¹Cisem Altunayar-Unsalan,²Ozan Unsalan,³Marian A. Szurgot,⁴Radosław A. Wach
Meteoritics & Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13754]
¹Central Research Testing and Analysis Laboratory Research and Application Center, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
²Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
³Center of Mathematics and Physics, Łódź University of Technology, Al. Politechniki 11, Łódź, 90924 Poland
⁴Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Łódź University of Technology, Wróblewskiego 15, Łódź, 93-590 Poland
Published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons

Meteorites are excavated fragments from asteroid surfaces and planets, and determining their thermophysical properties is important since they contain valuable information about internal structures of their parent bodies. We investigated thermophysical properties of the Sariçiçek meteorite by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), measuring phase transition temperatures, enthalpy changes and specific heat capacities of samples and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), investigating weight change in a sample as a function of temperature or time. DSC results indicate that troilite α/β and β/γ phase transition temperatures of the interior part of the meteorite were at 421.98 ± 0.02 and 581.74 ± 1.71 K, and troilite content of interior and crust parts of the meteorite were 0.28 and 0.02 wt%, respectively. Relict temperatures were calculated as 453 ± 10, 465 ± 17, and 588 ± 55 K; specific heat capacities were measured as 779, 745, and 663 J kg–1 K–1 at 300 K; and predicted as 568, 537, and 480 J kg–1 K–1 at 200 K, for interior, edge, and crust, respectively. TGA results revealed that Sariçiçek’s weight loss was 0.98% at 1170 °C, and water content and hydrogen abundance at 200–800 °C were 0.34% and 0.04%, respectively. Obtained results shed light on a thermal history of Sariçiçek’s parent body and provide further knowledge on thermal alteration of 4 Vesta.