Igneous processes in the small bodies of the Solar System I. Asteroids and comets

Giovanni Leone; Hiroyuki K M Tanaka

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107160

Igneous processes in the small bodies of the Solar System I. Asteroids and comets

iScience. 2023 Jun 17;26(7):107160. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107160. eCollection 2023 Jul 21.

Authors

Giovanni Leone^{1

2}, Hiroyuki K M Tanaka^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Instituto de Investigación en Astronomía y Ciencias Planetarias, Universidad de Atacama, Chile.
² Virtual Muography Institute, Global, Tokyo, Japan.
³ International Muography Research Organization (MUOGRAPHIX), The University of Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.

Abstract

Igneous processes were quite widespread in the small bodies of the Solar System (SBSS) and were initially fueled by short-lived radioisotopes, the proto-Sun, impact heating, and differentiation heating. Once they finished, long-lived radioisotopes continued to warm the active bodies of the Earth, (possibly) Venus, and the cryovolcanism of Enceladus. The widespread presence of olivine and pyroxenes in planets and also in SBSS suggests that they were not necessarily the product of igneous processes and they might have been recycled from previous nebular processes or entrained in comets from interstellar space. The difference in temperature between the inner and the outer Solar System has clearly favored thermal annealing of the olivine close to the proto-Sun. Transport of olivine within the Solar System probably occurred also due to protostellar jets and winds but the entrainment in SBSS from interstellar space would overcome the requirement of initial turbulent regime in the protoplanetary nebula.

Keywords: Astroparticle physics; High-energy astrophysics; Planetary sciences.

Publication types

Review