Chemical reactions induced in frozen formic acid by heavy ion cosmic rays

Abstract

We studied the effects produced by the interaction of heavy ion cosmic rays with interstellar and cometary organic molecules in the solid phase. Formic acid (HCOOH) ice at 15 K was irradiated by 267-MeV 56Fe22+ ions and the chemical evolution was analysed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The destruction cross-section of HCOOH and the formation cross-sections of the produced molecular species have been determined; the sputtering yield values are also discussed. The most abundant chemical species formed by Fe ion irradiation are CO, CO2 and H2O. The half-life of frozen formic acid molecules in the interstellar medium, as a result of interaction with the different cosmic ray constituents, is evaluated to be 108 yr, considering that the destruction cross-section σd of heavy ions is ruled by a power law as a function of the electronic stopping power Se (i.e. σd ∼ S3/2e). Moreover, a complementary study based on mass spectrometry data from the literature has been performed, in order to understand the HCOOH molecule radiolysis, the desorption of its product and the chemical reaction pathways in ice.