Search for 248Cm in the early Solar System

Abstract

Abstract— Possible evidence for the presence of 248Cm in the early Solar System was reported from fission gas studies (Rao and Gopalan, 1973) and recently from studies of very high nuclear track densities (≥ 5 × 10g cm−2) in the merrillite of the H4 chondrite Forest Vale (F. V.) (Pellas et al., 1987). We report here an analysis of the isotopic abundances of xenon in F. V. phosphates and results of track studies in phosphate/pyroxene contacts. The fission xenon isotopic signature clearly identifies 244Pu as the extinct progenitor. We calculate an upper limit 248Cm/244Pu < 1.5 × 10−3 at the beginning of Xe retention in F. V. phosphates. This corresponds to an upper limit of the ratio 248Cm/235U ≤ 5 × 10−5, further constraining the evidence for any late addition of freshly synthesized actinide elements just prior to Solar System formation. The fission track density observed after annealing the phosphates at 290 °C (1 hr, which essentially erases spallation recoil tracks) is also in agreement with the 244Pu abundance inferred from fission Xe. The spallation recoil tracks produced during the 76 Ma cosmic‐ray exposure account for the very high track density in merrillites.