Related papers: FeOOH instability at the lower mantle conditions
The amount of surface water is thought to be critical for a planet's climate stability and thus habitability. However, the probability that a rocky planet may exhibit surface water at any point its evolution is dependent on multiple…
Leading theories for the presence of plate tectonics on Earth typically appeal to the role of present day conditions in promoting rheological weakening of the lithosphere. However, it is unknown whether the conditions of the early Earth…
Earth's mantle nitrogen (N) content is comparable to that found in its N-rich atmosphere. Mantle N has been proposed to be primordial or sourced by later subduction, yet its origin has not been elucidated. Here we model N partitioning…
The formation of hydrocarbons in Earth's interior has traditionally been considered to have biogenic origins; however, growing evidence suggests that some hydrocarbons may instead originate abiotically in the deep carbon cycle. It is widely…
The formation of the giant planets in our solar system, and likely a majority of giant exoplanets, is commonly explained by the accretion of nebular hydrogen and helium onto a large core of terrestrial-like composition. The fate of this…
Granvik et al. (2016) report an absence of asteroids on orbits with perihelia near the Sun that they attribute to the 'supercatastrophic disruption' of these bodies. Here we investigate whether there is evidence for this process among other…
The stability, structure and properties of carbonate minerals at lower mantle conditions has significant impact on our understanding of the global carbon cycle and the composition of the interior of the Earth. In recent years, there has…
We have used density-functional-theory methods and the ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) approach to predict stable structures and stoichiometries of mixtures of iron and oxygen at high pressures. Searching was performed for 12…
The moon-forming impact and the subsequent evolution of the proto-Earth is strongly dependent on the properties of materials at the extreme conditions generated by this violent collision. We examine the high pressure behavior of MgO, one of…
Aeolian-erosion is a destructive process which can erode small-size planetary objects through their interaction with a gaseous environment. Aeolian-erosion operates in a wide range of environments and under various conditions.…
Highly siderophile elements (HSEs) are strongly depleted in the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) but are present in near-chondritic relative abundances. The conventional explanation is that the HSEs were stripped from the mantle by the segregation…
We construct a phase diagram of the parent compound Fe1+xTe as a function of interstitial iron x in terms of the electronic, structural, and magnetic properties. For a concentration of x < 10%, Fe1+xTe undergoes a "semimetal" to metal…
The accretion of a terrestrial body and differentiation of its silicate/oxide mantle from iron core provide abundant energy for heating its interior to temperatures much higher than the present day Earth. The consequences of differentiation…
The connection between outer gas giants and inner super-Earths reflects their formation and evolutionary histories. Past work exploring this link has suggested a tentative positive correlation between these two populations, but these…
To constrain a contribution of deep carbonated mantle, to fractionation of Hf relative to rare earth elements (REE) in volcanic series, we examine available high-quality data on major, trace element and Nd-Hf isotope compositions of…
We present a novel python-based 1D sub-Neptune evolution model that emphasizes the thermal evolution and potential solidification of the rock/iron core and the structure of the radiative atmosphere. This model explores planetary structure…
We study the interactions between Fe(II) aqua complexes and surfaces of goethite (alpha-FeOOH) by means of density functional theory calculations including the so-called Hubbard U correction to the exchange-correlation functional. Using a…
The origin of life on Earth seems to demand a highly reduced early atmosphere, rich in CH4, H2, and NH3, but geological evidence suggests that Earth's mantle has always been relatively oxidized and its emissions dominated by CO2 H2O, and…
Many sub-Neptune exoplanets have been believed to be composed of a thick hydrogen-dominated atmosphere and a high-temperature heavier-element-dominant core. From an assumption that there is no chemical reaction between hydrogen and…
Laboratory experiments show that a solid-state greenhouse effect in combination with thermophoresis can efficiently erode a dust bed in a low-pressure gaseous environment. The surface of an illuminated, light absorbing dusty body is cooler…