Host Phase of a Strange Xenon Component in Allende

Abstract

A description is presented for the isolation and characterization of the host phase from the Allende C3V chondrite and a mass spectrometric study of the five noble gases in this phase. It is though that the Xe component may have been produced by spontaneous fission of an extinct superheavy element. The fission Xe resides in a minor fraction comprising 0.5% of the meteorite. The fraction consists of chromite, an unknown Cr, Fe-mineral, and amorphous carbon. The gas components and the progenitor of the fission Xe may have been trapped in these minerals when they formed from the solar nebula.