Ethyl cyanide on Titan: Spectroscopic detection and mapping using ALMA
| Autor: | Cordiner, M. A., Palmer, M. Y., Nixon, C. A., Irwin, P. G. J., Teanby, N. A., Charnley, S. B., Mumma, M. J., Kisiel, Z., Serigano, J., Kuan, Y. -J., Chuang, Y. -L., Wang, K. -S. |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
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| Druh dokumentu: | Working Paper |
| DOI: | 10.1088/2041-8205/800/1/L14 |
| Popis: | We report the first spectroscopic detection of ethyl cyanide (C$_2$H$_5$CN) in Titan's atmosphere, obtained using spectrally and spatially resolved observations of multiple emission lines with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter array (ALMA). The presence of C$_2$H$_5$CN in Titan's ionosphere was previously inferred from Cassini ion mass spectrometry measurements of C$_2$H$_5$CNH$^+$. Here we report the detection of 27 rotational lines from C$_2$H$_5$CN (in 19 separate emission features detected at $>3\sigma$ confidence), in the frequency range 222-241 GHz. Simultaneous detections of multiple emission lines from HC$_3$N, CH$_3$CN and CH$_3$CCH were also obtained. In contrast to HC$_3$N, CH$_3$CN and CH$_3$CCH, which peak in Titan's northern (spring) hemisphere, the emission from C$_2$H$_5$CN is found to be concentrated in the southern (autumn) hemisphere, suggesting a distinctly different chemistry for this species, consistent with a relatively short chemical lifetime for C$_2$H$_5$CN. Radiative transfer models show that most of the C$_2$H$_5$CN is concentrated at altitudes 300-600 km, suggesting production predominantly in the mesosphere and above. Vertical column densities are found to be in the range (2-5)$\times10^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$. Comment: Published in 2015, ApJL, 800, L14 |
| Databáze: | arXiv |
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