Knowledge Bank

In order to determine the column density of a component of an ice from its infrared absorption features, the strengths of these features must be known. The peak positions, widths, profiles, and strengths of a certain ice component ??s infrared absorption features are affected be the overall composition of the ice (Quirico et al. 1999). Many satellites within the solar system have surfaces that are dominated by either N$2$ or H$2$O (Roush 2001). The experiments presented here focus on the near -infrared absorption features of CO, CO$2$, CH$4$, and NH$3$ ($\mu$=10,000-4,000 $cm1$, $\lambda$=1-2.5 $\mu$m) and the effects of diluting these molecules in N$2$ and H$2$O ice (dilution of 5:1). This is a continuation of previous results published by the Astro- and Solar-System Program at UAB by Gerakines et al. (2005). These data may be used to determine ice abundances from observed near-IR spectra or to predict the sizes of near-IR features in astrophysical environments.