Abstract While modeling the galactic chemical evolution (GCE) of stable elements provides insights to the formation history of the Galaxy and the relative contributions of nucleosynthesis sites, modeling the evolution of short-lived radioisotopes (SLRs) can provide supplementary timing information on recent nucleosynthesis. To study the evolution of SLRs, we need to understand their spatial distribution. Using a three-dimensional GCE model, we investigated the evolution of four SLRs: 53 Mn, 60 Fe, 182 Hf, and 244 Pu with the aim of explaining detections of recent (within the last ≈1–20 Myr) deposition of live 53 Mn, 60 Fe, and 244 Pu of extrasolar origin into deep-sea reservoirs. We find that core-collapse supernovae are the dominant propagation mechanism of SLRs in the Galaxy. This results in the simultaneous arrival of these four SLRs on Earth, although they could have been produced in different astrophysical sites, which can explain why live extrasolar 53 Mn, 60 Fe, and 244 Pu are found within the same, or similar, layers of deep-sea sediments. We predict that 182 Hf should also be found in such sediments at similar depths.
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Galactic Chemical Evolution of Radioactive Isotopes with an s-process Contribution
Abstract Analysis of inclusions in primitive meteorites reveals that several short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) with half-lives of 0.1–100 Myr existed in the early solar system (ESS). We investigate the ESS origin of 107 Pd, 135 Cs, and 182 Hf, which are produced by slow neutron captures (the s -process) in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We modeled the Galactic abundances of these SLRs using the OMEGA+ galactic chemical evolution (GCE) code and two sets of mass- and metallicity-dependent AGB nucleosynthesis yields (Monash and FRUITY). Depending on the ratio of the mean-life τ of the SLR to the average length of time between the formations of AGB progenitors γ , we calculate timescales relevant for the birth of the Sun. If τ / γ ≳ 2, we predict self-consistent isolation times between 9 and 26 Myr by decaying the GCE predicted 107 Pd/ 108 Pd, 135 Cs/ 133 Cs, and 182 Hf/ 180 Hf ratios to their respective ESS ratios. The predicted 107 Pd/ 182 Hf ratio indicates that our GCE models are missing 9%–73% of 107 Pd and 108 Pd in the ESS. This missing component may have come from AGB stars of higher metallicity than those that contributed to the ESS in our GCE code. If τ / γ ≲ 0.3, we calculate instead the time ( T LE ) from the last nucleosynthesis event that added the SLRs into the presolar matter to the formation of the oldest solids in the ESS. For the 2 M ⊙ , Z = 0.01 Monash model we find a self-consistent solution of T LE = 25.5 Myr.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1927130
- PAR ID:
- 10358445
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 924
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 10
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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