On the oxygen isotopic composition of the Solar System

Eric Gaidos, Alexander N. Krot, Gary R. Huss

Published 2009-09-21Version 1

The 18O/17O ratio of the Solar System is 5.2 while that of the interstellar medium (ISM) and young stellar objects is ~4. This difference cannot be explained by pollution of the Sun's natal molecular cloud by 18O-rich supernova ejecta because (1) the necessary B-star progenitors live longer than the duration of star formation in molecular clouds; (2) the delivery of ejecta gas is too inefficient and the amount of dust in supernova ejecta is too small compared to the required pollution (2% of total mass or ~20% of oxygen); and (3) the predicted amounts of concomitant short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) conflicts with the abundances of 26Al and 41Ca in the early Solar System. Proposals for the introduction of 18O-rich material must also be consistent with any explanation for the origin of the observed slope-one relationship between 17O/16O and 18O/16O in the high-temperature components of primitive meteorites. The difference in 18O/17O ratios can be explained by enrichment of the ISM by the 17O-rich winds of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, the sequestration of comparatively 18O-rich gas from star-forming regions into long-lived, low-mass stars, and a monotonic decrease in the 18O/17O ratio of interstellar gas. At plausible rates of star formation and gas infall, Galactic chemical evolution does not follow a slope-one line in an three-isotope plot, but instead moves along a steeper trajectory towards an 17O-rich state. Evolution of the ISM and star-forming gas by AGB winds also explains the difference in the carbon isotope ratios of the Solar System and ISM.