Mechanism of Formation of Glass with Embedded Metal and Sulfides

Abstract

GEMS (glass with embedded metal and sulfides) grains in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) were examined using 200 keV analytical transmission electron microscopy. The morphologies and crystallography of embedded relict grains reveal that GEMS are pseudomorphs formed by irradiation processing of crystals free-floating in space. Some GEMS retain a compositional and morphological "memory" of the crystal from which they formed. Pseudomorphism may rule out condensation, annealing, flash heating, or shock melting as alternative mechanisms of GEMS formation. A significant and often dominant fraction of the atoms in GEMS were sputter-deposited from other grains. Therefore, a normal (solar) isotopic composition is not a reliable indicator of whether GEMS formed in the solar system or in presolar interstellar or circumstellar environments.