She notes that the theory does not totally explain all of the excess heavy xenon in the atmosphere , nor for additional xenon made from the radioactive decay of uranium and plutonium in rocks .
The hope is that occasional dark-matter particles called neutralinos will run into the nuclei of the xenon atoms , releasing detectable amounts of energy as they do so .
科学家们希望,在被称作中轻微子的暗物质粒子撞击氙原子的原子核时,能释放出可观测到的能量。
In the new study , the physicists shot xenon atoms with flash , an x-ray laser that uses intense photons in the extreme ultraviolet energy range , about forty times the energy of visible light .
The theory may also explain why lighter isotopes of xenon are even more depleted from the atmosphere than heavier ones . " Nobody has ever been able to explain this , " says keppler .
Shipments of industrial gases including " commodities " such as carbon dioxide or ammonia but also xenon or krypton add up to a bellwether of activity because they are key feedstocks for a range of processes in refining and manufacturing .
The data the researchers have collected on the krypton and xenon isotope ratios are " superb , " says physicist bob pepin of the university of minnesota , twin cities . " They 're of a quality not seen before . "
" This means the atmosphere arrived far later than expected . " To confirm that comets contributed to the atmosphere , scientists will need to analyze the krypton and xenon isotope ratios in the cometary samples recently captured by nasa 's stardust mission , says geochemist and lead author greg holland , also at manchester .
While the discovery last month of the chemical xenon , a byproduct of fission , in one of fukushima daiichi 's reactors briefly raised alarms that a chain reaction had restarted , mr. jennex said enough of the radioactive fuel had decayed since the accident in march to make that unlikely .