proto- planetary discs, comets and meteorites, which provide the keys to understanding the early Earth. Direct study of two molecules common in these environments, formic acid (HCOOH) and cyanuric acid (H 3 C 3 N 3 O 3 ), has shown that these molecules survive to higher pressures and temperatures than expected and transform to more complex molecules, implying that high-pressure environments associated with young planets could be a key source of prebiotic molecules in the early Earth. Complementary models of generic planetary interiors have been undertaken, in order to better understand environments outside the Earth which could harbor prebiotic chemistry.
To determine the stability, phase, and reaction limits of formic acid and cyanuric acid, Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used with heated diamond-anvil cell experiments. The melting curve of formic acid and two decomposition reactions were determined. A third solid-solid reaction was identified at higher pressures, with evidence of the formation of more complex molecules, recoverable to ambient conditions. The chemistry of cyanuric acid was shown to be more complex, with a decomposition reaction taking the place of a melting curve, and the formation of new molecules whose composition varies with the pressure at which the reaction occurs. These new molecules have been identified as di- and tri- substituted benzene molecules and heterocyclic aromatic molecules, a step towards more complex organized prebiotic chemistry.
With the recent discovery of super-Earths orbiting other stars, data on planetary masses and radii outside our solar system is rapidly becoming available. The effects of self compression on the internal structure of planetary bodies are poorly understood. Planetary models using the second-order Birch- Murnaghan equation of state to model a spherical body under hydrostatic equilibrium were used to understand the effects of changing the material properties on astronomical observables such as the moment of inertia, radius and mass. The resulting density profiles help constrain the survival depths of organic materials in addition to providing mass vs. radius curves for planets of varying compositions. These mass vs. radius plots show that present mass- radius observations can help constrain the composition of an exoplanet.
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