A New Search for Amino Acid Precursors on Icy Solar System Objects with Improved Spectroscopic Parameters

具有改进的光谱参数的冰太阳系物体上氨基酸前体的新搜索

• 批准号: 0085614
• 负责人: Eliot Young
• 金额: $ 27.03万
• 依托单位: Southwest Research Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-10-01 至 2004-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0085614&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: New; Search; Amino; Acid; Precursors

0085614YoungAmino acid precursors (AAPs) have been detected on meteorites, in comets, and in theinterstellar medium (ISM). In addition, these precursors (HCN, NH 3 , and CH 3 OH) havebeen irradiated with UV photons in a 10 K water ice matrix to form glycine withoutany aqueous chemistry taking place. Dr. Eliot Young at the Southwest Research Institute will lead a project that will conduct a survey on 16 of the icy bodies in the solar system to look for AAPs. The goal is to assess the distribution of AAPs throughout the icy bodies of the solar system and determine under what conditions AAPs can survive and participate in prebiotic chemistry.Dr. Young expects that this telescopic survey will be more sensitive to the presence of AAPsthan any previous survey. The research team's efforts are concentrated in three areas: 1. Observations at 3 - 5 Mm using NIRSPEC. The 3 - 5 Mm spectral range contains thefundamental transitions of the AAPs. These are an order of magnitude stronger thanthe overtone transitions which have been customarily observed. The breakthrough isNIRSPEC, a 1 - 5 Mm spectrograph on the Keck telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, that will acquire targets as faint as Charon. 2. New Optical Constants: Interpretation of spectral data requires accurate optical constants. The team will generate sample AAP ices under a variety of temperatures and in water and nitrogen host matrices. 3. More Accurate Spectral Modeling: Modifications to a current Hapke code based on the Monte Carlo results will be developed. This will allow more accurate fits to bright ices in which the scattering is non-isotropic and to cases in which the imaginary index is close to 1. This program of observations and analysis is expected to discover many new constituents throughout the solar system, including many molecules with prebiotic significance. Taken as a whole, the results of the survey will help us to understand the conditions in which AAPs can survive in surface ices. This project is funded through the Division of Astronomical Sciences for the NSF's Life in Extreme Environments program.***

0085614年轻的氨基酸前体（AAP）已经在陨石、彗星和星际介质（ISM）中被发现。此外，这些前体（HCN，NH3，和CH 3OH）已经用UV光子在10 K水冰基质中照射形成甘氨酸，而没有任何水化学发生。西南研究所的艾略特杨博士将领导一个项目，对太阳系中的16个冰体进行调查，以寻找AAP。其目标是评估AAP在整个太阳系的冰体中的分布，并确定AAP在什么条件下可以生存并参与生命前的化学反应。杨博士预计，这次望远镜调查将比以往任何一次调查对AAP的存在更加敏感。 研究团队的努力集中在三个方面：1。使用NIRSPEC在3 - 5 Mm处进行观察。3 - 5 μ m的光谱范围包含了AAP的基本跃迁。这些是一个数量级强于泛音过渡已习惯观察。这一突破是NIRSPEC，一个安装在夏威夷莫纳克亚山凯克望远镜上的1 - 5毫米摄谱仪，它将获得像卡戎一样微弱的目标。2.新的光学常数：光谱数据的解释需要精确的光学常数。该团队将在各种温度下以及在水和氮基质中生成AAP冰样品。3.更准确的光谱建模：修改目前的Hapke代码的基础上的蒙特卡罗结果将被开发。这将允许更准确地拟合到散射是非各向同性的亮冰和虚折射率接近1的情况。 这项观测和分析计划预计将在整个太阳系中发现许多新的成分，包括许多具有生命前意义的分子。总的来说，调查结果将有助于我们了解AAP在表面冰中生存的条件。 该项目由NSF极端环境下生命计划的天文科学部门资助。