Enhancement of deuterated ethane on Jupiter

Abstract

We report laboratory measurements of cross sections of CH_3D and C_2H_5D in the extreme ultraviolet. The results are incorporated in a photochemical model for the deuterated hydrocarbons up to C_2 in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, taking into account the fast reactions for exchanging H and D atoms between H_2 and CH_4, H + HD ↔ D + H_2, CH_3 + D ↔ CH_2D + H. Since there is no reliable kinetics measurement for the reaction, CH_2D + H → CH_3 + D, we use Yung et al.'s estimate for its rate constant. The strong temperature dependence for this reaction leads to large isotopic fractionation for CH_3D and C_2H_5D in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter, where their production rates depend on the abundance of deuterated methyl radical. The model predicts that the D/H ratio in deuterated ethane is about 15 times that of the bulk atmosphere. A confirmation of this result would provide a sensitive test of the photochemistry of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of Jupiter.