We report NanoSIMS Si and Mg-Al isotopic data (and C, N, and Ti isotopic data, when available) for 85 submicron- to micron-sized presolar SiC grains from the CM2 Murchison meteorite, including 60 mainstream (MS), 8 AB1, 8 X, 7 AB2, and 2 Y grains. The MS and Y grain data demonstrate that (1) C and N contamination mainly appears as surface contamination, and sufficient presputtering is needed to expose a clean grain surface for obtaining intrinsic C and N signals, and (2) Mg and Al contamination appears as adjacent grains and rims, and high-resolution imaging and the choice of small regions of interest during data reduction together are effective in suppressing the contamination. Our results strongly indicate that previous studies of presolar SiC grains could have sampled differing degrees of contamination for C, N, Mg, and Al. Compared to the literature data, our new MS and Y grains are in better agreement with carbon star observations for both the C and N isotopic ratios. By comparing our new, tighter distributions of C-12/C-13, N-14/N-15, and initial Al-26/Al-27 ratios for MS and Y grains with FRUITY low-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stellar models, we provide more stringent constraints on the occurrence of cool bottom processing and the production of Al-26 in N-type carbon stars, which are classical AGB stars.

The first maps of electron-induced X-ray emission from the dayside of Mercury's surface are presented, generated by the development of a solar X-ray flux filter. This enables the isolation of the X-ray fluorescence of calcium driven by probable electron precipitation. A catalog of such events has been generated and dayside maps of implied electron precipitation zones have been produced. We find that, similar to electron induced emission events on the nightside, these zones are strongly organized by latitude and magnetic local time. The majority of the dayside events appear in the southern hemisphere and there is a strong enhancement observed centered about local dawn (06:00 LT). There is apparent poleward continuation of emission in the north, but very few events were observed on the duskward hemisphere. These results carry implications for Mercury's magnetosphere by constraining zones of electron precipitation, for the exosphere as a potential source of exospheric species, and for surface science as an additional source of X-ray fluorescence.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft investigated the C-type (carbonaceous) asteroid (162173) Ryugu. The mission performed two landing operations to collect samples of surface and subsurface material, the latter exposed by an artificial impact. We present images of the second touchdown site, finding that ejecta from the impact crater was present at the sample location. Surface pebbles at both landing sites show morphological variations ranging from rugged to smooth, similar to Ryugu's boulders, and shapes from quasi-spherical to flattened. The samples were returned to Earth on 6 December 2020. We describe the morphology of >5 grams of returned pebbles and sand. Their diverse color, shape, and structure are consistent with the observed materials of Ryugu; we conclude that they are a representative sample of the asteroid.

We report the use of several cluster analysis techniques to evaluate the classification of pre-solar silicon carbide (SiC) grains. The stability of clusters and the confidence of individual cluster assignments of grains are assessed using consensus clustering with resampling methods. Our analysis shows that pre-solar SiC grains can be divided into seven groups that are found to be highly stable with most of the grains being assigned to the same cluster for at least 90 percent of the time over multiple aggregated clustering. Among the seven groups, two groups are dominated by AB grains, three groups by MS grains, one group by Z grains, and one group by X grains. The further division of X grains into two groups is highly dependent on the chosen algorithm and is therefore uncertain. Z and Y grains are clustered jointly with MS grains, with one group dominated by Z grains, pointing to their common origins from low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars. The most stable N grain-containing clusters are dominated by N-15-rich AB grains. However, some methods assign N grains with X grains, but in less stable clusters. The suggested genetic relationship among N-15-rich AB, N, and X grains is in line with the recent proposal that all three types of pre-solar SiC grains came from core collapse supernovae. We discuss the results from different clustering techniques based on our assessment of the cluster stabilities and the extent to which the cluster assignments overlap across the different methods.

Carbonaceous meteorites are thought to be fragments of C-type (carbonaceous) asteroids. Samples of the C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu were retrieved by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We measured the mineralogy and bulk chemical and isotopic compositions of Ryugu samples. The samples are mainly composed of materials similar to those of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, particularly the CI (Ivuna-type) group. The samples consist predominantly of minerals formed in aqueous fluid on a parent planetesimal. The primary minerals were altered by fluids at a temperature of 37° ± 10°C, about [Formula: see text] million (statistical) or [Formula: see text] million (systematic) years after the formation of the first solids in the Solar System. After aqueous alteration, the Ryugu samples were likely never heated above ~100°C. The samples have a chemical composition that more closely resembles that of the Sun's photosphere than other natural samples do.

We investigated six presolar grains from very primitive regions of the matrix in the unequilibrated ordinary chondrite Semarkona with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These grains include one SiC, one oxide (Mg-Al spinel), and four silicates. This is the first TEM investigation of presolar grains within an ordinary chondrite host (in situ) and the first TEM study to report on any presolar silicates (in or ex situ) from an ordinary chondrite. Structural and elemental compositional studies of presolar grains located within their meteorite hosts have the potential to provide information on conditions and processes throughout the grains' histories. Our analyses show that the SiC and spinel grains are stoichiometric and well crystallized. In contrast, the majority of the silicate grains are non-stoichiometric and poorly crystallized. These findings are consistent with previous TEM studies of presolar grains from interplanetary dust particles and chondritic meteorites. The individual silicates have Mg#'s ranging from 15 to 98. Internal compositional heterogeneities were observed in several grains, including Al in the SiC, Mg and Al in the spinel, and Mg, Si, Al, and/or Cr in two silicates. We interpret the poorly crystalline nature, non-stoichiometry, more Fe rather than Mg-rich compositions, and/or compositional heterogeneities as features of the formation by condensation under non-equilibrium conditions. Evidence for parent body alteration includes rims with mobile elements (S or Fe) on the SiC grain and one silicate grain. Other features characteristic of secondary processing in the interstellar medium, the solar nebula, and/or on parent bodies, were not observed or are better explained by processes operating in circumstellar envelopes. In general, there was very little overprinting of primary features of the presolar grains by secondary processes (e.g., ion irradiation, grain-grain collisions, thermal metamorphism, aqueous alteration). This finding underlines the need for additional TEM studies of presolar grains located in the primitive matrix regions of Semarkona, to address gaps in our knowledge of presolar grain populations accreted to ordinary chondrites.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Part I shows that quantitative measurements of heat capacity are theoretically possible inside diamond anvil cells via high-frequency Joule heating (100 kHz-10MHz), opening up the possibility of new methods to detect and characterize transformations at high-pressure such as the glass transitions, melting, magnetic orderings, and the onset of superconductivity. Here, we test the possibility outlined in Part I, using prototypes and detailed numerical models. First, a coupled electrical-thermal numerical model shows that specific heat of metals inside diamond cells can be measured directly using similar to 1MHz frequency, with < 10% accuracy. Second, we test physical models of high-pressure experiments, i.e., diamond-cell mock-ups. Metal foils of 2-6 mu m-thickness are clamped between glass insulation inside diamond anvil cells. Fitting data from 10 Hz to similar to 30 kHz, we infer the specific heat capacities of Fe, Pt, and Ni with +/- 20%-30% accuracy. The electrical test equipment generates -80 dBc spurious harmonics, which overwhelm the thermally induced harmonics at higher frequencies, disallowing the high precision expected from numerical models. An alternative Joule-heating calorimetry experiment, on the other hand, does allow absolute measurements with < 10% accuracy, despite the -80 dBc spurious harmonics: the measurement of thermal effusivity, root rho ck (rho, c, and k being density, specific heat, and thermal conductivity), of the insulation surrounding a thin-film heater. Using a similar to 50 nm-thick Pt heater surrounded by glass and 10 Hz-300 kHz frequency, we measure thermal effusivity with 66% accuracy inside the sample chamber of a diamond anvil cell. Published by AIP Publishing.

Numerical simulations of heat transport in diamond anvil cells reveal a possibility for absolute measurements of specific heat via high-frequency modulation calorimetry. Such experiments could reveal and help characterize temperature-driven phase transitions at high-pressure, such as melting, the glass transition, magnetic and electric orderings, or superconducting transitions. Specifically, we show that calorimetric information of a sample cannot be directly extracted from measurements at frequencies slower than the timescale of conduction to the diamond anvils (10s-100s of kHz) since the experiment is far from adiabatic. At higher frequencies, laser-heating experiments allow relative calorimetric measurements, where changes in specific heat of the sample are discriminated from changes in other material properties by scanning the heating frequency from similar to 1 MHz to 1 GHz. But laser-heating generates large temperature gradients in metal samples, preventing absolute heat capacities to be inferred. High-frequency Joule heating, on the other hand, allows accurate, absolute specific heat measurements if it can be performed at high-enough frequency: assuming a thin layer of KBr insulation, the specific heat of a 5 lm-thick metal sample heated at 100 kHz, 1MHz, or 10MHz frequency would be measured with 30%, 8%, or 2% accuracy, respectively. Published by AIP Publishing.

If successfully developed, calorimetry at tens of GPa of pressure could help characterize phase transitions in materials such as high-pressure minerals, metals, and molecular solids. Here, we extend alternating-current calorimetry to 9GPa and 300K in a diamond anvil cell and use it to study phase transitions in H2O. In particular, water is loaded into the sample chambers of diamond-cells, along with thin metal heaters (1 mu m-thick platinum or 20 nm-thick gold on a glass substrate) that drive high-frequency temperature oscillations (20 Hz to 600 kHz; 1 to 10 K). The heaters also act as thermometers via the third-harmonic technique, yielding calorimetric data on (1) heat conduction to the diamonds and (2) heat transport into substrate and sample. Using this method during temperature cycles from 300 to 200 K, we document melting, freezing, and proton ordering and disordering transitions of H2O at 0 to 9 GPa, and characterize changes in thermal conductivity and heat capacity across these transitions. The technique and analysis pave the way for calorimetry experiments on any non-metal at pressures up to similar to 100 GPa, provided a thin layer (several mu m-thick) of thermal insulation supports a metallic thin-film (tens of nm thick) Joule-heater attached to low contact resistance leads inside the sample chamber of a diamond-cell. Published by AIP Publishing.

Zaghoo et al. [Phys. Rev. B 93, 155128 (2016)] report on the observation of a first-order phase transition to metallic hydrogen at pressures of 100-170 GPa and high temperatures of 1100-1800 K. Here, based on the analysis of their optical spectroscopy data and finite element calculations, we show that the presented data do not support the existence of such a transition at their claimed T-c and are likely related to a continuous band-gap reduction.