Bright Stuff on Ceres = Sulfates and Carbonates on CI Chondrites

Recent reports of the DAWN spacecraft's observations of the surface of Ceres indicate that there are bright areas, which can be explained by large amounts of the Mg sulfate hexahydrate (MgSO46(H2O)), although the identification appears tenuous. There are preliminary indications that water is being evolved from these bright areas, and some have inferred that these might be sites of contemporary hydro-volcanism. A heat source for such modern activity is not obvious, given the small size of Ceres, lack of any tidal forces from nearby giant planets, probable age and presumed bulk composition. We contend that observations of chondritic materials in the lab shed light on the nature of the bright spots on Cere

A Critical Examination of the X-Wind Model for Chondrule and Calcium-rich, Aluminum-rich Inclusion Formation and Radionuclide Production

Meteoritic data, especially regarding chondrules and calcium-rich, aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), and isotopic evidence for short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) in the solar nebula, potentially can constrain how planetary systems form. Intepretation of these data demands an astrophysical model, and the "X-wind" model of Shu et al. (1996) and collaborators has been advanced to explain the origin of chondrules, CAIs and SLRs. It posits that chondrules and CAIs were thermally processed < 0.1 AU from the protostar, then flung by a magnetocentrifugal outflow to the 2-3 AU region to be incorporated into chondrites. Here we critically examine key assumptions and predictions of the X-wind model. We find a number of internal inconsistencies: theory and observation show no solid material exists at 0.1 AU; particles at 0.1 AU cannot escape being accreted into the star; particles at 0.1 AU will collide at speeds high enough to destroy them; thermal sputtering will prevent growth of particles; and launching of particles in magnetocentrifugal outflows is not modeled, and may not be possible. We also identify a number of incorrect predictions of the X-wind model: the oxygen fugacity where CAIs form is orders of magnitude too oxidizing; chondrule cooling rates are orders of magnitude lower than those experienced by barred olivine chondrules; chondrule-matrix complementarity is not predicted; and the SLRs are not produced in their observed proportions. We conclude that the X-wind model is not relevant to chondrule and CAI formation and SLR production. We discuss more plausible models for chondrule and CAI formation and SLR production.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

From Individual to Collective Pinning: Effect of Long-range Elastic Interactions

We study the effect of long-range elastic interactions in the dynamical behavior of an elastic chain driven quasi-statically in a quenched random pinning potential and in the strong pinning limit. This is a generic situation occuring in solid friction, crack propagation, wetting front motion, ... Tuning the exponent of the algebraic decay of the elastic interaction with the distance is shown to give rise to three regimes: a Mean-Field (MF) regime, a Laplacian (L) regime and an intermediate regime where the critical exponents interpolate continuously between the MF and L limit cases. The effect of the driving mode on the avalanche statistics is also analyzed.Comment: 28 pages in RevTex, 17 figure

Overview of the results of the organics PET Study of the cometary samples returned from comet Wild 2 by the Stardust mission

This presenation will provide an overview of the efforts and results produced by the Organics Preliminary Examination Team during their studies of the samples returned from comet Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft

26Al kinematics: superbubbles following the spiral arms? : Constraints from the statistics of star clusters and HI supershells

High energy resolution spectroscopy of the 1.8 MeV radioactive decay line of 26Al with the SPI instrument on board the INTEGRAL satellite has recently revealed that diffuse 26Al has large velocities in comparison to other components of the interstellar medium in the Milky Way. 26Al shows Galactic rotation in the same sense as the stars and other gas tracers, but reaches excess velocities up to 300 km s−1Peer reviewe

Characterising the CI and CI-like carbonaceous chondrites using thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy

The CI and CI-like chondrites provide a record of aqueous alteration in the early solar system. However, the CI-like chondrites differ in having also experienced a late stage period of thermal metamorphism. In order to constrain the nature and extent of the aqueous and thermal alteration, we have investigated the bulk mineralogy and abundance of H2O in the CI and CI-like chondrites using thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The CI chondrites Ivuna and Orgueil show significant mass loss (28.5–31.8 wt.%) upon heating to 1000 °C due to dehydration and dehydroxylation of abundant phyllosilicates and Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and the decomposition of Fe-sulphides, carbonates and organics. Infrared spectra for Ivuna and Orgueil have a prominent 3-μm feature due to bound −OH/H2O in phyllosilicates and Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and only a minor 11-μm feature from anhydrous silicates. These characteristics are consistent with previous studies indicating that the CI chondrites underwent near-complete aqueous alteration. Similarities in the total abundance of H2O and 3 μm/11 μm ratio suggest that there is no difference in the relative degree of hydration experienced by Ivuna and Orgueil. In contrast, the CI-like chondrites Y-82162 and Y-980115 show lower mass loss (13.8–18.8 wt.%) and contain >50 % less H2O than the CI chondrites. The 3-μm feature is almost absent from spectra of Y-82162 and Y-980115 but the 11-μm feature is intense. The CI-like chondrites experienced thermal metamorphism at temperatures >500 °C that initially caused dehydration and dehydroxylation of phyllosilicates before partial recrystallization back into anhydrous silicates. The surfaces of many C-type asteroids were probably heated through impact metamorphism and/or solar radiation, so thermally altered carbonaceous chondrites are likely good analogues for samples that will be returned by the Hayabusa-2 and OSIRIS-REx missions

Surprising Sun

Important revisions of the solar model ingredients appear after 35 years of intense work which have led to an excellent agreement between solar models and solar neutrino detections. We first show that the updated CNO composition suppresses the anomalous position of the Sun in the known galactic enrichment. The following law: He/H= 0.075 + 44.6 O/H in fraction number is now compatible with all the indicators. We then examine the existing discrepancies between the standard model and solar - seismic and neutrino - observations and suggest some directions of investigation to solve them. We update our predicted neutrino fluxes using the recent composition, new nuclear reaction rates and seismic models as the most representative of the central plasma properties. We get 5.31 +- 0.6 10^6/cm^{2}/s for the total ^8B neutrinos, 66.5 SNU and 2.76 SNU for the gallium and chlorine detectors, all in remarquable agreement with the detected values including neutrino oscillations for the last two. We conclude that the acoustic modes and detected neutrinos see the same Sun, but that clear discrepancies in solar modelling encourage further observational and theoretical efforts.Comment: 4 pages 3 figures Submitted to Phys. Rev. let