Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction to cosmochemistry
- 2 Nuclides and elements: the building blocks of matter
- 3 Origin of the elements
- 4 Solar system and cosmic abundances: elements and isotopes
- 5 Presolar grains: a record of stellar nucleosynthesis and processes in interstellar space
- 6 Meteorites: a record of nebular and planetary processes
- 7 Cosmochemical and geochemical fractionations
- 8 Radioisotopes as chronometers
- 9 Chronology of the solar system from radioactive isotopes
- 10 The most volatile elements and compounds: organic matter, noble gases, and ices
- 11 Chemistry of anhydrous planetesimals
- 12 Chemistry of comets and other ice-bearing planetesimals
- 13 Geochemical exploration of planets: Moon and Mars as case studies
- 14 Cosmochemical models for the formation of the solar system
- Appendix: Some analytical techniques commonly used in cosmochemistry
- Index
- References
14 - Cosmochemical models for the formation of the solar system
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Introduction to cosmochemistry
- 2 Nuclides and elements: the building blocks of matter
- 3 Origin of the elements
- 4 Solar system and cosmic abundances: elements and isotopes
- 5 Presolar grains: a record of stellar nucleosynthesis and processes in interstellar space
- 6 Meteorites: a record of nebular and planetary processes
- 7 Cosmochemical and geochemical fractionations
- 8 Radioisotopes as chronometers
- 9 Chronology of the solar system from radioactive isotopes
- 10 The most volatile elements and compounds: organic matter, noble gases, and ices
- 11 Chemistry of anhydrous planetesimals
- 12 Chemistry of comets and other ice-bearing planetesimals
- 13 Geochemical exploration of planets: Moon and Mars as case studies
- 14 Cosmochemical models for the formation of the solar system
- Appendix: Some analytical techniques commonly used in cosmochemistry
- Index
- References
Summary
Overview
Cosmochemistry places important constraints on models for the origin of the solar nebula and the formation and evolution of planets. We explore nebula constraints by defining the thermal conditions under which meteorite components formed and examine the isotopic evidence for interaction of the nebula with the ISM and a nearby supernova. We consider how planetary bulk compositions are estimated and how they are used to understand the formation of the terrestrial and giant planets from nebular materials. We review the differentiation of planets, focusing especially on the Earth. We also consider how orbital and collisional evolution has redistributed materials formed in different thermal and compositional regimes within the solar system.
Constraints on the nebula
Understanding the formation of the solar system requires that we delve into processes for which there are no counterparts in terrestrial experience. Grand models for the formation and evolution of the solar nebula are mostly exercises in the physics of gravitational collapse and orbital mechanics. However, cosmochemistry imposes critical constraints on nebular conditions, events, and chronology. In this chapter, we consider how astrophysical models for the formation of the Sun and its accretion disk can be reconciled with cosmochemistry. Theories about how the planets were assembled in the nebula are likewise dominated by physical models of accretion, but cosmochemistry provides information about the nature of precursor materials and the timescales for planet assembly and differentiation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Cosmochemistry , pp. 484 - 517Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
References
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