Organic syntheses in gas phase and chemical evolution in planetary atmospheres

Abstract

Atmospheric chemistry may be one of the important pathways to the synthesis of organic compounds in a planetary periphery. Depending on the nature of the carbon source (CH4, CO or CO2), the main composition of the atmosphere, and the respective roles of the various energy sources, is it possible, and to what extent, to produce organics? What kind of gaseous mixture is the most favourable to prebiotic organic syntheses? How far can the results of laboratory works be extrapolated to the case of planetary atmospheres? These questions are discussed, on the basis of several available laboratory data, and by considering the main atmospheric composition of the planets of the solar system, and the list of organic compounds which have already been detected in their atmospheres.