Nature Communications (Sep 2024)
A primordial noble gas component discovered in the Ryugu asteroid and its implications
- Alexander B. Verchovsky,
- Feargus A. J. Abernethy,
- Mahesh Anand,
- Ian A. Franchi,
- Monica M. Grady,
- Richard C. Greenwood,
- Simeon J. Barber,
- Martin Suttle,
- Motoo Ito,
- Naotaka Tomioka,
- Masayuki Uesugi,
- Akira Yamaguchi,
- Makoto Kimura,
- Naoya Imae,
- Naoki Shirai,
- Takuji Ohigashi,
- Ming-Chang Liu,
- Kentaro Uesugi,
- Aiko Nakato,
- Kasumi Yogata,
- Hayato Yuzawa,
- Yuzuru Karouji,
- Satoru Nakazawa,
- Tatsuaki Okada,
- Takanao Saiki,
- Satoshi Tanaka,
- Fuyuto Terui,
- Makoto Yoshikawa,
- Akiko Miyazaki,
- Masahiro Nishimura,
- Toru Yada,
- Masanao Abe,
- Tomohiro Usui,
- Sen-ichiro Watanabe,
- Yuichi Tsuda,
- Consortium Phase2 curation team Kochi
Affiliations
- Alexander B. Verchovsky
- The Open University
- Feargus A. J. Abernethy
- The Open University
- Mahesh Anand
- The Open University
- Ian A. Franchi
- The Open University
- Monica M. Grady
- The Open University
- Richard C. Greenwood
- The Open University
- Simeon J. Barber
- The Open University
- Martin Suttle
- The Open University
- Motoo Ito
- Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, X-star, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Nankoku
- Naotaka Tomioka
- Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, X-star, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Nankoku
- Masayuki Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI/SPring-8)
- Akira Yamaguchi
- National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)
- Makoto Kimura
- Faculty of Science, Kanagawa University
- Naoya Imae
- UVSOR Synchrotron Facility, Institute for Molecular Science
- Naoki Shirai
- Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
- Takuji Ohigashi
- UVSOR Synchrotron Facility, Institute for Molecular Science
- Ming-Chang Liu
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Kentaro Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI/SPring-8)
- Aiko Nakato
- National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR)
- Kasumi Yogata
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Hayato Yuzawa
- UVSOR Synchrotron Facility, Institute for Molecular Science
- Yuzuru Karouji
- Core Facility Center, Osaka University, 8-1 Mihogaoka
- Satoru Nakazawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Tatsuaki Okada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Takanao Saiki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Satoshi Tanaka
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Fuyuto Terui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Makoto Yoshikawa
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Akiko Miyazaki
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Masahiro Nishimura
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Toru Yada
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Masanao Abe
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Tomohiro Usui
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Sen-ichiro Watanabe
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University
- Yuichi Tsuda
- Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
- Consortium Phase2 curation team Kochi
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52165-0
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15,
no. 1
pp. 1 – 11
Abstract
Abstract Ryugu is the C-type asteroid from which material was brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 mission. A number of individual grains and fine-grained samples analysed so far for noble gases have indicated that solar wind and planetary (known as P1) noble gases are present in Ryugu samples with concentrations higher than those observed in CIs, suggesting the former to be more primitive compared to the latter. Here we present results of analyses of three fine-grained samples from Ryugu, in one of which Xe concentration is an order of magnitude higher than determined so far in other samples from Ryugu. Isotopically, this Xe resembles P1, but with a much stronger isotopic fractionation relative to solar wind and significantly lower 36Ar/132Xe ratio than in P1. This previously unknown primordial noble gas component (here termed P7) provides clues to constrain how the solar composition was fractionated to form the planetary components.
