Source of Nitrogen Isotope Anomaly in HCN in the Atmosphere of Titan | Zendy

MaoChang Liang | Zendy; A. N. Heays | Zendy; B. R. Lewis | Zendy; S. T. Gibson | Zendy; Yuk L. Yung | Zendy

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Source of Nitrogen Isotope Anomaly in HCN in the Atmosphere of Titan

Author(s) -

MaoChang Liang,

A. N. Heays,

B. R. Lewis,

S. T. Gibson,

Yuk L. Yung

Publication year - 2007

Publication title -

the astrophysical journal

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 2.376

H-Index - 489

eISSN - 1538-4357

pISSN - 0004-637X

DOI - 10.1086/520881

Subject(s) - photodissociation , titan (rocket family) , physics , atmosphere (unit) , nitrogen , isotope , atmosphere of titan , atomic physics , flux (metallurgy) , mixing ratio , analytical chemistry (journal) , atmospheric sciences , astrobiology , photochemistry , chemistry , nuclear physics , meteorology , environmental chemistry , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry

The ^(14)N/^(15)N ratio for N_2 in the atmosphere of Titan was recently measured to be a factor of 2 higher than the corresponding ratio for HCN. Using a one-dimensional photochemical model with transport, we incorporate new isotopic photoabsorption and photodissociation cross sections of N_2, computed quantum-mechanically, and show that the difference in the ratio of ^(14)N/^(15)N between N_2 and HCN can be explained primarily by the photolytic fractionation of ^(14)N^(14)N and ^(14)N ^(15)N. The [HC^(14)N]/[HC^(15)N] ratio produced by N_2 photolysis alone is 23. This value, together with the observed ratio, constrains the flux of atomic nitrogen input from the top of the atmosphere to be in the range (1-2) × 10^9 atoms cm^(-2) s^(-1).

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