Magnesium isotopic composition of interplanetary dust particles

The magnesium isotopic composition of some extraterrestrial dust particles has been measured. The particles are believed to be samples of interplanetary dust, a significant fraction of which originated from the disaggregation of comets and may contain preserved isotopic anomalies. Improvements in mass spectrometric and sample preparation techniques have made it possible to measure the magnesium isotopic composition of the dust particles, which are typically 10 micrometers in size and contain on the order of 10(-10) gram of magnesium. Of the 13 samples analyzed, nine have the terrestrial magnesium isotopic composition within 2 parts per thousand, and one shows isotopic mass fractionation of 1.1 percent per mass unit. A subset of the particles, described as chondritic aggregates, are very close to normal isotopic composition, but their normalized isotopic ratios appear to show nonlinear effects of 3 to 4 parts per thousand, which is near the present limit of detection for samples of this size. The isotopic composition of calcium was also determined in one particle and found to be normal within 2 percent. It is clear that the isotopic composition of interplanetary dust particles can be determined with good precision. Collection of dust particles during the earth's passage through a comet tail or an intense meteor stream may permit laboratory analysis of material from a known comet.     

An astronomical 2175 angstrom feature in interplanetary dust particles

The 2175 angstrom extinction feature is the strongest (visible-ultraviolet) spectral signature of dust in the interstellar medium. Forty years after its discovery, the origin of the feature and the nature of the carrier(s) remain controversial. Using a transmission electron microscope, we detected a 5.7-electron volt (2175 angstrom) feature in interstellar grains embedded within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). The carriers are organic carbon and amorphous silicates that are abundant in IDPs and in the interstellar medium. These multiple carriers may explain the enigmatic invariant central wavelength and variable bandwidth of the astronomical 2175 angstrom feature.     

Identification of complex aromatic molecules in individual interplanetary dust particles

Seventeen stratospherically collected particles-eight of which are classified as interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), seven of which are classified as probable terrestrial contaminants, and two of which have uncertain origins-were studied with a microprobe two-step laser mass spectrometer. Many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) and their alkylated derivatives were identified in two of the eight IDPs. The PAHs observed include a high-mass envelope not found in meteorites or terrestrial contaminants and prominent odd-mass peaks suggestive of nitrogen-containing functional groups attached to aromatic chromophores. In addition, the complexity of the IDP mass spectra has no precedence in previous studies of meteorite samples or their acid residues. Extensive checks were performed to demonstrate that the PAH signals are not caused by terrestrial contaminants.     

Epsilon carbide: a low-temperature component of interplanetary dust particles

Transmission electron microscope study of a chondritic interplanetary dust particle has revealed the presence of epsilon iron-nickel carbide, a low- temperature carbide previously encountered only in metallurgical studies. In these studies in-carbide was synthesized by carburization of iron or nickel grains in a stream of carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide plus hydrogen. Similar carburization of an iron-nickel metal in situ may have produced in-carbide during particle heating on atmospheric entry or in solar orbit. Alternatively, the epsilon-carbide may be a by-product of Fischer-Tropsch reactions in the solar nebula. Such reactions have been proposed as the mechanism of hydrocarbon formation in the early solar system.     

Interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and carbon in interplanetary dust particles and meteorites

Both interplanetary dust particles (IDP(s)) and meteorites may contain material that is similar to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAH(s)). The Raman spectra of IDP(s) and meteorites show features that are similar in position and relative strength to interstellar infrared emission features that have been attributed to vibrational transitions in free, molecular-sized PAH(s). The Raman spectra of some IDP(s) also show red photoluminescence that is similar to the excess red emission seen in some astronomical objects and that has also been attributed to PAH(s) and hydrogenated amorphous carbon. Moreover, a part of the carbonaceous phase in IDP(s) and meteorites contains deuterium to hydrogen ratios that are greater than those for terrestrial samples. Deuterium enrichment is expected in small free PAH(s) that are exposed to ultraviolet radiation in the interstellar medium. Taken together, these observations suggest that some of the carbonaceous material in IDP(s) and meteorites may have been produced in circumstellar dust shells and only slightly modified in interstellar space.     

Refractory minerals in interplanetary dust

A newly studied interplanetary dust particle contains a unique set of minerals that closely resembles assemblages in the refractory, calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The set of minerals includes diopside, magnesium- aluminum spinel, anorthite, perovskite, and fassaite. Only fassaite has previously been identified in interplanetary dust particles. Diopside and spinel occur in complex symplectic intergrowths that may have formed by a reaction between condensed melilite and the solar nebula gas. The particle represents a new link between interplanetary dust particles and carbonaceous chondrites; however, the compositions of its two most abundant refractory phases, diopside and spinel, differ in detail from corresponding minerals in calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions.     

Acid dissolution experiments: carbonates and the 6.8-micrometer bands in interplanetary dust particles

A chemical dissolution experiment on an interplanetary dust particle (IDP) showed that carbonates, not acid-insoluble organic compounds, were responsible for virtually all the absorption at 6.8 micrometers seen in the infrared spectra of this particle. The IDP examined had an infrared spectrum characteristic of layer-lattice silicates and belongs to a class of IDP's whose spectra resemble those of protostellar objects like W33 A, which also exhibit a band at 6.8 micrometers.     

Oxygen isotopes in refractory stratospheric dust particles: proof of extraterrestrial origin

The oxygen and magnesium isotopic compositions of five individual particles that were collected from the stratosphere and that bear refractory minerals were measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Four of the particles exhibit excesses of oxygen-16 similar to those observed in anhydrous mineral phases of carbonaceous chondrites and thus are extraterrestrial. The oxygen and magnesium isotopic abundances of one corundum-rich particle are consistent with a terrestrial origin. Magnesium in the four extraterrestrial particles is isotopically normal. It is unlikely that these particles are derived from carbonaceous chondrites and thus such particles probably represent a new type of collected extraterrestrial material.     

Discovery of nucler tracks in interplanetary dust

Nuclear tracks have been identified in interplanetary dust particles (IDP's) collected from the stratosphere. The presence of tracks unambiguously confirms the extraterrestrial nature of IDP's, and the high track densities (10(10) to 10(11) per square centimeter) suggest an exposure age of approximately 10(4) years within the inner solar system. Tracks also provide an upper temperature limit for the heating of IDP's during atmospheric entry, thereby making it possible to distinguish between pristine and thermally modified micrometeorites.     

Comparison of comet 81P/Wild 2 dust with interplanetary dust from comets

The Stardust mission returned the first sample of a known outer solar system body, comet 81P/Wild 2, to Earth. The sample was expected to resemble chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles because many, and possibly all, such particles are derived from comets. Here, we report that the most abundant and most recognizable silicate materials in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles appear to be absent from the returned sample, indicating that indigenous outer nebula material is probably rare in 81P/Wild 2. Instead, the sample resembles chondritic meteorites from the asteroid belt, composed mostly of inner solar nebula materials. This surprising finding emphasizes the petrogenetic continuum between comets and asteroids and elevates the astrophysical importance of stratospheric chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles as a precious source of the most cosmically primitive astromaterials.     

Implantation in interplanetary dust of rare-gas ions from solar flares

Measurements of excess Ar(36) + Ar(38) ( released mainly at 1200 degrees C) in magnetic concentrates of Pacific sediments and in a dense concentrate of Greenland dust agree within an order of magnitude with expected concentrations implanted by solar-flare ion streams of energy less than 10 Mev per atomic-mass unit. The agreement implies that more than 10 percent of each concentrate may be extraterrestrial, depending on size distribution and flare spectra. Rare-gas measurements on fine-grained dust can provide data on: solar-flare "paleo-ion" fluxes, energy spectra, and isotopic abundances; identification, mineralogy, and chemistry of interplanetary dust; influx rates to Earth and sedimentation rates of oceanic cores; and lunar-surface residence and mixing times.     

Chemically anomalous, preaccretionally irradiated grains in interplanetary dust from comets

Nonstoichiometric grains with depletions of magnesium and silicon (relative to oxygen) and inclusions of iron-nickel metal and iron-rich sulfides have been identified in interplanetary dust particles from comets. These chemical anomalies accumulate in grains exposed to ionizing radiation. The grains, known as GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfides), were irradiated before the accretion of comets, and their inferred exposure ages, submicrometer sizes, and "amorphous" silicate structures are consistent with those of interstellar silicate grains. The measured compositional trends suggest that chemical (as well as isotopic) anomalies can be used to identify presolar interstellar components in primitive meteoritic materials.     

A 100,000-year periodicity in the accretion rate of interplanetary dust

Numerical modeling of the orbital evolution of interplanetary dust particles revealed that, over the past 1.2 million years, the rate of accretion of dust by Earth has varied by a factor of 2 to 3. These variations display a 100,000-year periodicity and are anticorrelated with Earth's changing orbital eccentricity. Extraterrestrial helium-3 concentrations in a deep-sea sediment core display a similar periodicity but are 50,000 years out of phase with the predicted variations. Also, because collisions between large bodies in the asteroid belt are inevitable, it is expected that large-amplitude stochastic variations on 10(7)- to 10(8)-year time scales would be superimposed on the 10(5)-year periodic variations.     

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic anomalies in an anhydrous interplanetary dust particle

Because hydrogen and nitrogen isotopic anomalies in interplanetary dust particles have been associated with carbonaceous material, the lack of similar anomalies in carbon has been a major conundrum. We report here the presence of a 13C depletion associated with a 15N enrichment in an anhydrous interplanetary dust particle. Our observations suggest that the anomalies are carried by heteroatomic organic compounds. Theoretical models indicate that low-temperature formation of organic compounds in cold interstellar molecular clouds can produce carbon and nitrogen fractionations, but it remains to be seen whether the specific effects observed here can be reproduced.     

Carbon compounds in interplanetary dust: evidence for formation by heterogeneous catalysis

Associations of carbonaceous material with iron-nickel alloy, carbides, and oxides were identified by analytical electron microscopy in ten unmelted chondritic porous micrometeorites from the earth's stratosphere. These associations, which may be interpreted in terms of reactions between a carbon-containing gas and catalytically active dust grains, suggest that some of the carbon in the chondritic porous subset of interplanetary dust was emplaced through heterogeneous catalysis.     

Samples of stars beyond the solar system: silicate grains in interplanetary dust

We have identified six circumstellar silicate grains within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). Their extrasolar origins are demonstrated by their extremely anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions. Three 17O-rich grains appear to originate from red giant or asymptotic giant branch stars. One 16O-rich grain may be from a metal-poor star. Two 16O-poor grains have unknown stellar sources. One of the grains is forsterite, and two are amorphous silicate "GEMS" (glass with embedded metal and sulfides), which is consistent with astronomical identifications of crystalline and amorphous silicates in the outflows of evolved stars. These observations suggest cometary origins of these IDPs and underscore the perplexing absence of silicates among circumstellar dust grains from meteorites.     

A carbonate-rich, hydrated, interplanetary dust particle: possible residue from protostellar clouds

Transmission electron microscopy of a hydrated interplanetary dust particle (IDP) indicates that it contains abundant magnesium-iron carbonates, primarily breunnerite and magnesian siderite. This IDP displays a strong absorption band at 6.8 micrometers in its infrared spectrum, similar to that in certain protostellar spectra. The carbonates probably account for the 6.8-micrometer band in the IDP spectrum, suggesting that carbonate also may occur in interstellar dust and be the source of the controversial 6.8-micrometer feature from the protostellar spectra.