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Published on: June 5, 2014
Stardust as nucleation seeds for the earliest solids in the Solar System
Ren T C Marquez1, Bruce L A Charlier2, François L H Tissot1
1The Isotoparium, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Science Advances
|July 29, 2026
Summary
Presolar stardust, not fully vaporized, likely seeded early Solar System solids. Extreme strontium-84 excesses in calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) suggest stardust influenced early condensate compositions.
Area of Science:
- Cosmochemistry and Planetary Science
- Isotope Geochemistry
- Presolar Grains and Early Solar System Condensation
Background:
- Extreme strontium-84 excesses reported in fine-grained calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (fg-CAIs).
- These anomalies challenge the assumption that presolar grains were fully vaporized in the CAI-forming region.
- Presolar materials may be preserved in refractory meteoritic components, impacting early Solar System heterogeneity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reappraise the role of presolar materials in early condensation and disk heterogeneity.
- To investigate the hosting of extreme strontium-84 anomalies within primary fg-CAI phases.
- To understand the influence of presolar precursors on condensate compositions.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of strontium from primary fine-grained calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion (fg-CAI) phases.
- Analysis of strontium isotope anomalies, specifically strontium-84 excesses.
- Correlation of isotopic anomalies with the abundance of presolar precursors in different CAI phases.
Main Results:
- Extreme strontium-84 anomalies are primarily hosted in a subpopulation of CAI oxides.
- Anomalies in primitive noncarrier phases are attenuated but correlated with presolar precursor abundance.
- This suggests that presolar carriers significantly influence the isotopic composition of ensuing condensates.
Conclusions:
- Presolar stardust is likely preserved in refractory CAI components and acted as nucleation seeds.
- Stardust influenced the earliest solid formation and contributed to isotopic anomalies in refractory CAIs.
- This reconciles the presence of presolar grains with observed isotopic heterogeneities in the early Solar System.
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