A perspective from extinct radionuclides on a Young Stellar Object: The Sun and its accretion disk

Understand

Meteorites, which are remnants of solar system formation, provide a direct glimpse into the dynamics and evolution of a young stellar object (YSO), namely our Sun.

• Much of our knowledge about the astrophysical context of the birth of the Sun, the chronology of planetary growth from micrometer-sized dust to terrestrial planets, and the activity of the young Sun comes from the study of extinct radionuclides such as 26Al (t1/2 = 0.717 Myr).
• Here we review how the signatures of extinct radionuclides (short-lived isotopes that were present when the solar system formed and that have now decayed below detection level) in planetary materials influence the current paradigm of solar system formation.
• Particular attention is given to tying meteorite measurements to remote astronomical observations of YSOs and modeling efforts.