Hannover 2016 – scientific programme

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SYML: Symposium From First Molecules to Life

SYML 1: From First Molecules to Life

SYML 1.2: Invited Talk

Wednesday, March 2, 2016, 11:30–12:00, e415

Detecting astrophysically relevant ions in laboratory and space — •Stephan Schlemmer — 1. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln

Ions play a pivotal role in the astrophysics of the interstellar medium as they are readily formed by cosmic ray ionisation. They are also key species to understand the physics and chemistry of many other environments. Todays radio telescopes like the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and the airborne observatory SOFIA are sensitive enough to detect those species in space. In fact, many molecules and in particular some ions are first detected in space. However, laboratory spectra are missing as they are difficult to record due to their transient, i.e. highly reactive, nature. In recent years various methods of action spectroscopy have been developed in our group to overcome these limitations. In all cases changes in the rate of chemical reactions are imposed by excitation of the parent, mass selected ion. Recording the product formation in ion traps as a function of the excitation frequency results in the respective molecular spectra. Examples include mid-resolution vibrational, as well as high-resolution ro-vibrational and pure rotational spectra. In this presentation the methods are introduced and recent examples related to astrophysical searches in the radio frequency range will be discussed.