Chemistry of Temperate Exoplanet Hazes from the Laboratory

Little experimental work has been done to explore the properties of photochemical hazes formed in exoplanets, despite their role in atmospheric chemistry and their subsequent possible impact on observations. I will present results of the composition of haze particles produced from exoplanet laboratory studies in the JHU PHAZER laboratory. Post-haze production, we used very high resolution mass spectrometry to measure the chemical components of the solid particles. Many complex molecular species with general chemical formulae CwHxNyOz were detected. Molecular formulae of interest in the data include those with prebiotic implications, including amino acids, nucleobases, and simple sugars. Additionally, the experimental exoplanetary haze analogues exhibit diverse solubility characteristics, which may provide insight into the possibility of further chemical or physical alteration of photochemical hazes in exoplanet atmospheres. These laboratory particles can help us better understand chemical processes happening in exo-atmospheres and suggest a possible source of prebiotic chemistry on distant worlds.