Boron Isotopes pp 273-289 | Cite as

The Cosmochemistry of Boron Isotopes

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Advances in Isotope Geochemistry book series (ADISOTOPE)

Abstract

The boron elemental abundances and isotopic compositions in the universe and constituents (stars, interstellar medium and the Solar System material) within it have important implications for the astrophysical origins of this element. Astronomical observations and laboratory analysis have revealed that despite a significant difference in boron abundances among different objects, the 11B/10B ratio of 4 appears to be ubiquitous (within measurement uncertainties) across the Galaxy. Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) spallation, which yields 11B/10B = 2.5, cannot have been the sole source of B; another mechanism that favors the production of 11B over that of 10B must have operated over the Galactic timescale. However, how exactly the Galaxy, interstellar medium, and the Solar System acquired the 11B/10B ratio of 4 remains poorly understood.

Keywords

Boron isotopes Meteorites Nucleosynthesis 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Horst Marschall for his invitation to write this review paper and his comments on the first and final versions of the manuscript. Constructive comments from two reviewers, Drs. Glenn MacPherson and Don Burnett, greatly improved the presentation of this paper.

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space SciencesUCLALos AngelesUSA
  2. 2.Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), CNRSParisFrance

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