Interstellar ices as carriers of supernova material to the early solar system
(2025) In Nature Communications 16(1).- Abstract
Planetary materials show systematic variations in their nucleosynthetic isotope compositions that resonate with orbital distance. The origin of this pattern remains debated, limiting how these isotopic signatures can be used to trace the precursors of terrestrial planets. Here we test the hypothesis that interstellar ices carried supernova-produced nuclides by searching for a supernova nucleosynthetic fingerprint in aqueous alteration minerals from carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. We focus on zirconium, a refractory element that includes the neutron-rich isotope 96Zr formed in core-collapse supernovae. Leaching experiments reveal extreme 96Zr enrichments in alteration minerals, showing that... (More)
Planetary materials show systematic variations in their nucleosynthetic isotope compositions that resonate with orbital distance. The origin of this pattern remains debated, limiting how these isotopic signatures can be used to trace the precursors of terrestrial planets. Here we test the hypothesis that interstellar ices carried supernova-produced nuclides by searching for a supernova nucleosynthetic fingerprint in aqueous alteration minerals from carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. We focus on zirconium, a refractory element that includes the neutron-rich isotope 96Zr formed in core-collapse supernovae. Leaching experiments reveal extreme 96Zr enrichments in alteration minerals, showing that they incorporated supernova material hosted in interstellar ices. We show that the Solar System’s zirconium isotope variability reflects mixing between these ices and an ice-free rocky component. Finally, the presence of supernova nuclides in a volatile carrier supports models where the Solar System’s nucleosynthetic variability was imparted by thermal processing of material in the protoplanetary disk and during planetary accretion.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Nature Communications
- volume
- 16
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 10657
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105023322826
- pmid:41309572
- ISSN
- 2041-1723
- DOI
- 10.1038/s41467-025-65672-5
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0f3bd488-68eb-4ba3-b5d9-84bf40bda27b
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-14 13:10:27
- date last changed
- 2026-02-11 15:54:08
@article{0f3bd488-68eb-4ba3-b5d9-84bf40bda27b,
abstract = {{<p>Planetary materials show systematic variations in their nucleosynthetic isotope compositions that resonate with orbital distance. The origin of this pattern remains debated, limiting how these isotopic signatures can be used to trace the precursors of terrestrial planets. Here we test the hypothesis that interstellar ices carried supernova-produced nuclides by searching for a supernova nucleosynthetic fingerprint in aqueous alteration minerals from carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. We focus on zirconium, a refractory element that includes the neutron-rich isotope <sup>96</sup>Zr formed in core-collapse supernovae. Leaching experiments reveal extreme <sup>96</sup>Zr enrichments in alteration minerals, showing that they incorporated supernova material hosted in interstellar ices. We show that the Solar System’s zirconium isotope variability reflects mixing between these ices and an ice-free rocky component. Finally, the presence of supernova nuclides in a volatile carrier supports models where the Solar System’s nucleosynthetic variability was imparted by thermal processing of material in the protoplanetary disk and during planetary accretion.</p>}},
author = {{Bizzarro, Martin and Schiller, Martin and Holst, Jesper and Bouvier, Laura and Groen, Miroslav and Moynier, Frédéric and van Kooten, Elishevah M.M.E. and Schönbächler, Maria and Haugbølle, Troels and Watson, Darach and Johansen, Anders and Connelly, James N. and Bizzarro, Emil}},
issn = {{2041-1723}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
series = {{Nature Communications}},
title = {{Interstellar ices as carriers of supernova material to the early solar system}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65672-5}},
doi = {{10.1038/s41467-025-65672-5}},
volume = {{16}},
year = {{2025}},
}