Stuttgart 2012 – scientific programme
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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 13: Poster 1: Cold Molecules, Femtosecond Spectroscopy, Molecular Dynamics
MO 13.4: Poster
Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 16:30–19:00, Poster.IV
Laboratory Astrochemistry in a Multipole RF Ion Trap — •Thorsten Best1, Eric Endres1, Rico Otto1,2, and Roland Wester1 — 1Inst. f. Ionenphysik u. Angew. Physik, Universität Innsbruck — 2now at Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of California San Diego
Multipole radio-frequency ion traps provide a favourable environment for laboratory astrochemistry. Collisional cooling with a neutral buffer gas allows to reach the temperature range characteristic for e.g. the interstellar medium, in both the internal and motional degrees of freedom, and to store molecular ions for extended periods of time.
Through coupling of a 22-pole ion trap with a high resolution time of flight mass spectrometer, sensitive measurements of both collision-induced (e.g. reactive) and radiation-induced processes become feasible. We demonstrate the applicability of this experimental setup to several problems in laboratory astrochemistry, including photodetachment [1] and reactions with H2.
A new perspective for the detection and analysis of gas phase molecules and clusters has recently been opened by the development of novel radiation sources in the Terahertz domain. In combination with powerful astronomical observation tools such as HERSCHEL and ALMA, laboratory THz spectroscopy may lead to the discovery of new species in various astronomical environments. We present our approach towards THz action spectroscopy on cold trapped molecular ions.
[1] T. Best et al., Ap.J. 742, 63 (2011)