Laboratory simulation of cycling of organics in space

INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Napoli, Italy

Abstract

Dust grains evolve during their lifetime. The chemical and physical composition of grains is determined by processes such as exposure to heat, shocks, gas, UV photons and cosmic rays. The degree of processing varies with the environments, determining different grain properties in different regions of space. In the case of organics, laboratory studies have provided a unifying interpretation of how they appear in the main phases of their evolution in space.