Irradiation of Condensed Gases: Physical Mechanisms and Astrophysical Implications

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94-19501 Johnson This award by NSF will support laboratory measurements of sputtering from surfaces of a range of materials. Sputtering from these materials simulates similar processes, induced by UV radiation, electrons, and ions, on the surfaces of small and large bodies in the outer solar system (in particular, comets, satellites, planetary rings). Effects of thermal sublimation rates of the irradiated samples will also be studied. The research, which includes numerical modeling to interpret the laboratory measurements, is expected to lead to an improved understanding of the physical and chemical changes caused by sputtering. This understanding will be crucial for interpreting observational data of bodies in the solar system as well as of the interstellar medium (i.e., interstellar grains). It is expected that the research will be exceptionally productive because of the investigators' skills and outstanding past performance, their state-of-the-art laboratory facility, and the current dearth of reliable data in this research area.