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Sequestration of Ethane in the Cryovolcanic Subsurface of Titan

Mousis, Olivier; Schmitt, Bernard

Saturn's largest satellite, Titan, has a thick atmosphere dominated by nitrogen and methane. The dense orange-brown smog hiding the satellite's surface is produced by photochemical reactions of methane, nitrogen, and their dissociation products with solar ultraviolet, which lead primarily to the formation of ethane and heavier hydrocarbons. In the…

Sequestration of Noble Gases by H⁺₃ in Protoplanetary Disks and Outer Solar System Composition

Ceccarelli, C.; Mousis, O.; Pauzat, F. +1 more

We study the efficiency of the noble gas sequestration by the ion H⁺₃ in the form of X H⁺₃ complexes (with X = argon , krypton, or xenon) in gas-phase conditions similar to those encountered during the cooling of protoplanetary disks. We show that X H⁺₃ complexes form very stable st…