A novel organic-rich meteoritic clast from the outer solar system

The Zag meteorite which is a thermally-metamorphosed H ordinary chondrite contains a primitive xenolitic clast that was accreted to the parent asteroid after metamorphism. The cm-sized clast contains abundant large organic grains or aggregates up to 20μm in phyllosilicate-rich matrix. Here we report organic and isotope analyses of a large (~10μm) OM aggregate in the Zag clast. The X-ray micro-spectroscopic technique revealed that the OM aggregate has sp2 dominated hydrocarbon networks with a lower abundance of heteroatoms than in IOM from primitive (CI,CM,CR) carbonaceous chondrites, and thus it is distinguished from most of the OM in carbonaceous meteorites. The OM aggregate has high D/H and 15N/14N ratios (δD=2,370±74‰ and δ15N=696±100‰), suggesting that it originated in a very cold environment such as the interstellar medium or outer region of the solar nebula, while the OM is embedded in carbonate-bearing matrix resulting from aqueous activities. Thus, the high D/H ratio must have been preserved during the extensive late-stage aqueous processing. It indicates that both the OM precursors and the water had high D/H ratios. Combined with 16O-poor nature of the clast, the OM aggregate and the clast are unique among known chondrite groups. We further propose that the clast possibly originated from D/P type asteroids or trans-Neptunian Objects

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Phosphorus availability in chicken manure is lower with increased stockpiling period, despite a larger orthophosphate content

Background and aims: The relative proportions of phosphorus (P) forms present in manure will determine the overall availability of manure P to plants; however, the link between the forms of P in manures and manure P availability is unclear. This study compares the bioavailability and P speciation of three manures of different stockpiling duration: less than 1 month, 6 months and 12 months; manures were collected concurrently from a single poultry farm. Methods: Bioavailability to wheat in a glasshouse trial was measured using an isotopic dilution method with manure added at an application rate equivalent to 20 kg P ha-1. Phosphorus speciation was measured by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic analysis of NaOH-EDTA extracts of the manures. Results: The addition of all manures significantly increased shoot biomass and P concentration, with the fresh manure having the greatest effect. Addition of the fresh manure resulted in the largest labile P pool, highest manure P uptake and manure P recovery, while the manure stockpiled for 12 months resulted in the lowest manure P uptake and manure P recovery. NMR analysis indicated that there was more monoester organic P, especially phytate, in manure stockpiled for shorter periods, while the proportion of manure P that was orthophosphate increased with stockpiling time. Conclusions: Together, these results imply that although the proportion of total P in the manures detected as orthophosphate was higher with longer stockpiling, only a fraction of this orthophosphate was plant-available. This suggests the availability of P from orthophosphate in manures decreases with longer stockpiling time in much the same way that P from orthophosphate in mineral fertilizer becomes less available in soil over time. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.C. A. E. Peirce, R. J. Smernik, T. M. McBeat