The survival of aromatic molecules in protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

The study addresses the UV photostability of small aromatic molecules embedded in ices relevant to protoplanetary disks, a key factor for the chemical inventory of forming planets. Using the SPACECAT setup, the authors measure photodestruction cross sections $\sigma$ for five aromatics in both pure and mixed ices under 120–160 nm irradiation, revealing $\sigma < 10^{-19}\ \mathrm{cm^2}$ in pure ices and $(2.5-6.1)\times10^{-18}\ \mathrm{cm^2}$ in mixed ices, highlighting strong matrix effects and a protective cage-like effect in pure ices. Substituent nature and molecular size have little influence on aromatic stability in pure ices, while the mixed-ice environment enhances destruction and reactivity, likely due to weaker cage effects and matrix-specific interactions. Applying these cross sections to disk environments, the work identifies regions where aromatic photochemistry is most active, informing the potential inheritance or processing of aromatic species in planetesimals and comets during planet formation.

Abstract

Aromaticity is a common chemical functionalities in bioactive molecules. In interstellar and circumstellar environments benzene and other small aromatics are considered the precursor for more complex prebiotic molecules and they have shown to potentially have rich ice-phase photochemistry. The availability of small organic molecules in prebiotic networks depends on their photostability in astrophysical environments preceding planet formation, particularly during the protoplanetary disk stage, as the disk composition is linked to the chemical make-up of planets and planetesimals. We study the ultraviolet (UV) photodestruction (120-160 nm) of five aromatic molecules in undiluted ices and, for selected cases, in astrophysically relevant ice matrices (H2O, CO, CO2). For each ice, we measure the destruction cross sections as a function of photon exposure. In undiluted ices, aromatic molecules exhibit substantially lower photodestruction cross sections (sigma < 10-19 cm2) than aliphatic hydrocarbons, including cyclohexane, (sigma = 2.8-4x10-18 cm2). Furthermore, neither substituent nature nor size affects the aromatic stability in pure ices, suggesting that the strong intermolecular interactions among aromatic molecules provide protection against VUV exposure, even with small to mid-sized ring substituents. In mixed ices, the photodestruction and reactivity of aromatic molecules (sigma = 2.5-6.1x10-18 cm2) increases by more than an order of magnitude, but are still lower than in the gas-phase. We attribute this to a weaker cage effect and matrix-specific interactions. We use the experimental photodestruction cross sections to estimate the lifetime of aromatic molecules in protoplanetary disks, denileating the disks regions in which aromatic photochemistry is expected to be the most active.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: (A) Spectral variation of the benzene:CO mixture before and after photon exposure. The dark blue line corresponds to the IR spectra before photon exposure, and the lighter blue corresponds to the IR spectra of the benzene:CO ice after photon exposure.