VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET AND INFRARED SPECTRA OF CONDENSED METHYL ACETATE ON COLD ASTROCHEMICAL DUST ANALOGS

Following the recent report of the first identification of methyl acetate (CH3COOCH3) in the interstellar medium (ISM), we have carried out vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies on methyl acetate from 10 K until sublimation in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber simulating astrochemical conditions. We present the first VUV and IR spectra of methyl acetate relevant to ISM conditions. Spectral signatures clearly showed molecular reorientation to have started in the ice by annealing the amorphous ice formed at 10 K. An irreversible phase change from amorphous to crystalline methyl acetate ice was found to occur between 110 K and 120 K.