Cosmic jewels: Why do diamonds rain on some planets?

Not all planets rain like Earth. landIn fact, this is the only one where this happens because it has Liquid water on the surface. There were already records of rain falling on some planets gem. Such is the case Neptune And UranusWhere there is excess Methane which in turn contains Carbon. When this object is crushed by its great pressure atmosphereThey form diamond which eventually falls as rain.

An international team of researchers led by experts from US Department of Energy SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, in California, has gained new insights into the formation of diamond fountains on icy planets such as Neptune and Uranus, using the European X-ray laser XFEL in Schönefeld. The results, which were published in the journal Nature AstronomyProvide clues about the structure of the complex magnetic fields of these planets.

In previous work with X-ray lasers, scientists discovered that diamond should be formed from combinations of Carbon within the larger Gas planets Due to the high pressure that prevails there.

This will then sink deeper inwards like a fountain of precious stones from the upper layers. therefore, When it is very hot and the atmosphere is very dense, the pressure and high temperature create diamonds that aggregate. They become heavier and rainier.

A new experiment at the European XFEL has shown that Diamond structure Starting with carbon compounds Pressure and temperature lower than expected. For gassy planets, this means that diamond precipitation is already occurring at a shallower depth than previously thought and may therefore have a stronger influence on the formation of magnetic fields.

In addition, a diamond shower would also be possible on gas planets smaller than Neptune and Uranus and called “Mini-Neptunes” These stars do not exist in our solar system, but they are registered as exoplanets outside it.

On its way from the outer to the inner layers of the planets, the diamond shower can carry gas and ice, causing streams of energy-carrying stagnant water. Such conductive fluid currents act as a kind of dynamo by which planetary magnetic fields are formed.

This Diamond precipitation probably influences the formation of complex magnetic fields Uranus and Neptune, as the experts concluded in their document.

A group of researchers used polystyrene, a plastic film made of a hydrocarbon compound, as a carbon source. Diamonds form from sheets under very high pressure, a process similar to what happens inside planets and can be reproduced in the European XFEL.

Using diamond cells and lasers, scientists generated the high pressures and temperatures of over 2,200 degrees Celsius that prevail inside frozen gas giants. Stamp cells act like a mini vise in which the sample is squeezed between two diamonds. With XFEL’s X-ray pulses, the timing, position and sequence of diamond formation in the stamp cell can be precisely observed.

The international working team also includes scientists from the European XFEL, the German research centers DESY in Hamburg and the Helmholtz Center in Dresden-Rossendorf, as well as other research institutes and universities from different countries. The European XFEL User Consortium HIBEF, in which research centers HZDR and DESY participate, has contributed significantly to this work.

* Mungo Frost is a researcher in the High Energy Density Science Division of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, USA.