| Home > The oxygen isotopic composition of the Sun as a test of the supernova origin of Al-26 and Ca-41 |
Short-lived radionuclides were present in the solar protoplanetary disk in abundances much higher than in the ambient interstellar medium and require a last minute origin. Al-26 (T-1/2 = 0.73 Myr) and Ca-41 (T-1/2 = 0.1 Myr) abundances in the protoplanetary disk constrain models for the origin of short-lived radionuclides because they share a common origin. It is usually assumed that these isotopes were injected into the disk from a nearby Type II supernova. Here we show that the oxygen isotopic composition of the protoplanetary disk would have shifted by several percent relative to the Sun as a result of such injection. Therefore, the supernova injection model will be tested by the anticipated measurement of the solar wind oxygen isotopic composition from the Genesis sample return mission.