Infrared studies at the ice laboratory of Alcoy

At present, there are few laboratory spectra of analogs of astrophysical interest in the far-infrared range (FIR). Laboratory infrared (IR) spectra of simple ices and its mixtures obtained at low temperature and pressure are found mainly up to 25 μm, and few up to 200 μm. On the other hand, there are some spectra for carbonaceous material and silicates up to 2000 μm. Our laboratory is equipped with an IR spectrometer that integrates a Michelson interferometer with a resolution better than 0.25 cm−1 and that operates under vacuum conditions of 10−1 mbar. There is also a silicon bolometer, a very high-sensitivity detector in comparison with the standard deuterated triglycine sulfate (DTGS) detectors. The use of the bolometer and the possibility of working under vacuum conditions inside the optics and the sample compartment of the spectrometer allow obtaining high-sensitivity spectra free from H2O vapor and CO2 gas bands. Those conditions are necessary to obtain high-quality spectra in the FIR where absorption bands are much less intense than those in the mid-IR region. In our laboratory there is also a high-vacuum chamber that allows different studies on ices deposited onto a cold finger. We have already carried out experiments on the study of ice density as a function of temperature, UV irradiation of ices, temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) and UV–vis reflectance. In this work, we present the design of the experimental setup we are building to carry out different experiments simultaneously on the same ice sample, including spectra measurements in the mid-IR range (MIR) and the FIR. This design integrates jointly the IR spectrometer, the high-vacuum chamber and the silicon bolometer. Lastly, we show a spectrum we have obtained of a solid of astrophysical interest such as crystalline forsterite grains by using the polyethylene pellet technique.