New Isotopic clues to solar system formation

Journal Article · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979 · Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/RG017i007p01591· OSTI ID:5636358

Lee, T

The presence of two new extinct nuclides /sup 26/Al and /sup 107/Pd with half-lives approx.10/sup 6/ years in the early solar system implies that there were nucleosynthetic activities involving a great many elements almost at the instant of solar system formation. Rare gas and oxygen isotopic abundance variations (''anomalies'') relative to the ''cosmic'' composition were observed in a variety of planetary objects indicating that isotopic heterogeneities caused by the incomplete mixing of distinct nucleosynthetic components permeate of the entire solar system. The correlated nuclear (''FUN'') anomalies in O, Mg, Si, Ca, Sr, Ba, Nd, and Sm were found in three rare inclusions in the Allende meteorite, which show large mass-dependent isotopic fractionation effects. The signature of the nuclear component required to explain these anomalies suggests a source which has received a catastrophic neutron burst (e.g., an r-process event). These extinct nuclides and nucleosynthetic anomalies provide new clues to solar system formation. In particular, these results have led to the speculation that a nearby supernova had injected freshly synthesized material into the early solar nebula and possibly triggered the collapse of the proto-solar interstellar cloud. Furthermore, these new results have major implications on cosmochronology, nucleosynthesis theory, star formation, planetary heating, and the genetic relationship between different planetary bodies.

• Research Organization: Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637
• OSTI ID: 5636358
• Journal Information: Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States), Journal Name: Rev. Geophys. Space Phys.; (United States) Vol. 17:4; ISSN RGPSB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640107* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Planetary Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ABUNDANCE
ALUMINIUM 26
ALUMINIUM ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
METEORITES
NATURAL OCCURRENCE
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PALLADIUM 107
PALLADIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES