Cosmochemical Consequences of Particle Trajectories During FU Orionis Outbursts by the Early Sun

Abstract

The solar nebula is thought to have undergone a number of episodes of FU Orionis outbursts during its early evolution. We present here the first calculations of the trajectories of particles in a marginally gravitationally unstable solar nebula during an FU Orionis outburst, which show that 0.1 to 10 cm-sized particles traverse radial distances of 10 AU or more, inward and outward, in less than 200 yrs, exposing the particles to temperatures from $\sim$ 60 K to $\sim$ 1500 K. Such trajectories can thus account for the discovery of refractory particles in comets. Refractory particles should acquire Wark-Lovering-like rims as they leave the highest temperature regions of the disk, and these rims should have significant variations in their stable oxygen isotope ratios. Particles are likely to be heavily modified or destroyed if they pass within 1 AU of the Sun, and so are only likely to survive if they formed in the final few FU Orionis outbursts, or were transported to the outer reaches of the solar system. Calcium, aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from primitive meteorites are the oldest known solar system objects and have a very narrow age range. Most CAIs may have formed at the end of the FU Orionis outbursts phase, with an age range reflecting the period between the last few outbursts.

32 pages, 4 figures, in press, EPSL

References in corpus (4)

• Structure and evolution of pre-main sequence circumstellar disks
• New composite models of partially ionized protoplanetary disks
• Numerical simulations of type III planetary migration: III. Outward migration of massive planets
• Mixing in the Solar Nebula: Implications for Isotopic Heterogeneity and Large-Scale Transport of Refractory Grains

Cited by in corpus (8)

• The Effect of Jupiter's Formation on the Distribution of Refractory Elements and Inclusions in Meteorites
• Grain opacity and the bulk composition of extrasolar planets. II. An analytical model for the grain opacity in protoplanetary atmospheres
• Mixing and Transport of Short-Lived and Stable Isotopes and Refractory Grains in Protoplanetary Disks
• Transport of solids in protoplanetary disks: Comparing meteorites and astrophysical models
• Orbital Migration of Protoplanets in a Marginally Gravitationally Unstable Disk
• A Unified Framework for Producing CAI Melting, Wark-Lovering Rims and Bowl-Shaped CAIs
• The effect of Jupiter on the CAI storage problem
• Setting the Stage: The Early History of the Solar System