Related papers: Methane clathrates in the Solar System
The present infrared brightness of a planet originates partly from the accretion energy that the planet gained during its formation and hence provides important constraints to the planet formation process. A planet cools down from a hot…
There is a long-standing debate regarding the origin of the terrestrial planets' water as well as the hydrated C-type asteroids. Here we show that the inner Solar System's water is a simple byproduct of the giant planets' formation. Giant…
Gas hydrates grown at gas-ice interfaces are examined by electron microscopy and found to have a submicron porous texture. Permeability of the intervening hydrate layers provides the connection between the two counterparts (gas and water…
We present large scale electronic structure based molecular dynamics simulations of liquid methane at planetary conditions. In particular, we address the controversy of whether or not the interior of Uranus and Neptune consists of diamond.…
During the Noachian, Mars' crust may have provided a favorable environment for microbial life. The porous brine-saturated regolith would have created a physical space sheltered from UV and cosmic radiations and provided a solvent, while the…
In protoplanetary disks, small mm-cm-sized pebbles drift inwards which can aid planetary growth and influence the chemical composition of their natal disks. Gaps in protoplanetary disks can hinder the effective inward transport of pebbles…
Methanol is a key species in astrochemistry since it is the most abundant organic molecule in the ISM and is thought to be the mother molecule of many complex organic species. Estimating the deuteration of methanol around young protostars…
Martian surface morphology implies that Mars was once warm enough to maintain persistent liquid water on its surface. While the high D/H ratios (~6 times the Earth's ocean water) of the current martian atmosphere suggest that significant…
The methane cycle is a key component of the Earth system that links planetary climate, biological metabolism, and the global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen. However, currently lacking is a numerical model…
Models of planet formation are mainly focused on the accretion and dynamical processes of the planets, neglecting their chemical composition. In this work, we calculate the condensation sequence of the different chemical elements for a…
Observations and meteorites indicate that the Martian materials are enigmatically distributed within the inner solar system. A mega impact on Mars creating a Martian hemispheric dichotomy and the Martian moons can potentially eject Martian…
Methane has been proposed as an exoplanet biosignature. Imminent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope may enable methane detections on potentially habitable exoplanets, so it is essential to assess in what planetary contexts…
Methane, as a strong greenhouse gas, has 21-25 times the warming potential per unit mass than carbon dioxide, and the methane from the oceans can contribute to ~4% of the annual atmosphere methane budget. Large methane bubble plumes have…
The methane-nitrogen phase diagram of Prokhvatilov and Yantsevich (1983) indicates that at temperatures relevant to the surfaces of icy dwarf planets like Pluto, two phases contribute to the methane absorptions: nitrogen saturated with…
Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that began…
Planetary systems such as our own are formed after a long process where matter condenses from diffuse clouds to stars, planets, asteroids, comets and residual dust, undergoing dramatic changes in physical and chemical state in less than a…
The atmospheres of small exoplanets likely derive from a combination of geochemical outgassing and primordial gases left over from formation. Secondary atmospheres, such as those of Earth, Mars and Venus, are sourced by outgassing.…
Composition of terrestrial planets records planetary accretion, core-mantle and crust-mantle differentiation, and surface processes. Here we compare the compositional models of Earth and Mars to reveal their characteristics and formation…
Gas hydrates are systems of prime importance. In particular, hydrogen hydrates are potential materials of icy satellites and comets, and may be used for hydrogen storage. We explore the H2O-H2 system at pressures in the range 0-100 GPa with…
We use resistive magnetohydrodynamical simulations with the nested grid technique to study the formation of protoplanetary disks around protostars from molecular cloud cores that provide the realistic environments for planet formation. We…