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Age structure of refractory interstellar dust and isotopic consequencesA sputtering and recycling Monte Carlo model, developed by Liffman and Clayton (1988) is used to calculate the distribution of existence times of the matter in interstellar dust composed of refractory metals. The mean age of each dust particle is defined not as the time it has existed but rather as the mass-weighted existence times of its parts at t = 6 Gyr of the modeled solar system formation. It is shown that Galactic evolution generates a mean correlation, applying to large numbers of particles binned according to size rather than according to individual particles, whose mean ages fluctuate statistically. The cosmochemical consequence is that if interstellar particles can be dynamically sorted into separate size populations during the aggregation history of solar system bodies, the collections of larger grains will constitute matter that is chemically older than collections of smaller grains. The macroscopic age difference generates isotopic anomalies by virtue of the time dependence of the secondary/primary nucleosynthesis yields. Results are compared with three different prescriptions for the sputtering of interstellar dust.
Document ID
19900026024
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Clayton, Donald D.
(Clemson University SC, United States)
Scowen, Paul
(Rice University Houston, TX, United States)
Liffman, Kurt
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1989
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 346
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
90A13079
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-9100
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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