Application of non-extensive statistical physics on Martian nakhlites: A first-order approach on the crystal size distribution of pyroxene using Tsallis entropy

¹ Laboratory of Geophysics and Seismology, Technological Educational Institute of Crete Chania, GR 73133, Crete, Greece
² Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Laboratory of Mineralogy and Geology - Iera Odos 75, Athens, GR 11855, Greece
³ Department of Geoscience, University of Nevada - Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
⁴ Planetary Geosciences Institute, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

^(a) fvallian@chania.teicrete.gr
^(b) ibaziotis@aua.gr
^(c) arya.udry@unlv.edu
^(d) lataylor@utk.edu

Received: 14 June 2014
Accepted: 10 November 2014

Abstract

In this paper, we present a Non-Extensive Statistical Physics (NESP) approach in order to investigate the crystal size distribution of pyroxene crystals from Martian meteorites, nakhlites MIL090030 and MIL090032, which reflect igneous processes on Mars 1.3 Ga ago. The formation of pyroxene crystals is a complex process in which fractional crystallization of an igneous melt is predominant in the evolution process. It is exactly this type of complex process, such as that of crystal-melt interaction, for which NESP could be applied. The results of the analysis indicate that a model based on the Tsallis entropy is an appropriate framework for the statistical-physics interpretation of crystal size distribution of pyroxene grains in these rocks. The similarity of the estimated q values supports the previous conclusions on the pairing between the studied nakhlites.