Merged beam studies for astrobiology

The chain of chemical reactions leading towards life is thought to begin in molecular clouds when atomic carbon and oxygen are fixed into molecules. Reactions of neutral atomic C with H₃⁺ is one of the first steps in the gas phase chemistry leading to the formation of complex organic molecules within such clouds. Water, believed to be vital for life, can form via a chain of gas-phase astrochemical reactions that begin with neutral atomic O reacting with H₃⁺. Uncertainties in the thermal rate coefficient for these reactions hinder our ability to understand the first links in the chemical chain leading towards life. Theory and experiment have yet to converge in either the magnitude or temperature dependence. Theory provides little insight as fully quantum mechanical calculations for reactions involving four or more atoms are too complex for current capabilities. On the other hand, measurements of cross sections and rate coefficients for reactions of atoms with molecular ions are extremely challenging. This is due to the difficulty in producing sufficiently intense and well characterized beams of neutral atoms. We have developed a novel merged beam apparatus to study reactions of neutral atoms with molecular ions at the low collision energies relevant for molecular cloud studies. Photodetachment of atomic anion beams, with an 808-nm (1.53-eV) laser beam, is used to produce beams of neutral C and O, each in their ground term as occurs in molecular clouds. The neutral beam is then merged with a velocity matched, co-propagating H₃⁺ beam, in order to study reactions of C and O on H₃⁺. The merged beams method allows us to use fast beams (keV in the lab frame), which are easy to handle and monitor, while being able to achieve relative collision energies down to ≈10 meV. Using the measured merged beams rate coefficient, we are able to extract cross sections which we can then convolve with a Maxwellian energy spread to generate a thermal rate coefficient for molecular cloud temperatures. Here we report recent results for reactions of C and O on H₃⁺. This work was funded in part by the NSF.