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Laser-atom Interactions in a Mass Spectrometer for Dating Martian Rocks

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Mass spectrometer
黑料网 professor Jonathan Levine and his collaborators are designing a novel mass spectrometer to try to better determine the ages of rocks on Mars.

Jonathan Levine (physics and astronomy) and his collaborators F. Scott Anderson and Tom J. Whittaker (Southwest Research Institute) received a one-year award for their project 鈥淟aser-atom interactions in a mass spectrometer for dating Martian rocks.鈥

Their research goal is to increase understanding of the timing and timescales of Mars鈥檚 global climate change by estimating the ages of Martian rocks using a novel mass spectrometer. The spectrometer will determine rock ages by measuring the abundances of rubidium-87 and its radioactive decay product strontium-87 in dozens of spots in a rock sample, using intense lasers to separate atoms of these elements from each other and from the rest of the rock.

The research team will investigate the fundamental physics of how laser light interacts with atoms, so that they can best control those interactions to ensure maximum precision and accuracy in the rock ages they determine. Their ultimate goal is to fly the new spectrometer to Mars on a future rover mission and date rocks found there in their geologic context.

鈥淭his collaboration brings together a physicist, a geologist, and a physical chemist to push the boundaries on our abilities to age rocks on other planets,鈥 said McHugh. 鈥淭heir work has the potential for some very exciting results, both in fundamental physics and in our knowledge of Mars.鈥