Hydration of silicates in dwarf-planet interiors

Determine the degree to which silicates in dwarf-planet interiors were hydrated by liquid water, using observations and modeling of relevant geological and collisional processes.

Background

The paper discusses evidence that some trans-Neptunian objects may have experienced internal geological activity, differentiation, or subsurface liquid-water reservoirs. Such processes could have hydrated silicate minerals within their interiors, but the extent of this alteration remains unresolved.

The authors identify collisionally produced satellites such as Weywot as potential probes of the interiors of larger dwarf planets. If Weywot formed in a giant impact, its surface composition might preserve material excavated from deep within a differentiated progenitor, making mineralogical observations of these satellites relevant to constraining interior hydration.