The report contained herein is a statistical analysis of electron temperatures withinTitan’s lower ionosphere. Electron temperatures in this altitudinal range are of greatimport for researchers. The main contributing factors are investigated to see whatphysical processes are the sources of variability in electron temperatures. Oneimportant result from this analysis lends itself to determining recombinationcoefficients thus determining organic process rates occurring within Titan’satmosphere. To accomplish this analysis, data from the Langmuir probe aboard the Cassini craft isutilized. The Langmuir probe is an instrument which can be used to measure currentdifferences in a plasma environment. From this, plasma properties such astemperature, density, and velocity can be calculated. It was named after IrvingLangmuir, whose theories became the basis for Orbit Motion Limited theory. Of the possible factors that determine the variation in electron temperatures, altitudewas the most evident and largest contributor. Once the data had been reduced toremove the effect of altitude on the temperature, other factors such as latitude, solarzenith angle, and ram angle were investigated to ascertain which, if any, wasresponsible for variations in temperature. Upon completion of the analysis, it waslearned that ram angle also had an identifiable effect upon electron temperatures. This effect was further investigated to ensure confidence in the results. Thecompletion of this part of the analysis showed that the effect shown with respect toram angle was indeed reproducible and that no other investigated factor had a majoreffect on electron temperatures. After the confidence procedure was completed,several previous studies findings were confirmed. These confirmed results include therelation of solar zenith angle with respect to both electron temperature distributionand density distribution, as well as a possible confirmation relating temperature anddensity for electrons.n/

<p>Bilaga: 1 CD</p>

Zugl.: Mainz, Univ., Diss., 2009

Chemnitz-Zwickau, Techn. Univ., Diss., 1996.

Chemnitz, Techn. Univ., Diss., 1997.

Ulm, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Göttingen, Univ., Diss., 2003. / Computerdatei im Fernzugriff.

Göttingen, University, Diss., 2003.

Depuis l’obtention des premiers résultats de la mission Cassini Huygens, les aérosols de Titan présentent un intérêt astrobiologique car leur caractérisation permet d'évaluer la chimie prébiotique qui a eu lieu sur la Terre primitive. Mieux comprendre les propriétés physico-chimiques des aérosols de Titan est important pour les scientifiques. Le laboratoire via l'analyse des propriétés des tholins (l'analogue des aérosols de Titan) permet de surmonter les difficultés d’analyser les aérosols de Titan directement. Dans ce travail de thèse, l'objet de la recherche est l’analyse des tholins produits par l’expérience PAMPRE. La technique d’analyse Pyr-GC-MS a été utilisée pour caractériser la composition et la structure de tholins. La stabilité thermique et le changement des propriétés en fonction de la température ont été réalisés par l'étude de la dégradation thermique. Enfin, l'évolution des aérosols organiques après leur précipitation sur la surface de Titan a également été étudiée selon la méthode GC-MS d’analyse des tholins. Les résultats obtenus peuvent être utilisés pour interpréter les données recueillies par des observations de Titan de la terre ou par la sonde Cassini-Huygens, afin de mieux caractériser le satellite et son évolution. / Since the achievement of the first results from the Cassini Huygens mission, Titan’s aerosols present an astrobiological interest as their characterization enables to evaluate the prebiotic chemistry that occurred on the primitive Earth. To better understand the physical chemistry of the aerosols of Titan is important for scientists. The laboratory via analyzing the properties of tholins (analogues of Titan’s aerosols) overcomes the difficulties for analyzing Titan’s aerosols directly. In this thesis work, the research object is tholins produced by the PAMPRE experiment. Pyr-GC-MS analysis technique was used to characterize the composition and structure of tholins. The thermal stability and the properties change with the temperature have been realized by thermal degradation study. Finally, the evolution of organic aerosols after precipitation on the surface of Titan was also investigated through GC-MS analysis of tholins. The results obtained can be used to interpret data collected by observations of Titan from Earth or by the Cassini-Huygens probe, to better characterize the satellite and its evolution.

The arrival of the Cassini-Huygens mission to the Saturn system ushered in a new era in the study of Titan. Armed with a variety of instruments capable of remote sensing and in situ investigations of Titan's atmosphere and surface, Cassini and Huygens have provided a wealth of new information about Titan and have finally allowed humankind to see its surface. This work focuses on two discoveries made by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS): the detection of oxygen ions (O<super>+</super>) precipitating into Titan's atmosphere (Hartle et al., 2006) and the discovery of very large positive (Waite et al., 2007; Crary et al., 2009) and negative ions (Coates et al., 2007, 2009) present in Titan's thermosphere.Through the use of a photochemical model, I demonstrate that the observed densities of CO, CO₂ and H₂O can be explained by a combination of O and OH or H₂O input to the upper atmosphere. Given the detection of O<super>+</super> precipitation into Titan's upper atmosphere, it is no longer necessary to invoke outgassing from Titan's interior as a source for atmospheric CO or to assume that the observed CO is the remnant of a larger primordial abundance in Titan's atmosphere. Instead, it is most likely that the oxygen bearing species in Titan's atmosphere are the result of external input, most likely from Enceladus.I have also used very high resolution mass spectrometry to investigate the com- position of Titan aerosol analogues, or "tholins". Although there are an enormous number of molecules present in tholin samples, they exhibit numerous patterns, in- cluding very regular spectral spacing. These patterns may help constrain the com- position of the very large ions observed in the CAPS spectra, since the resolution of the instrument makes identification of the molecules impossible. Additionally, tholins produced with CO possess molecules of prebiotic interest, including all 5 nucleotide bases and the 2 smallest amino acids (glycine and alanine). This indicates that chemistry occurring in Titan's upper atmosphere may be capable of forming incredibly complex organic molecules, which may have implications for the origin of life on Earth and elsewhere in the universe.