LERMA UMR8112

The recent advances in space and ground based telescopes (ALMA, NOEMA…) have allowed the detection of more and more molecules in the gas phase in the coldest regions of the interstellar medium - ISM (star-forming regions, protoplanetary disks…). The puzzling detection of these gaseous species, including small organic molecules, in media where the temperature is very low (~ 10-100 K), is currently a major and still open question, directly linked to the astrochemical richness. Most of the observed molecules are indeed expected to either directly form or accrete on the surface of dust grains, and cannot thermally desorb in the regions where they are detected. Their observation requires thus non-thermal desorption processes, among which the desorption induced by UV or X-ray photons – so-called photodesorption – is a promising candidate. However, its role still needs to be clarified, especially in the case of the desorption of small organics molecules for which both the quantitative yields and the underlying mechanisms are lacking.

I will present the outcomes of recent laboratory astrophysics studies base on the use of the monochromatic and tunable synchrotron radiation, dedicated to understand and quantify the photodesorption processes in both the vacuum UV (7-13,6 eV) and soft X-rays (500 – 1500 eV) energy ranges. The role played by the photon energy and of the molecular ice composition on the desorption yields will be highlighted, and a special focus will be made on the case of photodesorption of complex organics molecules.