On water ice formation in interstellar clouds

Abstract

A model is proposed for the formation of water ice mantles on grains in interstellar clouds. This occurs by direct accretion of monomers from the gas, be they formed by gas or surface reactions. The model predicts the existence of a threshold in interstellar light extinction, A(v), which is mainly determined by the adsorption energy of water molecules on the grain material; for hydrocarbon material, chemical simulation places this energy between 0.5 and 2 kcal/mole, which sets the visible exctinction threshold at a few magnitudes, as observed. Once the threshold is crossed, all available water molecules in the gas are quickly adsorbed, forming an ice mantle, because the grain cools down and the adsorption energy on ice is higher than on bare grain. The model also predicts that the thickness of the mantle, and, hence, the optical thickness at 3 mu, grow linearly with A(v), as observed, with a slope which depends upon the total amount of water in the gas. Chemical simulation was also used to determine the adsorption sites and energies of O and OH on hydrocarbons, and study the dynamics of formation of water molecules by surface reactions with gaseous H atoms, as well as their chances of sticking in situ.