IONTRAP
Financiado
Investigating Ortho-para coNversion of TRihydrogen cAtion in sPace
The simplest polyatomic molecule, trihydrogen cation, serves as a useful benchmark for fundamental quantum chemistry and has profoundly impacted astronomy. It was first detected in the interstellar medium in 1996, and has been rec...
The simplest polyatomic molecule, trihydrogen cation, serves as a useful benchmark for fundamental quantum chemistry and has profoundly impacted astronomy. It was first detected in the interstellar medium in 1996, and has been recognized for its pivotal role as a universal proton donor and an initiator of ion-molecule chemistry producing many of the molecules detected in space.
Interstellar chemistry is an exciting chemical playground of thermodynamics and kinetics as the molecules can require up to days or even weeks to reach thermal equilibrium in the low-density cold environments. A longstanding astrochemical conundrum has been the population distribution between the two nuclear spin modifications of trihydrogen cation, ortho and para, as it has important implications for its use as a cosmic ray ionization probe. In reactions involving identical particles/fermions, like trihydrogen cation, restrictions are introduced due to the Pauli principle which can significantly increase the time required to reach a thermal equilibrium. This makes the chemistry, especially the kinetics, of the ubiquitous trihydrogen cation in these regions both exciting and challenging to understand in our terrestrial laboratories.
Here, I propose to use a cryogenic ion trap to isolate the nuclear spin states of trihydrogen cation which is the first of its kind for a polyatomic molecule recently developed in the host’s group. Beyond the intriguing fundamental chemical physics of this system, isolation of the nuclear spin states will be exploited to study the quantum state-specific kinetics down to 10 K for the reaction between molecular hydrogen and trihydrogen cation which is one of the most common bimolecular reactions in the universe. Performing these challenging measurements with a critical impact on our understanding of astrophysical processes will not only increase my skill set but also contribute towards my position as an emerging leader in astrochemistry.
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Duración del proyecto: 26 meses
Fecha Inicio: 2023-09-25
Fecha Fin: 2025-11-30
Fecha Fin: 2025-11-30
Línea de financiación: concedida
El organismo HORIZON EUROPE notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2023-09-25
Línea de financiación objetivo
El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01:
MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022
Cerrada
hace 2 años
Presupuesto
El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a
190K€
Líder del proyecto
UNIVERSITAT ZU KOLN
No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5