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Updated: May 17, 2026

Simulation of the Planetary Interior Differentiation Processes in the Laboratory
Published on: November 15, 2013
The absolute chronology and thermal processing of solids in the solar protoplanetary disk
James N Connelly1, Martin Bizzarro, Alexander N Krot
1Centre for Star and Planet Formation and Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. connelly@snm.ku.dk
Abstract:
Transient heating events that formed calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules are fundamental processes in the evolution of the solar protoplanetary disk, but their chronology is not understood. Using U-corrected Pb-Pb dating, we determined absolute ages of individual CAIs and chondrules from primitive meteorites. CAIs define a brief formation interval corresponding to an age of 4567.30 ± 0.16 million years (My), whereas chondrule ages range from 4567.32 ± 0.42 to 4564.71 ± 0.30 My. These data refute the long-held view of an age gap between CAIs and chondrules and, instead, indicate that chondrule formation started contemporaneously with CAIs and lasted ~3 My. This time scale is similar to disk lifetimes inferred from astronomical observations, suggesting that the formation of CAIs and chondrules reflects a process intrinsically linked to the secular evolution of accretionary disks.
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