Short-Lived Nuclides in the Early Solar System: Abundances, Origins, and Applications

Abstract

Several short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) were present in the first few million years of Solar System history. Their abundances have profound impact on the timing of stellar nucleosynthesis events prior to Solar System formation, chronology of events in the early Solar System, early solar activity, heating of early-formed planetesimals, and chronology of planet formation. Isotopic analytical techniques have undergone dramatic improvements in the past decade, leading to tighter constraints on the levels of SLRs in the early Solar System and on the use of these nuclides for detailed chronological studies. This review emphasizes the abundances of SLRs when the Solar System formed and how we know them, and briefly discusses the origins of these nuclides and applications in planetary science.