Implantation of carbon and nitrogen ions in water ice

Solid surfaces of atmosphereless objects in the Solar System are continuously irradiated by energetic ions (from solar wind and flares, planetary magnetospheres, and cosmic rays). Reactive ions (e.g., H, C, N, O, S) induce all of the effects of any other ion including the synthesis of molecular species originally not present in the target. In addition, these ions have a chance, by implantation in the target, of forming new species containing the projectile. An ongoing research program performed at our laboratory aims at investigating the implantation of reactive ions in many relevant ices (and mixtures) by using IR spectroscopy. Here we present new results obtained by implanting carbon and nitrogen ions in water ice at 16 and 77 K. Carbon implantation produces carbon dioxide and the production yield has been measured. Nitrogen implantation does not produce any N-bearing species detectable by IR spectroscopy. Both ions are also capable of synthesizing hydrogen peroxide at the two investigated temperatures. We show that, although a relevant quantity of CO₂ can be formed by C implantation in the icy jovian moons, this is not the dominant formation mechanism of carbon dioxide.