ENERGY DISSIPATION OF POSSIBLE TITAN LIGHTNING STROKES AS PRODUCTION MECHANISM FOR PREBIOTIC MOLECULES

摘要

Tokano et al. (2001) performed a detailed study on thunderclouds in Titan's troposphere, and they favor the existence of Titan lightning due to charged clouds causing temporary electric fields sufficiently strong to initiate cloud-to-ground lightning strokes. In the present investigation we estimate the amount of energy dissipation of such cloud-to-ground strokes by electrostatic energy considerations similar to those by Cooray (1997). As lightning strokes produce a transient hot channel in which high-temperature chemistry takes place, various new molecules can be formed. Lightning can be regarded as possible energy source for the formation of some trace species including prebiotic molecules in Titan's troposphere.