The following document lists the file abstract/WSCHUTTE_DILWATER.abs
from catalogue VI/111.
A plain copy of the file
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We propose to search for the features of H2O diluted in apolar ice towards sources obscured by dense clouds. The positions of these features are highly characteristic of the nature of the ice matrix, and a comparison of the observed spectra with laboratory data is therefore likely to provide important clues as to the chemical composition and morphological structure of interstellar ice mantles. The observation of such diluted H2O bands would be an excellent probe of the presence of infrared-inactive molecules like O2 and N2, which have been predicted to be abundant in interstellar ices. Information obtained in this manner could lead to a better understanding of the various processes shaping the icy grain mantles in dense clouds, such as the cloud's chemical evolution and gas-grain interactions through accretion and mantle desorption processes. ISO represents the perfect opportunity to observe the features of diluted H2O ice, since they fall in the spectral regions dominated by gas-phase telluric water (2.65 - 2.8 microns and 5.73 - 6.58 microns) and are therefore unobservable with ground-based telescopes. These observations are intended to form a complementary data set to central program proposals (e.g. DWHITTET_ICE_BAND), filling up some major gaps with respect to wavelength coverage and object variety.