Abstract
Astrophysics The deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) ratio in Earth's oceans differs from the bulk composition of the protosolar nebula, which suggests that either some of Earth's water was deposited by comets and asteroids or that large spatial fluctuations in D/H existed in the initial nebula. Luo et al. performed detailed laboratory measurements of the interaction of a tunable ultraviolet laser with molecules of deuterated water (HOD). The theoretical expectation was that dissociation to H+OH would be more common, but they found instead that dissociation to D+OH was more common and that the ratio of H+OH to D+OH reactions was highly wavelength dependent. This phenomenon may have played a key role in determining the chemical structure of the material from which Earth was formed. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.abg7775 (2021).
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