Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) extraction methods for noble gases trapped in fluids inclusions

Noble gases, also known as “inert gases,” are chemical elements belonging to Group 0 of the periodic table. Under standard conditions of temperature and pressure (273 K, 1 atm), they are monatomic gases with the respective symbols He (helium), Ne (neon), Ar (argon), Kr (krypton), and Xe (xenon). Their saturated outer electron shells—with two electrons for He and eight for Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe—give them a distinctive physical characteristic: chemical inertness toward other elements. As a result, they are considered excellent geochemical tracers in the geosciences. Each noble gas has several isotopes: 2 for helium ( ^3–4 He), 3 for neon ( ^20–21–22 Ne) and argon ( ^36–38–40 Ar), 6 for krypton ( ^{78–80–82–83–84–86} Kr), and finally 9 for xenon ( ^{124–126–128–129–130–131–132–134–136} Xe). Their isotopic compositions, particularly on Earth, have been constantly evolving since the planet’s accretion 4.56 billion years ago, through nuclear reactions, whether of a i) radiogenic nature (e.g., production of ⁴ He by α-type radioactive decay of the parent isotopes ²³⁸ U, ²³⁵ U, and ²³² Th; decay of the radioisotope ⁴⁰ K into ⁴⁰ Ar via electron capture  , ii) nucleogenic (e.g., production of ²¹ Ne in the crust associated with nuclear reactions of the type $\left(\alpha ,\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}}n\right)$ and $\left(n,\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}}\alpha \right)$ on ¹⁸ O and ²⁴ Mg nuclei