[PLS] Julia Miller (Brown)

“Volatile Retention and Thermal Alteration in Small Kuiper Belt Objects”

Small, ice-rich objects in and beyond the Kuiper Belt are likely to have undergone the least amount of processing in the billions of years since their formation, and can be used to form a more complete picture of the conditions and materials present in the early solar system. However, even these objects are unlikely to have remained entirely pristine. Since they would originally have contained substantial amounts of hypervolatile ice, even minor sources of heating may have resulted in significant thermal alteration. To understand the extent to which the presence and quantity of volatile materials in a small body is indicative of when and where an object formed, we have developed a new thermophysical evolution model for small bodies, which includes all physical processes relevant to volatile loss at low temperatures. We find that it is possible for a km-size porous objects in the outer Kuiper Belt to retain CO over the lifetime of the solar system, but that the extent of alteration depends strongly on poorly-constrained interior properties.

Planetary Lunch Seminar —

Colloquia topics span the range of research interests of the department’s planetary sciences research program, and the talks are intended to appeal to any graduate students, postdocs, research scientists, and faculty with a background in planetary science. Speakers include members of the MIT community and visitors.

Contact: planetary-org@mit.edu