Astrodynamics Commons^™

Self-Oxidation Of The Atmospheres Of Rocky Planets With Implications For The Origin Of Life, Anders Johansen, Eloi Camprubi, Elishevah Van Kooten, H. Jens Hoeijmakers

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Rocky planets may acquire a primordial atmosphere by the outgassing of volatiles from their magma ocean. The distribution of O between H2O, CO, and CO2 in chemical equilibrium subsequently changes significantly with decreasing temperature. We consider here two chemical models: one where CH4 and NH3 are assumed to be irrevocably destroyed by photolysis and second where these molecules persist. In the first case, we show that CO cannot coexist with H2O, since CO oxidizes at low temperatures to form CO2 and H2. In both cases, H escapes from the thermosphere within a few 10 million years by absorption of stellar …