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D. E. Woon (Molecular Research Institute)
A new model for describing the chemical growth of aerosol particles in Titan's atmosphere in under development. It is intended to bridge the gap between existing gas phase chemical network models that predict mixing ratios as a function of altitude and physical models that predict albedo and other physical properties of Titan haze. The rudimentary initial model for Titan tholin growth focuses on the addition of ethynyl radicals to several possible nuclei, including linear polyynes and cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene. The model utilizes a rule set that describes outcomes for an extended sequence of collisions between a test particle and ethynyl radicals. The outcome probabilities are based in part on product branching ratios determined via ab initio quantum chemistry and kinetic rate theory. Predictions include infrared spectra averaged over both the growth cycles of individual test particles as well the full set of simulation runs.
This work was supported in part by the NASA Exobiology program (NAG 2-1396).
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