A renewed search for short-lived 126Sn in the early Solar System: Hydride generation MC-ICPMS for high sensitivity Te isotopic analysis

Comets are primitive, kilometer-sized bodies that formed in the outer regions of the solar system. Composed of ice and dust, comets are generally believed to be relic building blocks of the outer solar system that have been preserved at cryogenic temperatures since the formation of the Sun and planets. The analysis of cometary material is particularly important because the properties of cometary material provide direct information on the processes and environments that formed and influenced solid matter both in the early solar system and in the interstellar environments that preceded it.The first direct analyses of proven comet dust were made during the Soviet and European spacecraft encounters with Comet Halley in 1986. These missions carried time-of-flight mass spectrometers that measured mass spectra of individual micron and smaller particles. The Halley measurements were semi-quantitative but they showed that comet dust is a complex fine-grained mixture of silicates and organic material. A full understanding of comet dust will require detailed morphological, mineralogical, elemental and isotopic analysis at the finest possible scale. Electron microscopy and related microbeam techniques will play key roles in the analysis. The present and future of electron microscopy of comet samples involves laboratory study of micrometeorites collected in the stratosphere, in-situ SEM analysis of particles collected at a comet and laboratory study of samples collected from a comet and returned to the Earth for detailed study.

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Isotopic analysis of early solar system objects by an ion microprobe: Parametric studies and initial results

Journal of Earth System Science ◽

10.1007/bf02880809 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 103 (1) ◽

pp. 57-82

Author(s):

J N Goswami ◽

G Srinivasan

Keyword(s):

Solar System ◽

Isotopic Analysis ◽

Ion Microprobe ◽

Early Solar System ◽

Solar System Objects ◽

Parametric Studies ◽

Initial Results

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Aluminum-26 chronology of dust coagulation and early solar system evolution

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aaw3350 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (9) ◽

pp. eaaw3350 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M.-C. Liu ◽

J. Han ◽

A. J. Brearley ◽

A. T. Hertwig

Keyword(s):

Solar System ◽

Time Scales ◽

Time Scale ◽

Isotopic Analysis ◽

Class I ◽

Terrestrial Planets ◽

The Sun ◽

Early Solar System ◽

System Evolution ◽

Time Gap

Dust condensation and coagulation in the early solar system are the first steps toward forming the terrestrial planets, but the time scales of these processes remain poorly constrained. Through isotopic analysis of small Ca-Al–rich inclusions (CAIs) (30 to 100 μm in size) found in one of the most pristine chondrites, Allan Hills A77307 (CO3.0), for the short-lived 26Al-26Mg [t1/2 = 0.72 million years (Ma)] system, we have identified two main populations of samples characterized by well-defined 26Al/27Al = 5.40 (±0.13) × 10−5 and 4.89 (±0.10) × 10−5. The result of the first population suggests a 50,000-year time scale between the condensation of micrometer-sized dust and formation of inclusions tens of micrometers in size. The 100,000-year time gap calculated from the above two 26Al/27Al ratios could also represent the duration for the Sun being a class I source.

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The ALMA-PILS Survey: New insights into the complex chemistry of young stars

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921319002849 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (S345) ◽

pp. 132-136

Author(s):

Jes K. Jørgensen ◽

Keyword(s):

Solar System ◽

Organic Molecules ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Young Stars ◽

Early Solar System ◽

Fundamental Goal ◽

Solar Type ◽

Complex Chemistry ◽

Spectral Survey ◽

Complex Organic

AbstractUnderstanding how, when and where complex organic and potentially prebiotic molecules are formed is a fundamental goal of astrochemistry. Since its beginning the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has demonstrated its capabilities for studies of the chemistry of solar-type stars. Its high sensitivity and fine spectral and angular resolution makes it possible to study the chemistry of young stars on Solar System scales. We here present an unbiased spectral survey, Protostellar Interferometric Line Survey (PILS), of the astrochemical template source and Class 0 protostellar binary IRAS 16293-2422 using ALMA. The high quality ALMA data have allowed us to detect a wealth of species previously undetected toward solar-type protostars as well as the interstellar medium in general. Also, the data show the presence of numerous rare isotopologues of complex organic molecules and other species: the exact measurements of the abundances of the complex organic molecules and their isotopologues shed new light onto the formation of these species and provide a chemical link between the embedded protostellar stages and the early Solar System.

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