Methylene-to-methyl ratio variability in Ryugu samples: Clues to a heterogeneous aqueous alteration

Abstract

Understanding the processes of aqueous alteration within primitive bodies is crucial for unraveling the complex history of early planetesimals. To better identify the signs of this process and its consequences, we have studied the heterogeneity at a micrometric scale of the structure of the aliphatic organic compounds and its relationship to its mineralogical environment. Here, we report an analysis performed on two micrometric grains of Ryugu (C0002-FC027 and C0002-FC028). The samples were crushed in a diamond compression cell and analyzed using high-spatial resolution Fourier Transform InfraRed (FT-IR) hyperspectral imaging measurements conducted in transmission mode. We showed here the spatial distributions of the main components and the structural heterogeneity of the aliphatic organic matter highlighting a micrometer-scale variability in the methylene-to-methyl ratio. Moreover, we connected this heterogeneity to the one of the phyllosilicate band positions. Our findings indicate that the organic matter within Ryugu's micrometric grains underwent varying degrees of aqueous alteration in distinct microenvironments resulting in an elongation of the length of their aliphatic chains, and/or a reduction in their branching and/or cross-linking.