Context. Infrared observations of water ice in the interstellar medium are hindered by uncertainties in the band strength, density, and porosity, which introduce considerable errors in the estimated column density of the ice on a line of sight. Aims. We revise the infrared band strength values and band positions of water ice grown under simulated interstellar conditions at different deposition and warm-up temperatures. We also explore other physical ice parameters: density, refractive index, and porosity. Methods. We grew water ice in simulated interstellar conditions in ultra-high vacuum with temperatures between 10 and 150 K. We used infrared spectroscopy and laser interferometry to obtain updated values for the band strengths. With these updated values, we calculated and report the density, refractive index, porosity, and infrared band position for water ice. Results. Previous measurements of these properties were inaccurate because ice was considered non-porous. Our results show that the band strength for the O-H stretching vibration varies significantly with deposition temperature and should not be considered constant. There is also measurable variation of the band strength during the warm-up of the ice after deposition. Conclusions. Previous ice density values were overestimated due to inaccurate band strengths and the omission of porosity, which can only be considered negligible at very slow growth rates and deposition temperatures close to sublimation. The infrared band position shifts with varying porosity.

Context. Comets are small celestial bodies made of ice, dust, and rock that orbit the Sun. Understanding their behavior as they warm up at perihelion unveils many pieces of information about the interior and general morphology of the ices hidden under the dust. Aims. The goal of this research is to study the sublimation of CH4 through amorphous solid water (ASW), with a focus on the structural changes in water and the influence of a layer of indene (as a proxy of the crust) during a period of thermal processing, which we use in a controlled laboratory setting to simulate cometary environments. Methods. Ices at a CH4/H2O abundance ratio of about 0.01 are deposited and layered, or co-deposited, at 30 K and are heated until 200 K (or 140 K) with a ramp of either 1 or 5 K min-1. We use mass spectrometry and infrared spectroscopy to analyze the results. Results. Depending on the heating ramp and type of deposition, the sublimation of methane through ASW varies, being lower in intensity and higher in temperature when the co-deposited structure is considered. When two temperature cycles are applied, the second one sees less intense CH4 desorptions. When indene is placed above the ice mixtures, we find that the thicker its layer, the later the methane desorption. However, this later desorption sees a greater quantity of methane released due to water reorganization and higher desorbed material pressure. Conclusions. The structural changes of water ice drive volatile and hyper-volatile desorption because of the transition from high to low intrinsic density and transformation from amorphous to crystalline. This desorption indicates that such material has been deposited at low temperatures in agreement with previous theories on cometary ices formed in the pre-stellar cloud. During the two temperature cycles of our experiments, most of the released material is seen to be pristine and the processed part, if any, is of a negligible quantity, in agreement with dust-rock cometary studies.

Context. The diffusion of volatile species on amorphous solid water ice affects the chemistry on dust grains in the interstellar medium as well as the trapping of gases enriching planetary atmospheres or present in cometary material. Aims. The aim of the work is to provide diffusion coefficients of CH4 on amorphous solid water (ASW) and to understand how they are affected by the ASW structure. Methods. Ice mixtures of H2O and CH4 were grown in different conditions and the sublimation of CH4 was monitored via infrared spectroscopy or via the mass loss of a cryogenic quartz crystal microbalance. Diffusion coefficients were obtained from the experimental data assuming the systems obey Fick's law of diffusion. Monte Carlo simulations were used to model the different amorphous solid water ice structures investigated and were used to reproduce and interpret the experimental results. Results. Diffusion coefficients of methane on amorphous solid water have been measured to be between 10-12 and 10-13 cm2 s-1 for temperatures ranging between 42 K and 60 K. We show that diffusion can differ by one order of magnitude depending on the morphology of amorphous solid water. The porosity within water ice and the network created by pore coalescence enhance the diffusion of species within the pores. The diffusion rates derived experimentally cannot be used in our Monte Carlo simulations to reproduce the measurements. Conclusions. We conclude that Fick's laws can be used to describe diffusion at the macroscopic scale, while Monte Carlo simulations describe the microscopic scale where trapping of species in the ices (and their movement) is considered.