Application of soft X ray absorption spectroscopy to carbon analyses of extraterrestrial microsamples and expected achievements and merits

Abstract

This talk will highlight the achievements obtained from the Scanning Transmission X ray Microscopy (STXM)-based Carbon-, Nitrogen, Oxygen- X ray Near Edge Spectroscopic studies (C-, N-, O-XANES) of meteoritic organics and the returned Comet 81P/Wild 2 particles, and will appeal that the STXM-XANES enables (1) quantification of different functional groups, (2) evaluation of maximum temperature of metamorphism via 1s -> σ* exciton, and (3) distinction of structural diversity and hetetogeneity via energy shifts of the extraterrestrial organics. Finally the talk will emphasize that the STXM-XANES maximize these technique's features to the future returned microsamples, regardless of types of the samples, e.g., asteroid types.