Experimental study of ammonia formation in Titan's ionosphere

Audrey Chatain (1, 2) , Nathalie Carrasco (2) , Olivier Guaitella (1) , Maryse Napoleoni (3) , Ludovic Vettier (3) , Guy Cernogora (2)

1 LPP - Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
2 PLANETO - LATMOS
3 LATMOS - Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales

Ammonia is an interesting molecule suspected to be formed in Titan ionosphere and leading to further complex chemistry. Here we experimentally study one of the two ways of formation of ammonia in the ionosphere: the catalysis on surfaces in a N2-H2 plasma. We vary plasma conditions in a CCP RF discharge and follow the ammonia formation thanks to IR and mass spectrometries. We show the strong effect of pressure, H2 percentage, plasma power and metallic surfaces.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Astrophysics [astro-ph]; Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP]; Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Plasma Physics [physics.plasm-ph]

Audrey Chatain, Nathalie Carrasco, Olivier Guaitella, Maryse Napoleoni, Ludovic Vettier, et al.. Experimental study of ammonia formation in Titan's ionosphere. European Planetary Science Congress 2018, Sep 2018, Berlin, Germany. ⟨insu-02940713⟩