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dc.contributor.authorStark, Craig Ronald
dc.contributor.authorHelling, Christiane
dc.contributor.authorDiver, Declan A
dc.contributor.authorRimmer, Paul
dc.date.accessioned2014-01-13T11:01:03Z
dc.date.available2014-01-13T11:01:03Z
dc.date.issued2014-04
dc.identifier.citationStark , C R , Helling , C , Diver , D A & Rimmer , P 2014 , ' Electrostatic activation of prebiotic chemistry in substellar atmospheres ' , International Journal of Astrobiology , vol. 13 , no. Special Issue 2 , pp. 165-172 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550413000475en
dc.identifier.issn1473-5504
dc.identifier.otherPURE: 89935463
dc.identifier.otherPURE UUID: 3fc9c8a8-b3f9-4c1f-990c-c43140228949
dc.identifier.otherArXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.4408v1
dc.identifier.otherScopus: 84898768413
dc.identifier.otherWOS: 000333749700009
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/4358
dc.description.abstractCharged dust grains in the atmospheres of exoplanets may play a key role in the formation of prebiotic molecules, necessary to the origin of life. Dust grains submerged in an atmospheric plasma become negatively charged and attract a flux of ions that are accelerated from the plasma. The energy of the ions upon reaching the grain surface may be sufficient to overcome the activation energy of particular chemical reactions that would be unattainable via ion and neutral bombardment from classical, thermal excitation. As a result, prebiotic molecules or their precursors could be synthesised on the surface of dust grains that form clouds in exoplanetary atmospheres. This paper investigates the energization of the plasma ions, and the dependence on the plasma electron temperature, in the atmospheres of substellar objects such as gas giant planets. Calculations show that modest electron temperatures of $\approx 1$ eV ($\approx 10^{4}$ K) are enough to accelerate ions to sufficient energies that exceed the activation energies required for the formation of formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide and the amino acid glycine.
dc.format.extent18
dc.language.isoeng
dc.relation.ispartofInternational Journal of Astrobiologyen
dc.rightsThis is the author's accepted version of this article. The published version copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 is available from http://journals.cambridge.orgen
dc.subjectastro-ph.EPen
dc.subjectDusten
dc.subjectExoplanetsen
dc.subjectPrebiotic Chemistryen
dc.subjectPlasmasen
dc.subjectQB Astronomyen
dc.subject.lccQBen
dc.titleElectrostatic activation of prebiotic chemistry in substellar atmospheresen
dc.typeJournal articleen
dc.contributor.sponsorScience & Technology Facilities Councilen
dc.contributor.sponsorEuropean Research Councilen
dc.description.versionPostprinten
dc.contributor.institutionUniversity of St Andrews. School of Physics and Astronomyen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550413000475
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.identifier.grantnumberST/J001651/1en
dc.identifier.grantnumber257431 257431en


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