Topic
Tholin
About: Tholin is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 266 publications have been published within this topic receiving 12558 citations. The topic is also known as: tholins.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
TL;DR: The photochemistry of simple molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere of Titan has been investigated using updated chemical schemes and the authors' own estimates of a number of key rate coefficients, which satisfactorily accounts for the concentrations of minor species observed by the Voyager IRIS and UVS instruments.
Abstract: The photochemistry of simple molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere of Titan has been investigated using updated chemical schemes and our own estimates of a number of key rate coefficients. Proper exospheric boundary conditions, vertical transport, and condensation processes at the tropopause have been incorporated into the model. It is argued that the composition, climatology, and evolution of Titan's atmosphere are controlled by five major processes: (a) photolysis and photosensitized dissociation of CH_4 ; (b) conversion of H to H_2 and escape of hydrogen; (c) synthesis of higher hydrocarbons; (d) coupling between nitrogen and hydrocarbons; (e) coupling between oxygen and hydrocarbons. Starting with N_2, CH_4, and H_20, and invoking interactions with ultraviolet sunlight, energetic electrons, and cosmic rays, the model satisfactorily accounts for the concentrations of minor species observed by the Voyager IRIS and UVS instruments. Photochemistry is responsible for converting the simpler atmospheric species into more complex organic compounds, which are subsequently condensed at the tropopause and deposited on the surface. Titan might have lost 5.6 × 10^4 , 1.8 × 10^3, and 4.0 g cm^-2 , or the equivalent of 8,0.25, and 5 × 10^-4 bars of CH_4, N_2 , and CO, respectively, over geologic time. Implications of abiotic organic synthesis on Titan for the origin of life on Earth are briefly discussed.
1,089 citations
TL;DR: Direct atmospheric measurements from the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS), including altitude profiles of the constituents, isotopic ratios and trace species (including organic compounds), were reported, confirming the primary constituents were confirmed to be nitrogen and methane.
Abstract: Saturn's largest moon, Titan, remains an enigma, explored only by remote sensing from Earth, and by the Voyager and Cassini spacecraft. The most puzzling aspects include the origin of the molecular nitrogen and methane in its atmosphere, and the mechanism(s) by which methane is maintained in the face of rapid destruction by photolysis. The Huygens probe, launched from the Cassini spacecraft, has made the first direct observations of the satellite's surface and lower atmosphere. Here we report direct atmospheric measurements from the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS), including altitude profiles of the constituents, isotopic ratios and trace species (including organic compounds). The primary constituents were confirmed to be nitrogen and methane. Noble gases other than argon were not detected. The argon includes primordial 36Ar, and the radiogenic isotope 40Ar, providing an important constraint on the outgassing history of Titan. Trace organic species, including cyanogen and ethane, were found in surface measurements.
1,006 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of thin films of the dark reddish organic solids called tholins, produced by continuous D.C. discharge through a 0.9 N2/0.1 CH4 gas mixture at 0.2 mb, were determined from a combination of transmittance, specular reflectance, interferometric, Brewster angle, and ellipsometric polarization measurements.
721 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is obtained for tholin formation at high altitudes (∼1000 kilometers) in Titan's atmosphere using measurements from a combination of mass/charge and energy/charge spectrometers on the Cassini spacecraft.
Abstract: Titan9s lower atmosphere has long been known to harbor organic aerosols (tholins) presumed to have been formed from simple molecules, such as methane and nitrogen (CH4 and N2). Up to now, it has been assumed that tholins were formed at altitudes of several hundred kilometers by processes as yet unobserved. Using measurements from a combination of mass/charge and energy/charge spectrometers on the Cassini spacecraft, we have obtained evidence for tholin formation at high altitudes (∼1000 kilometers) in Titan9s atmosphere. The observed chemical mix strongly implies a series of chemical reactions and physical processes that lead from simple molecules (CH4 and N2) to larger, more complex molecules (80 to 350 daltons) to negatively charged massive molecules (∼8000 daltons), which we identify as tholins. That the process involves massive negatively charged molecules and aerosols is completely unexpected.
707 citations
TL;DR: Spectra and high-resolution images obtained by the Huygens Probe Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer instrument in Titan's atmosphere reveal the traces of once flowing liquid, and like Earth, the brighter highland regions show complex systems draining into flat, dark lowlands.
Abstract: The irreversible conversion of methane into higher hydrocarbons in Titan's stratosphere implies a surface or subsurface methane reservoir. Recent measurements from the cameras aboard the Cassini orbiter fail to see a global reservoir, but the methane and smog in Titan's atmosphere impedes the search for hydrocarbons on the surface. Here we report spectra and high-resolution images obtained by the Huygens Probe Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer instrument in Titan's atmosphere. Although these images do not show liquid hydrocarbon pools on the surface, they do reveal the traces of once flowing liquid. Surprisingly like Earth, the brighter highland regions show complex systems draining into flat, dark lowlands. Images taken after landing are of a dry riverbed. The infrared reflectance spectrum measured for the surface is unlike any other in the Solar System; there is a red slope in the optical range that is consistent with an organic material such as tholins, and absorption from water ice is seen. However, a blue slope in the near-infrared suggests another, unknown constituent. The number density of haze particles increases by a factor of just a few from an altitude of 150 km to the surface, with no clear space below the tropopause. The methane relative humidity near the surface is 50 per cent.
603 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2018 | 8 |
| 2017 | 11 |
| 2016 | 11 |