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The isotopic compositions and stellar sources of meteoritic graphite grains

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Abstract

The isotopic compositions of interstellar graphite grains in meteorites provide a record of the stellar environments in which they formed. The grains have 12C/13C ratios that range far from the terrestrial value, as well as large variations in 14N/15N and 16O/18O, and pronounced 26Mg excesses from the decay of extinct 26AI. This isotopic variability indicates several types of stellar source, including asymptotic giant branch stars, Wolf–Rayet stars and novae.

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Author notes

  1. Peter Hoppe

    Present address: Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences and the Physics Department, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, 63130, USA

    Sachiko Amari, Peter Hoppe & Ernst Zinner

  2. Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 60637, USA

    Sachiko Amari & Roy S. Lewis

Authors
  1. Sachiko Amari
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  2. Peter Hoppe
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  3. Ernst Zinner
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  4. Roy S. Lewis
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Amari, S., Hoppe, P., Zinner, E. et al. The isotopic compositions and stellar sources of meteoritic graphite grains. Nature 365, 806–809 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/365806a0

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