Radiogenic heating of comets by Al-26 and implications for their time of formation

Details Radiogenic heating of comets by Al-26 and implications for their time of formation Radiogenic heating of comets by Al-26 and implications for their time of formation

Aug 1987

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1987apj...319..993p&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 319, Aug. 15, 1987, p. 993-1002. Research supported by the Adler Fund for S

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29

Aluminum 26, Comet Nuclei, Evolution (Development), Radiant Heating, Radiogenic Materials, Abundance, Astronomical Models, Ice Formation, Radii, Time Temperature Parameter, Comets, Heating, Aluminum 26, Formation, Radiogenic Material, Evolution, Radioisotopes, Abundance, Icy Bodies, Size, Radius, Amorphous Material, Mantle, Crystalline Material, Planets, Satellites, Calculations, Models, Procedure, Crystallization, Parameters, Temperature, Dust, Energy, Thermal Effects, Radioactive Decay, Schwassmann-Wachma

Scientific paper

The effect of radiogenic heating on the thermal evolution of spherical icy bodies with radii 1 km < R < 100 km was investigated. The radioisotopes considered were 26Al, 40K, 232Th, 235U, and 238U. The main object of this study is to examine the conditions under which the transition temperature from amorphous into cubic ice (Ta= 137K) would be reached. It is shown that the influence of the short-lived radionuclide 26Al dominates the effect of other radioactive species for bodies of radii up to ≡50 km. Consequently, if one requires comets to retain their ice in amorphous form, as suggested by observations, an upper limit of ≡4×10-9 is obtained for the initial 26Al abundance in comets, a factor of 100 lower than that of the inclusions in the Allende meteorite. A lower limit for the formation time of comets may thus be derived.

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