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Title: Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains of Types Y and Z: Their Molybdenum Isotopic Compositions and Stellar Origins

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]
  1. Washington Univ. in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (United States); Carnegie Inst. for Science, Washington, D.C. (United States)
  2. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States)
  3. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo, Teramo (Italy); INFN-Sezione di Perugia, Perugia (Italy)
  4. Univ. di Torino, Torino (Italy)
  5. Carnegie Inst. for Science, Washington, D.C. (United States)
  6. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  7. The Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States); Chicago Center for Cosmochemistry, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  8. TRIUMF, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Univ. of Victoria, BC (Canada)

We report Mo isotopic compositions of 37 presolar SiC grains of types Y (19) and Z (18), rare types commonly argued to have formed in lower-than-solar metallicity asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Here direct comparison of the Y and Z grain data with data for mainstream grains from AGB stars of close-to-solar metallicity demonstrates that the three types of grains have indistinguishable Mo isotopic compositions. We show that the Mo isotope data can be used to constrain the maximum stellar temperatures (T MAX) during thermal pulses in AGB stars. Comparison of FRUITY Torino AGB nucleosynthesis model calculations with the grain data for Mo isotopes points to an origin from low-mass (~1.5–3 M ) rather than intermediate-mass (>3–~9 M ) AGB stars. Because of the low efficiency of 22Ne(α, n)25Mg at the low T MAX values attained in low-mass AGB stars, model calculations cannot explain the large 30Si excesses of Z grains as arising from neutron capture, so these excesses remain a puzzle at the moment.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1571732
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-765107; 955089; TRN: US2100331
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Vol. 881, Issue 1; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 18 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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  • Lewis, Karen M.; Lugaro, Maria; Gibson, Brad K.
  • ORIGIN OF MATTER AND EVOLUTION OF GALAXIES 2013: Proceedings of the 12th International Symposium on Origin of Matter and Evolution of Galaxies (OMEG12), AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4874086
conference January 2014
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Cited By (1)

Isotopic Signatures of Supernova Nucleosynthesis in Presolar Silicon Carbide Grains of Type AB with Supersolar 14 N/ 15 N Ratios journal December 2019

Figures / Tables (11)