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Origin of meteoritic stardust unveiled by a revised proton-capture rate of 17O

Nature Astronomy volume 1, Article number: 0027 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Stardust grains recovered from meteorites provide high-precision snapshots of the isotopic composition of the stellar environment in which they formed1. Attributing their origin to specific types of stars, however, often proves difficult. Intermediate-mass stars of 4–8 solar masses are expected to have contributed a large fraction of meteoritic stardust2,3. Yet, no grains have been found with the characteristic isotopic compositions expected for such stars4,5. This is a long-standing puzzle, which points to serious gaps in our understanding of the lifecycle of stars and dust in our Galaxy. Here we show that the increased proton-capture rate of 17O reported by a recent underground experiment6 leads to 17O/16O isotopic ratios that match those observed in a population of stardust grainsfor proton-burning temperatures of 60–80 MK. These temperatures are achieved at the base of the convective envelope during the late evolution of intermediate-mass stars of 4–8 solar masses7–9, which reveals them as the most likely site of origin of the grains. This result provides direct evidence that these stars contributed to the dust inventory from which the Solar System formed.

Stardust grains found in meteorites (and also interplanetary dust particles and samples returned from the comet Wild 2) represent the very small fraction of presolar dust that survived destruction in the protosolar nebula. They originally condensed in the atmospheres of evolved stars and in nova and supernova ejecta and were preserved inside meteorites1. Their isotopic compositions are measured with high precision (a few percent uncertainty) via mass spectrometry and provide us with deep insights into stellar physics and the origin of elements and of dust in the Galaxy. Identified stardust includes both carbon-rich (diamond, graphite, silicon carbide) and oxygen-rich (for example, silicates and Al-rich oxides) grains, with carbon-rich grains condensing from gas where carbon atoms outnumber oxygen (C > O), and oxygen-rich grains from gas with C < O. Here we focus on oxide and silicate grains, which are classified into different groups mostly based on their oxygen isotopic compositions10. Group I grains make up the majority (∼75%) of oxide and silicate grains and show excesses in 17O characteristic of the first dredge-up in red giant stars of initial mass ∼1–3 M⊙, with a maximum 17O/16O ratio of ∼0.003. Their origin is generally well understood and attributed to the O-rich phases of the subsequent asymptotic giant branch (AGB), where large amounts of dust condense in the cool, expanding stellar envelopes2. Group II grains represent roughly 10% of all presolar oxide grains, although this is a lower limit since measured compositions may suffer from isotopic dilution during ion probe analysis. Like Group I grains, they display excesses in 17O (17O/16O up to 0.0015), but are also highly depleted in 18O, having 18O/16O ratios that are up to two orders of magnitude less than the corresponding value for the Sun. The initial ratio of the radioactive 26Al (half life, t1/2 = 0.7 Myr) to 27Al is inferred from 26Mg excesses, and in Group II grains it reaches 0.1, almost an order of magnitude higher than the average ratio for Group I grains. While this composition is the indisputable signature of H burning activating proton captures on the oxygen isotopes and 25Mg (the 25Mg(p, γ)26Al reaction), hypotheses on the site of formation for Group II grains are still tentative.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the internal structure of AGB stars at the interface between the H-burning region and the convective envelope.
Figure 2: Equilibrium 17O/16O ratio defined as the ratio of the production to destruction rates of 17O in the temperature range of interest for AGB stars.
Figure 3: Evolution of the oxygen isotopic ratios at the surface of AGB models of different masses.
Figure 4: Evolution of selected Mg versus O and Al versus O isotopic ratios at the surface of AGB models of different masses.

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Acknowledgements

We thank O. Pols and R. Izzard for useful insights on binary systems and P. Marigo for discussion of our results. M.L. is a Momentum (‘Lendìlet-2014’ Programme) project leader of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. M.L. and A.I.K. are grateful for the support of the National Computational Infrastructure National Facility at the Australian National University.

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Author notes

  1. D. A. Scott

    Present address: †Present address: Communications Audit UK, Aerotech Business Park, Bamfurlong Lane, Cheltenham GL51 6ST, UK,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, 1121, Hungary

    M. Lugaro

  2. Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA), Monash University, Clayton,, Victoria 3800, Australia

    M. Lugaro & A. I. Karakas

  3. Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2611, Australia

    A. I. Karakas

  4. Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, 277-8583, Chiba, Japan

    A. I. Karakas

  5. SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh , EH9 3FD, UK

    C. G. Bruno, M. Aliotta, T. Davinson & D. A. Scott

  6. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, DC 20015, USA

    L. R. Nittler

  7. Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, Dresden, 01328, Germany

    D. Bemmerer & M. P. Takács

  8. Università di Napoli Federico II and INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Napoli, Strada Comunale Cinthia, 80126, Italy

    A. Best, A. Di Leva & G. Imbriani

  9. Gran Sasso Science Institute, INFN, Viale Francesco Crispi 7, L’Aquila, 67100, Italy

    A. Boeltzig & G. F. Ciani

  10. INFN, Sezione di Padova, Via Francesco Marzolo 8, Padova, 35131, Italy

    C. Broggini & R. Menegazzo

  11. Università degli Studi di Padova and INFN, Sezione di Padova, Via Francesco Marzolo 8, Padova, 35131, Italy

    A. Caciolli, R. Depalo & D. Piatti

  12. Università degli Studi di Genova and INFN, Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, Genova, 16146, Italy

    F. Cavanna, P. Corvisiero, F. Ferraro & P. Prati

  13. Institute for Nuclear Research (MTA ATOMKI), PO Box 51, Debrecen, 4001, Hungary

    Z. Elekes, Zs. Fülöp, Gy. Gyürky & T. Szücs

  14. INFN, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS), Assergi, 67100, Italy

    A. Formicola, M. Junker & O. Straniero

  15. Università degli Studi di Torino and INFN, Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, Torino, 10125, Italy

    G. Gervino

  16. Università degli Studi di Milano and INFN, Sezione di Milano, Via Giovanni Celoria 16, Milano, 20133, Italy

    A. Guglielmetti & D. Trezzi

  17. INFN, Sezione di Roma La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, Roma, 00185, Italy

    C. Gustavino

  18. Università degli Studi di Bari and INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, Bari, 70125, Italy

    V. Mossa & F. R. Pantaleo

  19. INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Teramo, Teramo, 64100, Italy

    O. Straniero

  20. South Dakota School of Mines, 501 East, Saint Joseph Street

    F. Strieder

  21. South Dakota , 57701, USA

    F. Strieder

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Contributions

M.L. designed and carried out the research, ran the nucleosynthesis models, prepared the figures, and wrote the paper. A.I.K. ran the stellar structure models, discussed the results and wrote the paper. C.G.B. played a key role in the set up and running of the underground experiment relating to the 17O(p, α)14N reaction and analysed the data to derive the new rate. M.A. contributed to running the experiment and wrote the paper. L.R.N. contributed to the collection of the stardust grain data, discussed the results, prepared the figures, and wrote the paper. The other authors are co-investigators who set up and ran the underground experiment that lasted about three years, from 2012 to 2015, and made the measurements possible. O.S. also discussed the results.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Lugaro.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Lugaro, M., Karakas, A., Bruno, C. et al. Origin of meteoritic stardust unveiled by a revised proton-capture rate of 17O. Nat Astron 1, 0027 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-016-0027

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