A systematic mid-infrared spectroscopic study of thermally processed H2S ices

Abstract

The positive identification of the molecular components of interstellar icy grain mantles is critically reliant upon the availability of laboratory-generated mid-infrared absorption spectra which can be compared against data acquired by ground- and space-borne telescopes. However, one molecule which remains thus far undetected in interstellar ices is H₂S, despite its important roles in astrochemical and geophysical processes. Such a lack of a detection is surprising, particularly in light of its relative abundance in cometary ices which are believed to be the most pristine remnants of pre-solar interstellar ices available for study. In this paper, we present the results of an extensive and quantitative mid-infrared spectroscopic characterisation of H₂S ices deposited at 20, 40, and 70 K and thermally processed to sublimation in an ultrahigh-vacuum system. We anticipate our results to be useful in confirming the detection of interstellar H₂S ice using high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope, as well as in the identification of solid H₂S in icy environments in the outer Solar System, such as comets and moons.

Keywords: Astrochemistry; H(2)S ice; Infrared spectroscopy; Planetary science; Sulphur chemistry.