HETEROGENEOUS DISTRIBUTION OF {sup 26}Al AT THE BIRTH OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Journal Article
·
· Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, School of Ocean, Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
It is believed that {sup 26}Al, a short-lived (t{sub 1/2} = 0.73 Ma) and now extinct radionuclide, was uniformly distributed in the nascent solar system (SS) with the initial {sup 26}Al/{sup 27}Al ratio of {approx}5.2 x 10{sup -5}, suggesting an external, stellar origin rather than local, solar source. However, the stellar source of {sup 26}Al and the manner in which it was injected into the SS remain controversial: the {sup 26}Al could have been produced by an asymptotic giant branch star, a supernova, or a Wolf-Rayet star and injected either into the protosolar molecular cloud, protosolar cloud core, or protoplanetary disk. Corundum (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) is predicted to be the first condensate from a cooling gas of solar composition. Here we show that micron-sized corundum condensates from {sup 16}O-rich ({Delta}{sup 17}O {approx} -25 per mille ) gas of solar composition recorded heterogeneous distribution of {sup 26}Al at the birth of the SS: the inferred initial {sup 26}Al/{sup 27}Al ratio ranges from {approx}6.5x10{sup -5} to <2x10{sup -6}; 52% of corundum grains measured are {sup 26}Al-poor. Abundant {sup 26}Al-poor, {sup 16}O-rich refractory objects include grossite- and hibonite-rich calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) in CH (high metal abundance and high iron concentration) chondrites, platy hibonite crystals in CM (Mighei-like) chondrites, and CAIs with fractionation and unidentified nuclear effects CAIs chondrites. Considering the apparently early and short duration (<0.3 Ma) of condensation of refractory {sup 16}O-rich solids in the SS, we infer that {sup 26}Al was injected into the collapsing protosolar molecular cloud and later homogenized in the protoplanetary disk. The apparent lack of correlation between {sup 26}Al abundance and O-isotope composition of corundum grains constrains the stellar source of {sup 26}Al in the SS.
- OSTI ID:
- 21562641
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 733; ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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