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- Title
Origin of Plutonium-244 in the Early Solar System.
- Authors
Lugaro, Maria; Yagüe López, Andrés; Soós, Benjámin; Côté, Benoit; Pető, Mária; Vassh, Nicole; Wehmeyer, Benjamin; Pignatari, Marco
- Abstract
We investigate the origin in the early Solar System of the short-lived radionuclide 244 Pu (with a half life of 80 Myr) produced by the r a p i d (r) neutron-capture process. We consider two large sets of r-process nucleosynthesis models and analyse if the origin of 244 Pu in the ESS is consistent with that of the other r and s l o w (s) neutron-capture process radioactive nuclei. Uncertainties on the r-process models come from both the nuclear physics input and the astrophysical site. The former strongly affects the ratios of isotopes of close mass ( 129 I/ 127 I, 244 Pu/ 238 U, and 247 Pu/ 235 U). The 129 I/ 247 Cm ratio, instead, which involves isotopes of a very different mass, is much more variable than those listed above and is more affected by the physics of the astrophysical site. We consider possible scenarios for the evolution of the abundances of these radioactive nuclei in the galactic interstellar medium and verify under which scenarios and conditions solutions can be found for the origin of 244 Pu that are consistent with the origin of the other isotopes. Solutions are generally found for all the possible different regimes controlled by the interval (δ) between additions from the source to the parcel of interstellar medium gas that ended up in the Solar System, relative to decay timescales. If r-process ejecta in interstellar medium are mixed within a relatively small area (leading to a long δ), we derive that the last event that explains the 129 I and 247 Cm abundances in the early Solar System can also account for the abundance of 244 Pu. Due to its longer half life, however, 244 Pu may have originated from a few events instead of one only. If r-process ejecta in interstellar medium are mixed within a relatively large area (leading to a short δ), we derive that the time elapsed from the formation of the molecular cloud to the formation of the Sun was 9-16 Myr.
- Subjects
SOLAR system; INTERSTELLAR medium; NUCLEAR physics; GALACTIC nuclei; INTERSTELLAR gases; RADIOISOTOPES; URANIUM isotopes
- Publication
Universe (2218-1997), 2022, Vol 8, Issue 7, pN.PAG
- ISSN
2218-1997
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/universe8070343