Vadim V. Distler

Natural quasicrystal with decagonal symmetry

We report the first occurrence of a natural quasicrystal with decagonal symmetry. The quasicrystal, with composition Al71Ni24Fe5, was discovered in the Khatyrka meteorite, a recently described CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. Icosahedrite, Al63Cu24Fe13, the first natural quasicrystal to be identified, was found in the same meteorite. The new quasicrystal was found associated with steinhardtite (Al38Ni32Fe30), Fe-poor steinhardtite (Al50Ni40Fe10), Al-bearing trevorite (NiFe2O4) and Al-bearing taenite (FeNi). Laboratory studies of decagonal Al71Ni24Fe5 have shown that it is stable over a narrow range of temperatures, 1120 K to 1200 K at standard pressure, providing support for our earlier conclusion that the Khatyrka meteorite reached heterogeneous high temperatures [1100 < T(K) ≤ 1500] and then rapidly cooled after being heated during an impact-induced shock that occurred in outer space 4.5 Gya. The occurrences of metallic Al alloyed with Cu, Ni, and Fe raises new questions regarding conditions that can be achieved in the early solar nebula.

Impact-induced shock and the formation of natural quasicrystals in the early solar system

The discovery of a natural quasicrystal, icosahedrite (Al63Cu24Fe13), accompanied by khatyrkite (CuAl2) and cupalite (CuAl) in the CV3 carbonaceous chondrite Khatyrka has posed a mystery as to what extraterrestrial processes led to the formation and preservation of these metal alloys. Here we present a range of evidence, including the discovery of high-pressure phases never observed before in a CV3 chondrite, indicating that an impact shock generated a heterogeneous distribution of pressures and temperatures in which some portions reached at least 5 GPa and 1,200 °C. The conditions were sufficient to melt Al-Cu-bearing minerals, which then rapidly solidified into icosahedrite and other Al-Cu metal phases. The meteorite also contains heretofore unobserved phases of iron-nickel and iron sulphide with substantial amounts of Al and Cu. The presence of these phases in Khatyrka provides further proof that the Al-Cu alloys are natural products of unusual processes that occurred in the early solar system.

Steinhardtite, a new body-centered-cubic allotropic form of aluminum from the Khatyrka CV3 carbonaceous chondrite

Abstract Steinhardtite is a new mineral from the Khatyrka meteorite; it is a new allotropic form of aluminum. It occurs as rare crystals up to ~10 μm across in meteoritic fragments that contain evidence of a heterogeneous distribution of pressures and temperatures during impact shock, in which some portions of the meteorite reached at least 5 GPa and 1200 °C. The meteorite fragments contain the high-pressure phases ahrensite, coesite, stishovite, and an unnamed spinelloid with composition Fe3-xSixO4 (x ≈ 0.4). Other minerals include trevorite, Ni-Al-Mg-Fe spinels, magnetite, diopside, forsterite, clinoenstatite, nepheline, pentlandite, Cu-bearing troilite, icosahedrite, khatyrkite, cupalite, taenite, and Al-bearing taenite. Given the exceedingly small grain size of steinhardtite, it was not possible to determine most of the physical properties for the mineral. A mean of 9 electron microprobe analyses (obtained from two different fragments) gave the formula Al0.38Ni0.32Fe0.30, on the basis of 1 atom. A combined TEM and single-crystal X‑ray diffraction study revealed steinhardtite to be cubic, space group Im3m, with a = 3.0214(8) Å, and V = 27.58(2) Å3, Z = 2. In the crystal structure [R1 = 0.0254], the three elements are disordered at the origin of the unit cell in a body-centered-cubic packing (α-Fe structure type). The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å (I/I0) (hkl)] are: 2.1355 (100) (110); 1.5100 (15) (200); 1.2329 (25) (211); 0.9550 (10) (310); 0.8071 (30) (321). The new mineral has been approved by the IMA-NMNC Commission (2014-036) and named in honor of Paul J. Steinhardt, Professor at the Department of Physics of Princeton University, for his extraordinary and enthusiastic dedication to the study of the mineralogy of the Khatyrka meteorite, a unique CV3 carbonaceous chondrite containing the first natural quasicrystalline phase icosahedrite. The recovery of the polymorph of Al described here that contains essential amounts of Ni and Fe suggests that Al could be a contributing candidate for the anomalously low density of the Earth’s presumed Fe-Ni core.

Decagonite, Al71Ni24Fe5, a quasicrystal with decagonal symmetry from the Khatyrka CV3 carbonaceous chondrite

Abstract Decagonite is the second natural quasicrystal, after icosahedrite (Al63Cu24Fe13), and the first to exhibit the crystallographically forbidden decagonal symmetry. It was found as rare fragments up to ~60 mm across in one of the grains (labeled number 126) of the Khatyrka meteorite, a CV3 carbonaceous chondrite. The meteoritic grain contains evidence of a heterogeneous distribution of pressures and temperatures that occurred during impact shock, in which some portions of the meteorite reached at least 5 GPa and 1200 °C. Decagonite is associated with Al-bearing trevorite, diopside, forsterite, ahrensite, clinoenstatite, nepheline, coesite, pentlandite, Cu-bearing troilite, icosahedrite, khatyrkite, taenite, Al-bearing taenite, and steinhardtite. Given the exceedingly small size of decagonite, it was not possible to determine most of the physical properties for the mineral. A mean of seven electron microprobe analyses (obtained from three different fragments) gave the formula Al70.2(3)Ni24.5(4)Fe5.3(2), on the basis of 100 atoms. A combined TEM and single-crystal X‑ray diffraction study revealed the unmistakable signature of a decagonal quasicrystal: a pattern of sharp peaks arranged in straight lines with 10-fold symmetry together with periodic patterns taken perpendicular to the 10-fold direction. For quasicrystals, by definition, the structure is not reducible to a single three-dimensional unit cell, so neither cell parameters nor Z can be given. The likely space group is P105/mmc, as is the case for synthetic Al71Ni24Fe5. The five strongest powder-diffraction lines [d in Å (I/I0)] are: 2.024 (100), 3.765 (50), 2.051 (45), 3.405 (40), 1.9799 (40). The new mineral has been approved by the IMA-NMNC Commission (IMA2015-017) and named decagonite for the 10-fold symmetry of its structure. The finding of a second natural quasicrystal informs the longstanding debate about the stability and robustness of quasicrystals among condensed matter physicists and demonstrates that mineralogy can continue to surprise us and have a strong impact on other disciplines.

Behavior of noble metals upon fractional crystallization of copper-rich sulfide melts

Joint behavior of Pt, Pd, Au, As, Bi, Te, and Sn upon fractional crystallization was studied in a melt of cubanite composition with the following admixtures (mol %): Fe, 33.20; Cu, 16.55; S, 50.03; Pt, 0.03; Pd, 0.02; Au, 0.02; As, 0.02; Bi, 0.03; Te, 0.02; Sn, 0.08. The crystallized sample consisted of three zones: (I) a pyrrhotite solid solution POSS; (II) an isocubanite ICB; (III) a multiphase mixture. The behavior of admixtures was studied in the first and second zones. It was shown that pyrrhotite did not contain admixtures of noble metals and accessory elements, whereas Sn was dissolved in cubanite. Other admixtures occurred in the second zone as multiphase inclusions. PdBiхTe1–х, PtBiS3–δ, CuPtBiS3, Bi2S3–х, Au, Pt(As,S)2, (Pt,Pd)S, (Pt,Pd)(Bi,Te)2–x, and PdBi2 were the most abundant phases.

Sources of rhenium and osmium enrichment in fumaroles, sulphide sublimates and volcanic rocks from the Kudriavy volcano

Rhenium loss through magma degassing could be partly balanced by rhenium enrichment in fumarolic magmatic gases and Re-bearing precipitates, as may be the case for the Kudriavy volcano associated with an active subduction zone. The relatively unradiogenic 187Os/188Os isotope ratios (0.122 up to 0.152) and high Os contents (averaging 0.6 ppb) of fumarolic gas condensates imply that significant Re and Os are remobilised from depleted MORB mantle. Involvement of a Re-rich component is evident from high Re concentrations in high-temperature gas condensates, ranging from 7 to 200 ppb. Indeed, Re-rich Os-poor components such as organic-rich subducted sediments and volcanic rocks do not significantly shift the isotopic composition of fumarolic products. The relatively radiogenic composition of the dacite-andesite-basaltic arc volcanics (187Os/188Os ratio up to 0.58), however, could result from significant Os (and Re) input from subducted sediments.

Deep structure and ore-forming processes of the Sukhoi Log gold-platinum deposit, Russia

New data provide insights on deep and internal structures of the Sukhoi Log gold-platinum deposit, its mineralogical composition, and geochemistry. A genetic model based on geological and geophysical data is considered for the deposit.