Cosmochemistry Commons^™

An Experimental Investigation Of Liquid Hydrocarbons In A Simulated Titan Environment, Kendra Farnsworth

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Saturn’s moon, Titan, has surface conditions (89–94 K, 1.5-bar atmosphere) that permit lakes of methane, ethane, and dissolved atmospheric nitrogen. The effects of atmospheric nitrogen on methane-ethane liquid properties is poorly understood, leading to uncertainty in Titan modeling. I address this question by experimentally investigating the physical properties of methane-ethane liquids under a 1.5-bar nitrogen atmosphere in a simulated Titan environmental chamber.

Chapter 1 addresses nitrogen dissolution kinetics in Titan’s liquid hydrocarbons. I found an exponential increase in nitrogen quantity and diffusion coefficients with increasing methane mol%. I find that Titan’s liquids are likely not saturated in nitrogen, with dissolution …

Measured Optical Absorption Cross Sections Of Tio, Peter Bernath

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

A laboratory emission spectrum of TiO in the visible and near-infrared regions (476–1176 nm) has been calibrated and corrected. High-resolution experimental absorption cross sections for TiO with natural isotopic abundance are provided at a temperature of about 2300 K. These cross sections have been compared with those derived from the ExoMol line list. The experimental cross sections can be used directly as a template for cross correlation TiO detection in hot Jupiter exoplanets.