Isotopic Signature of Organic Molecules from Beyond the Solar System: An Enriched Methane D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
Fuente:
arXiv
Salvato in:
| Autori principali: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2026
|
| Soggetti: | |
| Accesso online: | |
| Tags: |
Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
|
| _version_ | 1866908903326875648 |
|---|---|
| author | Roth, Nathan X. Cordiner, Martin Milam, Stefanie Villanueva, Geronimo Charnley, Steven Biver, Nicolas Bockelee-Morvan, Dominique Bodewits, Dennis Crovisier, Jacques Drozdovskaya, Maria N. Farnocchia, Davide Furuya, Kenji Kelley, Michael S. P. Micheli, Marco Noonan, John W. Opitom, Cyrielle Schwamb, Megan E. Thomas, Cristina A. |
| author_facet | Roth, Nathan X. Cordiner, Martin Milam, Stefanie Villanueva, Geronimo Charnley, Steven Biver, Nicolas Bockelee-Morvan, Dominique Bodewits, Dennis Crovisier, Jacques Drozdovskaya, Maria N. Farnocchia, Davide Furuya, Kenji Kelley, Michael S. P. Micheli, Marco Noonan, John W. Opitom, Cyrielle Schwamb, Megan E. Thomas, Cristina A. |
| contents | Interstellar objects are interlopers from other planetary systems, and their volatile compositions provide a glimpse into planet formation around their host star. We present near-infrared spectra of the coma of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS measured with the James Webb Space Telescope. Our results demonstrate an unexpectedly high $\mathrm{D}/\mathrm{H} = (3.31\pm0.34)\%$ for methane and represent an exceedingly rare detection of deuterated organic molecules in an interstellar object. This D/H ratio is a factor of $14\pm2$ higher than that measured in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft, the only other comet for which CH$_3$D has been detected, yet the ratio of deuteration in methane compared with water is consistent for both comets within $1.2σ$. The D/H ratio in methane is observationally unconstrained in extrasolar sources to date, but the enriched ratio in 3I/ATLAS is most similar to those measured in other organic molecules toward primitive environments. The high D/H ratios of water and methane in 3I/ATLAS are a natural consequence of formation in a high D/H elemental ratio environment as a result of locally cold conditions in the protoplanetary disk and prior interstellar cloud. Thus, 3I/ATLAS formed in an environment very different from that in which our Sun and planets originated. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_20445 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Isotopic Signature of Organic Molecules from Beyond the Solar System: An Enriched Methane D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Roth, Nathan X. Cordiner, Martin Milam, Stefanie Villanueva, Geronimo Charnley, Steven Biver, Nicolas Bockelee-Morvan, Dominique Bodewits, Dennis Crovisier, Jacques Drozdovskaya, Maria N. Farnocchia, Davide Furuya, Kenji Kelley, Michael S. P. Micheli, Marco Noonan, John W. Opitom, Cyrielle Schwamb, Megan E. Thomas, Cristina A. Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies Interstellar objects are interlopers from other planetary systems, and their volatile compositions provide a glimpse into planet formation around their host star. We present near-infrared spectra of the coma of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS measured with the James Webb Space Telescope. Our results demonstrate an unexpectedly high $\mathrm{D}/\mathrm{H} = (3.31\pm0.34)\%$ for methane and represent an exceedingly rare detection of deuterated organic molecules in an interstellar object. This D/H ratio is a factor of $14\pm2$ higher than that measured in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft, the only other comet for which CH$_3$D has been detected, yet the ratio of deuteration in methane compared with water is consistent for both comets within $1.2σ$. The D/H ratio in methane is observationally unconstrained in extrasolar sources to date, but the enriched ratio in 3I/ATLAS is most similar to those measured in other organic molecules toward primitive environments. The high D/H ratios of water and methane in 3I/ATLAS are a natural consequence of formation in a high D/H elemental ratio environment as a result of locally cold conditions in the protoplanetary disk and prior interstellar cloud. Thus, 3I/ATLAS formed in an environment very different from that in which our Sun and planets originated. |
| title | Isotopic Signature of Organic Molecules from Beyond the Solar System: An Enriched Methane D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20445 |