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The Facilities of the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory
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Complementary information can be found at the
NASA Ames Laboratory
Astrophysics pages.
The Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory
consists of several facilities that represent a
number of capabilities to study a wide range of
materials under astrophysically relevant
conditions to answer questions related to
Astrophysics and the Planetary Sciences.
Specifically, the capabilities are geared towards
providing the data necessary to analyze and
interpret astronomical and planetary observations
from past, current and future NASA missions.
Many of the activities of the facilities fall
under Laboratory Astrophysics, where some efforts
can be ascribed to the sub-fields of
Astrochemistry, Astrobiology, Astronomy, and
Databases. The facilities of the Astrophysics
& Astrochemistry Laboratory are listed below
with links to pages describing their capabilities
in more detail.
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The NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database / Astronomy
A prominent family of
infrared (IR) emission features discovered
some thirty-five years ago are now
generally attributed to polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs). The features that
comprise this apparently universal spectrum
contain a wealth of information about the
conditions in the emitting regions and the
nature of the PAH carriers. However,
exploitation of these features as
astrophysical and astrochemical probes has
been slow in coming because the IR
properties of PAHs under interstellar
conditions were for a long time largely
unknown and computational tools needed to
provide these data were not yet fully
developed. More...
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ICEE
The ICEE facility is a
unique NASA resource, with the ability to
process samples via UV and electron
radiation while monitoring them with IR,
Raman, and Mass Spectroscopy. More...
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Matrix Isolation / Optical Constants of Ices Lab
The matrix isolation and
optical constants (MIOC) experiment is used
to measure transmission spectra of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
PAH clusters using the matrix isolation
technique and for measuring transmission
spectra of astrophysical ices at realistic
astrophysical temperatures at the first
step for computing the complex index of
refraction (or “optical constants”) for use
in radiative transfer models of
astrophysical phenomena. More...
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I3OLAB
Our laboratory contains three different
cryovacuum systems that are used for: (i)
preparing ices for spectral measurements,
(ii) preparing and irradiating ices to
study ice irradiation chemistry, and (iii)
producing complex organic residues of
astrophysical, astrochemical, and
astrobiological interest via ice
irradiation chemistry for More...
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COSmIC Lab
COSmIC stands for "Cosmic Simulation
Chamber" and was developed to generate,
process and analyze interstellar,
circumstellar, and (exo)planetary analogs
in the laboratory. COSmIC is used to study
neutral and ionized molecules and
nanoparticles and grains under temperature
and vacuum conditions that are
representative of space environments. More...
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Optical Constant Facility for Solid Samples
The NASA Ames Optical Constants Facility
(OCF) was recently developed to
characterize the spectral properties of
non-homogeneous refractory solid samples,
using transmission and reflection measure-
ments, and determine their optical
constants, from the near ultraviolet (NUV)
to far infrared (FIR). More...
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