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The Facilities of the Astrophysics & Astrochemistry Laboratory

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.

 
The NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database / Astronomy

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...
ICEE

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...
Matrix Isolation / Optical Constants of Ices Lab

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...
I3OLAB

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...