The Formation Environment of the Solar System: A Perspective from Short-Lived Radionuclides
When
Where
Dr. Ming-Chang Liu
Ion Microprobe Specialist & Manager of NSF National Ion Microprobe Facility
Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA
One key question in Solar System formation concerns the astrophysical environment in which the solar protoplanetary disk resided. Information necessary to answer this question can be derived from isotopic studies of refractory inclusions in chondritic meteorites, such as Ca-Al-rich Inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules, which are among the oldest solids in the Solar System. These inclusions are known to have preserved fossil records of several very short-lived radioactive isotopes (t_1/2 10 Myrs) present in the early Solar System. The initial abundances of these now-extinct radioactivities, inferred through radiogenic excesses of their daughter isotopes in refractory inclusions by using mass spectrometry, can help us place a constraint on their astrophysical sources, from which one could derive a better understanding of the immediate environment surrounding the forming Solar System. In this talk, I will present some recently obtained results of measurements of various refractory inclusions for short-lived radionuclides and then discuss their implications for the formation of the Solar System.
Refreshments served at 3:30p.m. in Kuiper third-floor atrium.