High D/H ratios in water and alkanes in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko measured with the Rosetta/ROSINA DFMS

Abstract

Context. Isotopic abundances in comets are key to understanding and reconstructing the history and origin of material in the Solar System. Data for deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratios in water are available for several comets. However, no long-term studies of the D/H ratio in water of a comet during its passage around the Sun have been reported. Linear alkanes are important organic molecules, which have been found on several Solar System bodies, including comets. To date, their deuteration is still poorly understood, as only upper limits of isotopic ratios for D/H and 13 C/ 12 C in linear alkanes are available. Aims. The aim of this work is a detailed analysis of the D/H ratio in water as a function of cometary activity and spacecraft location above the nucleus. In addition, a first determination of the D/H and 13 C/ 12 C ratios in the first four linear alkanes, namely, methane (CH 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), propane (C 3 H 8 ), and butane (C 4 H 10 ) in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is provided. Methods. We analysed in situ measurements from the Rosetta/ROSINA Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS).Results. The D/H ratio from HDO/H 2 O and the 16 O/ 17 O ratio from H 2 16 O/H 2 17 O did not change during 67P's passage around the Sun between 2014 and 2016. All D/H ratio measurements were compatible, within 1σ, with the mean value of 5.01 × 10 −4 and its relative variation of 2.0%. This suggests that the D/H ratio in 67P's coma is independent of heliocentric distance, level of cometary activity, as well as spacecraft location with respect to the nucleus. Additionally, the 16 O/ 17 O ratio could be determined with a higher accuracy than previously possible, yielding a value of 2347 with a relative variation of 2.3%. For the alkanes, the D/H ratio is between 4.1 and 4.8 times higher than in H 2 O, while the 13 C/ 12 C ratio is compatible, within uncertainties, with data for other Solar System objects. The relatively high D/H ratio in alkanes is in line with other cometary organic molecules and suggests that these organics may be inherited from the presolar molecular cloud from which the Solar System formed.

Habitability constraints by nutrient availability in atmospheres of rocky exoplanets

“…Henning and Salama, 1998) to places in our solar system. Examples are the C 2 H 4 haze on Triton (Ohno et al, 2021) or various different molecules on comets such as 67P (Müller et al, 2022). Huang et al (2021) found that the detection of NH 3 can be a biosignature on planets, where a deep atmosphere is excluded.…”