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Was the Sun a Slow Rotator? Sodium and Potassium Constraints from the Lunar Regolith
While the Earth and Moon are generally similar in composition, a notable difference between the two is the apparent depletion in moderately volatile elements in lunar samples. This is often attributed to the formation process of the Moon and demonstrates the importance of these elements as evolutionary tracers. Here we show that paleo space weather may have driven the loss of a significant portion of moderate volatiles, such as sodium and potassium from the surface of the Moon. The remaining sodium and potassium in the regolith is dependent on the primordial rotation state of the Sun. Notably, given the joint constraints shown in the observed degree of depletion of sodium and potassium in lunar samples and the evolution of activity of solar analogues over time, the Sun is highly likely to have been a slow rotator. Since the young Sun’s activity was important in affecting the evolution of planetary surfaces, atmospheres, and habitability in the early Solar System, this is an important constraint on the solar activity environment at that time. Finally, since solar activity was strongest in the first billion years of the Solar System, when the Moon was most heavily bombarded by impactors, evolution of the Sun’s activity may also be recorded in lunar crust and would be an important well-preserved and relatively accessible record of past Solar System processes
Document ID
20205000861
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Accepted Manuscript (Version with final changes)
External Source(s)
Authors
Prabal Saxena
(University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland, United States)
Rosemary M. Killen
(GSFC Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Vladimir Airapetian
(Adnet Systems (United States) Bethesda, Maryland, United States)
Noah E. Petro
(Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Natalie M. Curran
(Universities Space Research Association Columbia, Maryland, United States)
Avram Max Mandell
(Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland, United States)
Date Acquired
April 14, 2020
Publication Date
May 3, 2019
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal Letters
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Volume: 876
Issue: 1
Issue Publication Date: May 1, 2019
ISSN: 2041-8205
e-ISSN: 2041-8213
Subject Category
Astronomy
Space Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
WBS: 811073.02.52.01.13.10
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Technical Review
External Peer Committee
Keywords
Solar Physics
sun evolution
Coronal mass ejections
sun rotation
moon
planets
satellites
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