Emission of molecular fragments synthesized in hypervelocity nanoparticle impacts

We report on experiments with Au_n nanoparticles (100 ≤ n ≤ 400) at velocities of 10-60 km/s. They are implanted virtually intact via hydrodynamic penetration. The products of the extreme pressure transient are observed by mass analyzing the ionized ejecta. Targets of labeled molecules (¹³C-, ¹⁵N-glycine) reveal fragmentation-recombination processes, producing CN^- and OCN^- with high efficiency (45%). This value is over two orders of magnitude larger than that obtained with atomic and small cluster projectiles. The experiments could simulate collisions of nanosized dust particles in interstellar space.