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. 2016 Nov 22:7:13639.
doi: 10.1038/ncomms13639.

Evidence from stable isotopes and 10Be for solar system formation triggered by a low-mass supernova

Projjwal Banerjee  1 , Yong-Zhong Qian  1 , Alexander Heger  2   3 , W C Haxton  4
Affiliations

Evidence from stable isotopes and 10Be for solar system formation triggered by a low-mass supernova

Projjwal Banerjee et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

About 4.6 billion years ago, some event disturbed a cloud of gas and dust, triggering the gravitational collapse that led to the formation of the solar system. A core-collapse supernova, whose shock wave is capable of compressing such a cloud, is an obvious candidate for the initiating event. This hypothesis can be tested because supernovae also produce telltale patterns of short-lived radionuclides, which would be preserved today as isotopic anomalies. Previous studies of the forensic evidence have been inconclusive, finding a pattern of isotopes differing from that produced in conventional supernova models. Here we argue that these difficulties either do not arise or are mitigated if the initiating supernova was a special type, low in mass and explosion energy. Key to our conclusion is the demonstration that short-lived 10Be can be readily synthesized in such supernovae by neutrino interactions, while anomalies in stable isotopes are suppressed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Nucleosynthetic yields as functions of the supernova progenitor's mass.
Selected yields of (a) stable isotopes and (b) short-lived radionuclides are shown, normalized to the 11.8-solar-mass model, for Case 1 with no fallback. The line segments connecting yields for specific progenitors are meant as a guide to the eye.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Relations between parameters characterizing the core-collapse supernova trigger.
The parameter f denotes the fraction of the yields of short-lived radionuclides incorporated into the proto-solar cloud, per solar mass. The parameter Δ denotes the time between the supernova explosion and incorporation of short-lived radionuclides into early solar system solids. Results are calculated from equation (1) using yields for the 11.8-solar-mass model with no fallback (Case 1) and meteoritic data for 10Be, 41Ca and 107Pd with 2σ uncertainties (Table 1). The filled circle at f∼5 × 10−4 and Δ∼1 Myr is the approximate best-fit point within the overlap region.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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