Sulphur ion implantation into O2, CO, and CO2 ices: Implications for the formation of sulphur-bearing molecules in the Kuiper Belt

Abstract

Previous experimental work has systematically investigated the radiolytic sulphur chemistry arising as a result of the implantation of reactive sulphur ions into various oxygen-bearing molecular ices (e.g., H2O, CO2) so as to better understand the surface chemistry of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, where sulphur ions are sourced from the giant Jovian magnetosphere. However, significantly less attention has been paid to analogous sulphur chemistry occurring under conditions relevant to the Kuiper Belt, where sulphur ions supplied by the solar wind may implant into the surfaces of icy bodies that are rich in volatile oxygen-bearing molecular ices such as O2, CO, or CO2. This paper presents the results of a study on the implantation of 290–400 keV S+ ions into pure O2, CO, and CO2 ices under temperature, pressure, radiation dose, and ice deposition conditions relevant to the Kuiper Belt, with a particular focus on the potential synthesis of simple inorganic sulphur-bearing molecules (e.g., SO2, OCS, CS2). Experiments involving CO2 ices were also performed at higher temperatures more typically associated with the Galilean moon system so as to determine whether there exist any differences in the chemistry resulting from the implantation of reactive sulphur ions in these two regions of the Solar System. Our results constitute the first systematic investigation of solid-phase sulphur chemistry in the Kuiper Belt mediated by the sulphur ion component of the solar wind, and thus represent an important step forward in our understanding of the astrochemical processes occurring in the outermost depths of the Solar System.