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Acceleration of 1I/`Oumuamua from radiolytically produced H2 in H2O ice

Title	Acceleration of 1I/`Oumuamua from radiolytically produced H2 in H2O ice
Authors	Jennifer Bergner, Darryl Seligman
Magazine	Nature
Date	03/23/2023
DOI	10.1038/s41586-022-05687-w
Introduction	In 2017, 1I/`Oumuamua became the first identified interstellar object within the Solar System. Despite the absence of typical cometary activity indicators, `Oumuamua exhibited a notable non-gravitational acceleration. A detailed explanation reconciling these observations has been lacking. While outgassing of hyper-volatile molecules is energetically favoured over heavier volatiles like H2O and CO2, existing models involving the sublimation of pure H2, N2, and CO present theoretical or observational inconsistencies. Furthermore, non-outgassing hypotheses often necessitate precise formation mechanisms or unrealistic progenitor production rates. This paper presents a mechanism where `Oumuamua's acceleration arises from the release of entrapped molecular hydrogen. This hydrogen formed through the energetic processing of an H2O-rich icy body. Our model posits that `Oumuamua originated as an icy planetesimal, irradiated at low temperatures by cosmic rays during its interstellar journey, and subsequently warmed as it traversed the Solar System. This proposed explanation is supported by extensive experimental work demonstrating that H2 is efficiently and generally generated from H2O ice processing, and that the entrapped H2 is liberated across a broad temperature range during the annealing of the amorphous water matrix. This mechanism effectively accounts for many of `Oumuamua's peculiar characteristics without requiring specific adjustments, thus further corroborating that `Oumuamua is a planetesimal remnant broadly comparable to comets in our Solar System.
Quote	Bergner, J.; Seligman, D. Acceleration of 1I/`Oumuamua from radiolytically produced H2 in H2O ice. Nature 2023, 615, 610. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05687-w
Element	Hydrogen (H) , Oxygen (O) , Carbon (C) , Nitrogen (N)
Industry	Space , Research & Laboratory

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