Rotationally resolved IR spectroscopy of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) C₆N₄H₁₂

Olivier Pirali (1, 2) , Vincent Boudon (3) , Nathalie Carrasco (4, 5) , Emmanuel Dartois (6)

1 ISMO - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay
2 SSOLEIL - Synchrotron SOLEIL
3 ICB - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Carnot de Bourgogne
4 PLANETO - LATMOS
5 IUF - Institut universitaire de France
6 IAS - Institut d'astrophysique spatiale

Hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) appears to be a potential constituent of several objects in space, including comets or Titan's atmosphere and, as an organic residue of ice irradiation in the laboratory, it may be present in the interstellar medium. Aims. We performed a laboratory study of rotationally resolved intense IR bands of HMT to provide accurate line positions and synthetic spectra to be used for potential astronomical detections. Methods. We used synchrotron-based high-resolution Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to record the experimental data. A formalism and programs dedicated to the assignment, analysis, and simulation of absorption spectra of tetrahedral molecules were used to exploit the spectra. Results. Infrared spectra of gas phase HMT were recorded and accurate wavenumbers and molecular parameters for four intense bands located in the 1000-1500 cm⁻¹ spectral range suitable for astronomical searches were derived.

Mots clés: Interstellar medium; Titan' atmosphere; Molecular data; Hexamethylenetetramine; HMT; C6N4H12; Ice irradiation organic residue; High resolution infrared spectroscopy

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]

Olivier Pirali, Vincent Boudon, Nathalie Carrasco, Emmanuel Dartois. Rotationally resolved IR spectroscopy of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) C₆N₄H₁₂. Astronomy and Astrophysics - A&A, 2014, 561, pp.A109. ⟨10.1051/0004-6361/201322660⟩. ⟨hal-00921896⟩