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We investigated the stable isotope fractionation of chromium (Cr) for a panorama of chondrites, including EH and EL enstatite chondrites and their chondrules and different phases (by acid leaching). We observed that chondrites have heterogeneous δ 53Cr values (per mil deviation of the 53Cr/52Cr from the NIST SRM 979 standard), which we suggest reflect different physical conditions in the different chondrite accretion regions. Chondrules from a primitive EH3 chondrite (SAH 97096) possess isotopically heavier Cr relative to their host bulk chondrite, which may be caused by Cr evaporation in a reduced chondrule-forming region of the protoplanetary disk. Enstatite chondrites show a range of bulk δ 53Cr values that likely result from variable mixing of isotopically different sulfide-silicate-metal phases. The bulk silicate Earth (δ 53Cr = –0.12 ± 0.02‰, 2SE) has a lighter Cr stable isotope composition compared to the average δ 53Cr value of enstatite chondrites (–0.05 ± 0.02‰, 2SE, when two samples out of 19 are excluded). If the bulk Earth originally had a Cr isotopic composition that was similar to the average enstatite chondrites, this Cr isotope difference may be caused by evaporation under equilibrium conditions from magma oceans on Earth or its planetesimal building blocks, as previously suggested to explain the magnesium and silicon isotope differences between Earth and enstatite chondrites. Alternatively, chemical differences between Earth and enstatite chondrite can result from thermal processes in the solar nebula and the enstatite chondrite-Earth, which would also have changed the Cr isotopic composition of Earth and enstatite chondrite parent body precursors.

International audience; Chondrules are major components of chondrites and are believed to drive the accretion of planetary embryos. As such, constraining the timing and origin of chondrules is central for understanding the early evolution of the solar system and the formation of planets. Enstatite chondrites (ECs) have isotope compositions for multiple elements that match that of the Earth and, thus, are considered to be good analogs of the precursor material from which the Earth formed. Here, we report the first high-precision mass-independent Cr isotope data of nine chondrules in one of the least-altered EH chondrites, Sahara 97096. Seven primitive chondrules show typical Cr-54/Cr-52 ratios of bulk ECs, whereas two chondrules have ratios similar to carbonaceous chondrites. The presence of two chondrules with a carbonaceous chondrite signature suggests early inward transport of material to the EC accretion region. The Mn/Cr ratios of the EC-like chondrules (except one with high Fe content) correlate with their Cr-53/Cr-52 isotope ratios, which we interpret as a fossil isochron, with a slope corresponding to a Mn-53/Mn-55 initial ratio of (5.01 0.59) x 10(-6) (2 sigma). When anchored to the D'Orbigny angrite, this Mn-53/Mn-55 ratio returns an absolute age of 4565.7 0.7 Ma for EC chondrule formation (precursor age), 1.6 0.7 Ma after solar system formation. This protracted formation of EC chondrules may suggest that the mass transfer of outer solar system material started prior to the end of planetary embryo accretion, as chondrules could represent the main building blocks of terrestrial planets.

Chondrules are igneous spherical objects preserved in chondritic meteorites and believed to have formed during transient heating events in the solar protoplanetary disk. Chondrules present in the metal-rich CB chondrites show unusual chemical and petrologic features not observed in other chondrite groups, implying a markedly distinct formation mechanism. Here, we report high-precision Mg-isotope data for 10 skeletal olivine chondrules from the Hammadah al Hamra 237 (HH237) chondrite to probe the formation history of CB chondrules. The 27 Al/ 24 Mg ratios of individual chondrules are positively correlated to their stable Mg-isotope composition (μ 25 Mg), indicating that the correlated variability was imparted by a volatility-controlled process (evaporation/condensation). The mass-independent 26 Mg composition (μ 26 Mg*) of chondrules is consistent with single stage formation from an initially homogeneous magnesium reservoir if the observed μ 25 Mg variability was generated by non-ideal Rayleigh- type evaporative fractionation characterized by a β value of 0.5142, in agreement with experimental work. The magnitude of the mass-dependent fractionation (∼300 ppm) is significantly lower than that suggested by the increase in 27 Al/ 24 Mg values, indicating substantial suppression of isotopic fractionation during evaporative loss of Mg, possibly due to evaporation at high Mg partial pressure. Thus, the Mg-isotope data of skeletal chondrules from HH237 are consistent with their origin as melts produced in the impact-generated plume of colliding planetesimals. The inferred μ 26 Mg* value of −3.87 ± 0.93 ppm for the CB parent body is significantly lower than the bulk solar system value of 4.5 ± 1.1 ppm inferred from CI chondrites, suggesting that CB chondrites accreted material comprising an early formed 26 Al-free component.

The existence of correlated nucleosynthetic heterogeneities in solar system reservoirs is now well demonstrated for numerous nuclides. However, it has proven difficult to discriminate between the two disparate processes that can explain such correlated variability: incomplete mixing of presolar material or secondary processing of a well-mixed disk. Using stepwise acid-leaching of the Ivuna CI-chondrite, we show that unlike other nuclides such as 54Cr and 50Ti, Sr-isotope variability is the result of a carrier depleted in 84Sr. The carrier is most likely presolar SiC, which is known to have both high Sr-concentrations relative to solar abundances and extremely depleted 84Sr compositions. Thus, variability in 84Sr in meteorites and their components can be attributed to varying contributions from presolar SiC. The observed 84Sr excesses in calcium-aluminum refractory inclusions (CAIs) suggest their formation from an SiC-free gaseous reservoir, whereas the 84Sr depletions present in differentiated meteorites require their formation from material with an increased concentration of SiC relative to CI chondrites. The presence of a positive correlation between 84Sr and 54Cr, despite being hosted in carriers of negative and positive anomalies, respectively, is not compatible with incomplete mixing of presolar material but instead suggests that the solar system's nucleosynthetic heterogeneity reflects selective thermal processing of dust. Based on vaporization experiments of SiC under nebular conditions, the lack of SiC material in the CAI-forming gas inferred from our data requires that the duration of thermal processing of dust resulting in the vaporization of CAI precursors was extremely short-lived, possibly lasting only hours to days.

Asteroid 4 Vesta has long been postulated as the source for the howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) achondrite meteorites. Here we show that Al-free diogenite meteorites record variability in the mass-independent abundance of 26Mg (26Mg*) that is correlated with their mineral chemistry. This suggests that these meteorites captured the Mg-isotopic evolution of a large-scale differentiating magma body with increasing 27Al/24Mg during the lifespan of the short-lived 26Al nuclide (t 1/2 ~ 730,000 yr). Thus, diogenites and eucrites represent crystallization products of a large-scale magma ocean associated with the differentiation and magmatic evolution of the HED parent body. The 26Mg* composition of the most primitive diogenites requires onset of the magma ocean crystallization within 0.6–0.4 + 0.5 Myr of solar system formation. Moreover, 26Mg* variations among diogenites and eucrites imply that near complete solidification of the HED parent body occurred within the following 2-3 Myr. Thermal models predict that such rapid cooling and magma ocean crystallization could only occur on small asteroids (

With a half-life of 0.73 Myr, the 26Al-to-26Mg decay system is the most widely used short-lived chronometer for understanding the formation and earliest evolution of the solar protoplanetary disk. However, the validity of 26Al-26Mg ages of meteorites and their components relies on the critical assumption that the canonical 26Al/27Al ratio of ~5 × 10–5 recorded by the oldest dated solids, calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs), represents the initial abundance of 26Al for the solar system as a whole. Here, we report high-precision Mg-isotope measurements of inner solar system solids, asteroids, and planets demonstrating the existence of widespread heterogeneity in the mass-independent 26Mg composition (μ26Mg*) of bulk solar system reservoirs with solar or near-solar Al/Mg ratios. This variability may represent heterogeneity in the initial abundance of 26Al across the solar protoplanetary disk at the time of CAI formation and/or Mg-isotope heterogeneity. By comparing the U-Pb and 26Al-26Mg ages of pristine solar system materials, we infer that the bulk of the μ26Mg* variability reflects heterogeneity in the initial abundance of 26Al across the solar protoplanetary disk. We conclude that the canonical value of ~5 × 10–5 represents the average initial abundance of 26Al only in the CAI-forming region, and that large-scale heterogeneity—perhaps up to 80% of the canonical value—may have existed throughout the inner solar system. If correct, our interpretation of the Mg-isotope composition of inner solar system objects precludes the use of the 26Al-26Mg system as an accurate early solar system chronometer.