Space Weathering: Processing Velocities in Organic Materials as a Function of Electron Beam Energies-Solar Electron Erosion Rate Application.

Abstract

Samples of α-glycine (α-GLY; 230-350 nm) were irradiated in laboratory as a function of electron beam energies (0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 keV) at room temperature (293-295 K). The evolution of α-glycine irradiation process was monitored in real time by infrared spectroscopy (Fourier transform infrared - FTIR), through specific spectral bands: 2610, 2124, 1410, and 1333 cm-1. A phenomenological model is proposed to describe the column density decay when thick organic samples are processed by ionizing beams. The α-glycine radiolysis has exhibited transient and stationary modes in such thickness films. The first stage is mainly described by one exponential decay, whereas the latter foremost decays linearly; compaction processes have been neglected; glycine dissociation and sputtering processes are assumed to be responsible for the damage caused by the electron beam impact through the solid film. The second (stationary) stage is due to equilibrium between a partially shielded bulk radiolysis and sputtering of protective layers. The decay rates are measured for the transient and stationary modes and allow determining the processing velocity of the samples as a function of the electron beam energy. Finally, the model is applied to space weathering to find out the typical sputtering rate of organic compounds on the surface of astrophysical analogs with no protection layers attacked by solar wind (SW) electrons at ≈1 AU. Although the velocity of processing materials in SW has natural competing effects, such as regolith overturn by impacts of micro- and macrometeorites and downslope motion of material that is unstable due to changes in the geopotential of the airless bodies (e.g., asteroid 101955 Bennu), these competing processes are not included in the simulations presented here.