123 research outputs found
The hydrogen isotopic composition of fossil micrometeorites: Implications for the origin of water on Earth.
Accepted versio
Cross sections relevant to gamma-ray line emission in solar flares:He-induced reactions on O nuclei
Gamma-ray production cross sections have been measured for gamma-ray lines
copiously emitted in the He bombardment of O nuclei: the 937, 1042
and 1081 keV lines of F and the 1887 keV line of Ne. Four Ge
detectors with BGO shielding for Compton suppression were used to measure the
angular distributions of the gamma-rays. The excitation functions have been
obtained for He bombarding energies from 3.7 to 36 MeV. Total cross
sections are tabulated for calculations relevant to gamma-ray astronomy. The
importance of these lines as diagnosis for the presence and properties of
accelerated He in solar flares is discussed in light of the measured cross
sections.Comment: Phys. Rev. C68 (2003) 0258XX, in pres
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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
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
The micrometeorite flux at Dome C (Antarctica), monitoring the accretion of extraterrestrial dust on Earth
The annual flux of extraterrestrial material on Earth is largely dominated by sub-millimetre particles. The mass distribution and absolute value of this cosmic dust flux at the Earth’s surface is however still uncertain due to the difficulty in monitoring both the collection efficiency and the exposure parameter (i.e. the area-time product in m2.yr). In this paper, we present results from micrometeorite collections originating from the vicinity of the CONCORDIA Station located at Dome C (Antarctica), where we performed several independent melts of large volumes of ultra-clean snow. The regular precipitation rate and the exceptional cleanliness of the snow from central Antarctica allow a unique control on both the exposure parameter and the collection efficiency. A total of 1280 unmelted micrometeorites (uMMs) and 808 cosmic spherules (CSs) with diameters ranging from 30 to 350 μm were identified. Within that size range, we measured mass fluxes of 3.0 μg.m−2.yr−1 for uMMs and 5.6 μg.m−2.yr−1 for CSs. Extrapolated to the global flux of particles in the 12-700 μm diameter range, the mass flux of dust at Earth’s surface is 5, 200 ± 1500 1200 tons.yr−1 (1, 600 ± 500 and 3, 600 ± 1000 700 tons.yr−1 of uMMs and CSs, respectively). We indicate the statistical uncertainties expected for collections with exposure parameters in the range of 0.1 up to 105 m2.yr. In addition, we estimated the flux of altered and unaltered carbon carried by heated and un-heated particles at Earth’s surface. The mass distributions of CSs and uMMs larger than 100 μm are fairly well reproduced by the CABMOD-ZoDy model that includes melting and evaporation during atmospheric entry of the interplanetary dust flux. These numerical simulations suggest that most of the uMMs and CSs originate from Jupiter family comets and a minor part from the main asteroid belt. The total dust mass input before atmospheric entry is estimated at 15,000 tons.yr−1. The existing discrepancy between the flux data and the model for uMMs below 100 μm suggests that small fragile uMMs may evade present day collections, and/or that the amount of small interplanetary particles at 1 AU may be smaller than expected
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
Mineralogy and petrology of comet 81P/wild 2 nucleus samples
The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk
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
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