Employing Soft X-rays in Experimental Astrochemistry
  The presence of soft x-rays is very important for the chemical evolution of interstellar medium and other astrophysical environments close to young and bright stars. Soft X-rays can penetrate deep in molecular clouds and protostellar disks and trigger chemistry in regions in which UV stellar photons do not reach. The effects of soft X-rays in astrophysical ices are also remarkable because they release secondary electrons in and on the surface of the ices, which trigger a new set or chemical reactions. In this chapter we will discuss firstly about the origin and relevance of soft X-rays in astrophysics. Next we will move to the effect of ionizing radiation in organic molecules present in astrophysical environment. We will discuss the use soft X-rays in astrochemistry laboratory studies at both gas- and solid-phase (ice). We will make a review covering our publications in this field, in particular, about the experiments employing time-of-flight spectroscopy (TOF-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and photon stimulated ion desorption (PSID-TOF-MS). This study help us to understand the chemical evolution several astrophysical regions and also put constrains in the researches related with the life's origin. 
Sergio Pilling (1) and Diana P. P. Andrade (1) ((1) UNIVAP -   Universidade do Vale do Paraiba, Brazil)
astro-ph.IM astro-ph.HE physics.chem-ph