Project 24:
The spectroscopic features of the molecules that make up the surfaces of planetary bodies in the outer solar system have not been entirely characterized, but this information is needed to fully understand observational data. One intriguing piece of information is the discovery that the fundamental vibrational transition in carbon monoxide (CO) appears to be concentration dependent. This project will use computational techniques to predict the energy of this transition and correlate it with the environment of the molecule. We will work in close collaboration with laboratory and observational planetary scientists to connect our theoretical results with their data. Successful completion of the project will explain the physical origins of this phenomena and possibly provide a way to use distant observational data to make detailed predictions about planetary surface compositions.
The student will learn to perform physics-based computational chemistry calculations to predict vibrational spectra of small molecules. These calculations will be applied to the individual molecule and clusters of molecules to understand the effect of environment on this spectral feature. The student would be expected to work about 10 hours per week.
At the end of the year, I would expect the student to have generated data that will contribute to a planned publication describing CO ices and to present at the annual NAU Undergraduate Research Symposium. There are also informal weekly team meetings that the student will attend and participate in.