10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
[PPS12-07] The initial abundance and distribution of 92Nb in the Solar System
★Invited papers
Keywords:achondrite, early Solar System chronology, nucleosynthesis
Here we present Nb-Zr data for mineral fractions from four unbrecciated meteorites, which originate from distinct parent bodies and whose U-Pb ages were precisely determined: the angrite NWA 4590, the eucrite Agoult and the ungrouped achondrites Ibitira. Our results show that the relative Nb–Zr isochron ages of the three meteorites are consistent with the time intervals obtained from the Pb–Pb chronometer for pyroxene and plagioclase, indicating that 92Nb was homogeneously distributed among their source regions. The Nb–Zr and Pb–Pb data for NWA 4590 yield the most reliable and precise reference point for anchoring the Nb–Zr chronometer to the absolute timescale: an initial 92Nb/93Nb ratio of (1.4 ± 0.5) × 10-5 at 4557.93 ± 0.36 Ma, which corresponds to a 92Nb/93Nb ratio of (1.7 ± 0.6) × 10-5 at the time of the Solar System formation. On the basis of this new initial ratio, we demonstrate the capability of the Nb–Zr chronometer to date early Solar System objects including troilite and rutile, such as iron and stony-iron meteorites. Furthermore, we estimate a nucleosynthetic production ratio of 92Nb to the p-nucleus 92Mo between 0.0015 and 0.035. This production ratio, together with the solar abundances of other p-nuclei with similar masses, can be best explained if these light p-nuclei were primarily synthesized by photodisintegration reactions in Type Ia supernovae.
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