Extraterrestrial superconductors

Researchers report naturally occurring superconducting material in meteorite samples. Meteorites contain some of the most primitive material in the Solar System, which formed under extreme conditions that could have created mineral phases not naturally found on Earth. Superconductive phases may be among such material, but the quantities of superconducting minerals in meteorites are likely minute. James Wampler, Mark Thiemens, Ivan K. Schuller, and colleagues used a method called magnetic field modulated microwave spectroscopy to identify superconductivity in meteorites. The method can detect superconductive material at volumes of 10-12 cm3. Examining samples from 15 meteorites covering various meteoritic classes, the authors detected minerals that exhibited superconductive properties in two meteorites: Mundrabilla, an iron meteorite, and GRA 95205, a meteorite of a class called ureilites. Neither was a chondrite, meaning that they did not preserve a history of the presolar interstellar medium; instead, the samples had been melted and recrystallized after formation. Subdivision and analysis of the largest superconducting grains helped identify the grains as alloys of lead, indium, and tin. According to the authors, if similar meteorites exist in regions of space that are sufficiently cold to allow natural superconductivity, such materials may have helped shape magnetic fields in some celestial objects.

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Article #19-18056: “Superconductivity found in meteorites,” by James Wampler, Mark Thiemens, Shaobo Cheng, Yimei Zhu, and Ivan K. Schuller.

MEDIA CONTACTS: James Wampler, University of California, San Diego, CA; e-mail:

[email protected]

; Ivan Schuller, University of California, San Diego, CA, e-mail:

[email protected]