论文标题
天王星和海王星的大气化学
Atmospheric chemistry on Uranus and Neptune
论文作者
论文摘要
关于天王星和海王星上的大气化学的了解鲜为人知,因为对这些寒冷,遥远的``冰巨人''的遥远光谱观察到了具有挑战性的挑战,并且只有在1980年代的简短飞行中,单个航天器才访问了每个行星。预计热化学平衡可以控制两个行星上大气中更深,更热的区域中的组成,但是不平衡化学过程(例如传输引起的淬火和光化学)会改变可以远程探测的上层大气区域的组成。两个行星之间不平衡化学产品的丰富性差异令人惊讶,这表明大气传输的显着差异。天王星和海王星的大气组成可以为揭开行星形成和进化的细节提供关键的线索,但前提是完全了解了它的方式以及为什么大气成分在三维意义上有所不同,以及从行星外面进来的物质如何影响观察到的丰度。未来的任务计划应考虑到关于天王星和海王星的大气化学反应,尤其是与行星形成和进化有关的问题,以及解决复杂的,耦合的大气过程,这些问题在我们的太阳系及其他地区内运作的冰巨头。
Comparatively little is known about atmospheric chemistry on Uranus and Neptune, because remote spectral observations of these cold, distant ``Ice Giants'' are challenging, and each planet has only been visited by a single spacecraft during brief flybys in the 1980s. Thermochemical equilibrium is expected to control the composition in the deeper, hotter regions of the atmosphere on both planets, but disequilibrium chemical processes such as transport-induced quenching and photochemistry alter the composition in the upper atmospheric regions that can be probed remotely. Surprising disparities in the abundance of disequilibrium chemical products between the two planets point to significant differences in atmospheric transport. The atmospheric composition of Uranus and Neptune can provide critical clues for unravelling details of planet formation and evolution, but only if it is fully understood how and why atmospheric constituents vary in a three-dimensional sense and how material coming in from outside the planet affects observed abundances. Future mission planning should take into account the key outstanding questions that remain unanswered about atmospheric chemistry on Uranus and Neptune, particularly those questions that pertain to planet formation and evolution, and those that address the complex, coupled atmospheric processes that operate on Ice Giants within our solar system and beyond.