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[12.12] Organo-Nitrogen Reactions on Jupiter

V. L. Lamothe (SUNY Buffalo), J. I. Moses (LPI)

Because the altitude regions for CH₄ and NH₃ photodissociation are physically separated from each other in the Jovian atmosphere, the possibility of forming organo-nitrogen compounds on Jupiter has been an uncertain problem [1,2,3,4,5]. Carbon- and nitrogen-bearing species do not interact significantly in laboratory experiments involving ultraviolet irradiation of CH₄-NH₃-H₂ mixtures [6,7]. However, HCN and a variety of complex organo-nitrogen molecules are produced when methane in the above experiments is replaced by unsaturated hydrocarbons such as C₂H₂ or CH₃C₂H [8,9]. To determine the formation efficiency of organo-nitrogen compounds on Jupiter, we have added the reaction schemes proposed by [3,8,9] to a photochemical model of the Jovian troposphere and stratosphere. We find that HCN does not form in observable quantities unless a large tropospheric source of C₂H₂ exists (e.g., via lightning-induced chemistry, see [10]). Organo-nitrogen reactions are unlikely to be important on Jupiter --- chromophores are most likely due to inorganic compounds. References:\/ [1] Strobel, D. F. (1973), J. Atmos. Sci.\ 30, 1205; [2] Kaye, J. A., and D. F. Strobel (1983a), Icarus\ 55, 399; [3] Kaye, J. A., and D. F. Strobel (1983b), Icarus\ 54, 417; [4] Tokunaga, A. T. et al.\/ (1981), Icarus\ 48, 283; [5] Bézard, B. et al.\/ (1995), Icarus\ 118, 384; [6] Raulin, F. et al. (1979), Icarus\ 38, 358; [7] Ferris, J. P., and J. Y. Morimoto (1981), Icarus\ 48, 118; [8] Ferris, J. P., and Y. Ishikawa (1988), J. Am. Chem. Soc.\ 110, 4306; [9] Ferris, J. et\ al.\/ (1992), Icarus\ 95, 54; [10] Bétremieux, Y., and R. V. Yelle (1999), BAAS\ 31, 1180.