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[18.03] Search for Cyclopropenyl Ion Emissions in the Jovian Aurorae with IRTF/CSHELL Observations

K. D. Retherford, G. R. Gladstone, E. F. Young (Southwest Research Institute)

NASA IRTF/CSHELL observations of Jupiter�s IR emissions in bandpass 3.18 - 3.21 \mu m were obtained to search for emissions from a molecular hydrocarbon ion - cyclopropenyl, c-C₃H₃⁺. The thermospheric abundance of this ion is unknown. The effects of auroral ion deposition on the chemistry of Jupiter�s upper atmosphere were recently investigated by Gladstone et al. 2000, who found that the cyclopropenyl ion is a stable end product to the reactions that likely form soot and thus haze in Jupiter�s stratosphere. Cyclopropenyl's role in auroral chemistry is therefore potentially important, yet poorly studied. Our spectroscopic search for molecular c-C₃H₃⁺ emissions were enabled by recent determination of the vibrational energy levels and IR intensity of this molecule. Two half nights of CSHELL observations on 7 - 8 December 2003 were used to obtain spatially resolved long slit spectra of northern and southern auroral regions with resolving power ~ 43,000 using a 0.5 arcsec wide by 30 arcsec long slit. Five H₃⁺ emission lines in this spectral range were readily identified. We report results from our preliminary analysis.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #4
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.