A vacuum-ultraviolet source for the study of interstellar and prebiotic molecules

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Vacuum-ultraviolet light (VUV; ~100 - 200 nm) is a class of ultraviolet light that requires a vacuum to travel freely since it is absorbed strongly by oxygen in the air, as well as by most other molecules. Because of this property, it has an important role in the photochemistry of small molecules, including organic molecules found in space and those thought to play a role in the origins of life. We request funds for a portable, table-top VUV source and VUV spectrometer. The equipment is urgently needed to support the our research programs of the PI (Cooke) and co-applicant (Momose), and will be used by other researchers at UBC to study environmental chemistry and quantum matter. The proposed VUV system will be used to ionize astrochemically-relevant carbon-bearing molecules for their mass spectrometric detection, and as a source for in situ VUV photochemistry of prebiotic molecules. These tools are critical to answer questions about the origins of carbon molecules in space and about how long these molecules can survive before they are destroyed by radiation. Examples of research to be supported include the formation of aromatic molecules in interstellar space, photochemistry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and asymmetric photolysis of chiral amino acids. The applicant and co-applicant are already leaders in the areas of astrochemistry and photochemistry and are only lacking this critical VUV source to gain access to important results that cannot be obtained by any other more cost-effective method. These research tools will be an integral component of the equipment that will be used by a diverse set of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and will support the research activities of many trainees in multiple research groups. They will provide valuable expertise and hands-on-training on chemical physics experiments, producing a skill set that is in high demand in Canada.