Research Projects

The Rosetta mission of the European Space Agency has reported spectroscopic evidence of ammonium salts on Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimento. The major channel for the formation of these salts is believed to be the reaction between ammonia and acid molecules during the early stages of the solar system formation. This project aims to study these reactions at the molecular level, using superfluid helium nanodroplets as a suitable medium for studying molecular aggregation processes and chemical reactions. The researchers propose to spectroscopically study the various pathways leading to the formation of ammonium salts from individual ammonia and acid (HCl) molecules in conditions similar to the interstellar medium. Mass-selective IR-spectroscopic measurements will be carried out, providing information on molecular evolution in the primordial solar system. To study these phenomena, a helium nanodroplet spectrometer will be built at IIT Kanpur, which will be the first in Asia and one of the 15 such spectrometers in the world. Purchase orders for most of the equipment needed to generate the helium nanodroplets have been issued. The spectrometer will be coupled to a high-resolution mid-infrared laser, facilitating spectroscopic studies of molecular aggregates inside helium nanodroplets. Partial funding for the purchase of the laser is being requested in this proposal.

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