A protosolar nebula origin for the ices aglomerated by comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

Mousis, O.; Lunine, J. I.; Luspay-Kuti, A.; Guillot, T.; Marty, B.; Ali-Dib, M.; Wurz, Peter; Altwegg, Kathrin; Bieler, André; Hässig, Myrtha; Rubin, Martin; Vernazza, P.; Waite, J. H. (2016). A protosolar nebula origin for the ices aglomerated by comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 819(2), L33. Institute of Physics Publishing IOP 10.3847/2041-8205/819/2/l33

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The nature of the icy material accreted by comets during their formation in the outer regions of the protosolar nebula (PSN) is a major open question in lanetary science. Some scenarios of comet formation predict that these
bodies agglomerated from crystalline ices condensed in the PSN. Concurrently, alternative scenarios suggest that comets accreted amorphous ice originating from the interstellar cloud or from the very distant regions of the PSN.
On the basis of existing laboratory and modeling data, we find that the N2/CO and Ar/CO ratios measured in the coma of the Jupiter-family comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko by the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and
Neutral Analysis instrument onboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft match those predicted for gases trapped in clathrates. If these measurements are representative of the bulk N2/CO and Ar/CO ratios in 67P/
Churyumov–Gerasimenko, it implies that the ices accreted by the comet formed in the nebula and do not originate from the interstellar medium, supporting the idea that the building blocks of outer solar system bodies have been formed from clathrates and possibly from pure crystalline ices. Moreover, because 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko is impoverished in Ar and N2, the volatile enrichments observed in Jupiter’s atmosphere cannot be explained solely via the accretion of building blocks with similar compositions and require an additional delivery source. A potential source may be the accretion of gas from the nebula that has been progressively enriched in heavy elements due to photoevaporation.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Space Research and Planetary Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Wurz, Peter, Altwegg, Kathrin, Bieler, André, Hässig, Myrtha, Rubin, Martin

Subjects:

500 Science > 520 Astronomy
500 Science > 530 Physics
600 Technology > 620 Engineering

ISSN:

2041-8205

Publisher:

Institute of Physics Publishing IOP

Language:

English

Submitter:

Katharina Weyeneth-Moser

Date Deposited:

11 Nov 2016 17:34

Last Modified:

07 May 2024 21:39

Publisher DOI:

10.3847/2041-8205/819/2/l33

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.89506

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/89506

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