Vapor saturation of sodium: Key to unlocking the origin of chondrules

Abstract

Sodium saturation of the vapor coexisting with chondrules at their liquidus temperatures implies that vapor-condensed phase equilibrium was reached at those temperatures for all elements more refractory than sodium. In order to investigate the possibility that chondrules formed in impact-generated plumes, equilibrium calculations were applied to droplets made from two different target compositions. Combinations of dust enrichment and Ptot were found that lead to sodium saturation, and the subsequent chemical and mineralogical evolution of the droplets was explored at those conditions. If an impact on a body of CI composition caused instantaneous heating, melting and devolatilization of the target rock and ejection of a plume of gaseous, liquid and solid matter that mixed with residual nebular gas at conditions where 50% or 90% of the sodium was retained by the resulting droplets at their liquidus temperature, their mineralogical and chemical properties would strongly resemble those of Type II chondrules. If the droplets cooled and equilibrated with the mixture of residual nebular gas and their devolatilized water, sulfur and alkalis, the fayalite content of the olivine and the chemical compositions of the bulk droplets and their glasses would closely resemble those of Types IIA and IIAB chondrules at CI dust enrichments between 400× and 800×. For 50% sodium retention, the corresponding values of Ptot are 2bars (for 400×) and 1bar (for 800×). For 90% retention, they are 25 and 10bars, respectively. If, instead, the target has an anhydrous, ordinary chondrite-like composition, called H′, the ejected droplets are bathed in a gas mix consisting mostly of devolatilized sulfur and alkalis with residual nebular gas, a much more reducing plume. If the conditions were such that sodium were retained by the resulting droplets at their liquidus temperature, the fayalite contents of the olivine and the chemical compositions of the bulk droplets and their glasses would closely resemble those of Types IA and IAB chondrules at H′ dust enrichments between 103× and 4×103×. For 90% sodium retention, the corresponding values of Ptot are 15bars (for 103×) and 2bars (for 4×103×). For 50% retention, they are 2 and 8×10−2bars, respectively.