Edward Young

About

Professor Edward Young's research is focused on understanding the origins of the solar system and our place within it. His laboratory studies the solar system by comparing findings with star and planet formation processes currently occurring in the Galaxy. The research targets include planets and their atmospheres, the Moon, asteroids, and the interstellar medium. The scope of the research encompasses the solar protoplanetary disk, ancient minerals found in meteorites, isotope chemistry of the interstellar medium, rocky bodies of the inner solar system, and the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere. Professor Young's primary observations involve the chemistry of rocks and gases, the interstellar medium, and polluted white dwarf stars. His research employs tools such as isotope ratio mass spectrometry, reconstructions of the origins of solar-system nuclides, and spectroscopic determinations of isotope ratios in the interstellar medium. The laboratory utilizes a variety of advanced instruments and methods, including some of the largest telescopes in the world, vacuum-line experiments, novel mass spectrometers, and both laboratory-based and computational studies to advance the understanding of cosmochemistry and planetary science.

Research topics

• Geology
• Physics
• Astrobiology
• Earth science
• Chemistry
• Paleontology
• Geochemistry
• Environmental science
• Mineralogy
• Astronomy

Selected publications

• Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu are similar to Ivuna-type carbonaceous meteorites

  Science · 2022 · 323 citations

  Carbonaceous meteorites are thought to be fragments of C-type (carbonaceous) asteroids. Samples of the C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu were retrieved by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We measured the mineralogy and bulk chemical and isotopic compositions of Ryugu samples. The samples are mainly composed of materials similar to those of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, particularly the CI (Ivuna-type) group. The samples consist predominantly of minerals formed in aqueous fluid on a parent planetesima…

  DOI

• Ceres: Astrobiological Target and Possible Ocean World

  Astrobiology · 2020 · 60 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Ceres, the most water-rich body in the inner solar system after Earth, has recently been recognized to have astrobiological importance. Chemical and physical measurements obtained by the Dawn mission enabled the quantification of key parameters, which helped to constrain the habitability of the inner solar system's only dwarf planet. The surface chemistry and internal structure of Ceres testify to a protracted history of reactions between liquid water, rock, and likely organic compounds. We revi…

  DOI

• Atmospheric C/O Ratios of Sub-Neptunes with Magma Oceans: Homemade rather than Inherited

  The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2025-07-28 · 15 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope has enabled detailed spectroscopic characterization of sub-Neptune atmospheres. With detections of carbon- and oxygen-bearing species such as CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , and H 2 O, a central question is whether the atmospheric C/O ratio, commonly used to trace formation location in giant planets, can serve a similar diagnostic role for sub-Neptunes. We use the global chemical equilibrium framework of H. E. Schlichting & E. D. Young to quantify how magm…

  PublisherDOI

• Most Super-Earths Have Less Than 3% Water

  The Astrophysical Journal · 2025-01-20 · 12 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Super-Earths are highly irradiated, small planets with bulk densities approximately consistent with Earth. We construct combined interior atmosphere models of super-Earths that trace the partitioning of water throughout a planet, including an iron-rich core, silicate-rich mantle, and steam atmosphere. We compare these models with exoplanet observations to infer a 1 σ upper limit on the total water mass fraction of ≲3% at the population level. We consider end-member scenarios that may ch…

  PublisherDOI

• Sub-Neptunes Are Drier than They Seem: Rethinking the Origins of Water-rich Worlds

  The Astrophysical Journal Letters · 2025-09-18 · 11 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Recent claims of biosignature gases in sub-Neptune atmospheres have renewed interest in water-rich sub-Neptunes with surface oceans, often referred to as Hycean planets. These planets are hypothesized to form beyond the snow line, accreting large amounts of H 2 O (>10 wt%) before migrating inward. However, current interior models often neglect chemical equilibration between primordial atmospheres and molten interiors. Here, we compute global chemical equilibrium states for a syntheti…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Applying O2/Ar, DELTA17O and 222Rn methodologies to constrain organic carbon productivity in the upper ocean of the ETSP

  NSF · $99k · 2010–2012

• Experimental Investigation of Non-Traditional Stable Isotope Fractionation in Geological Materials

  NSF · $332k · 2007–2011

• Experimental Calibration of Inter-mineral Magnesium and Iron Isotope Fractionation at High Temperatures

  NSF · $341k · 2016–2022

Frequent coauthors

• Marc Chaussidon

  Université Paris Cité

  119 shared

• J. Aléon

  Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie

  118 shared

• Ming‐Chang Liu

  86 shared

• K. D. McKeegan

  85 shared

• Laurette Piani

  Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques

  84 shared

• I. E. Kohl

  Thermo Fisher Scientific (Germany)

  82 shared

• K. Ziegler

  81 shared

• L. R. Nittler

  Carnegie Institution for Science

  81 shared

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Geophysical Laboratory

  Carnegie Institution of Washington

  1993

• PhD

  University of Southern California

  1990

Awards & honors

• AGU Fellow 2021

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