Future radioisotope measurements to clarify the origin of deep-ocean 244Pu

Wang, Xilu; Clark, Adam M.; Ellis, John; Ertel, Adrienne F.; Fields, Brian D.; Fry, Brian; Liu, Zhenghai; Miller, Jesse; Surman, Rebecca

doi:10.48550/arxiv.2112.09607

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Measurements of this pulse, together with those of the recently discovered earlier 60 Fe pulse from ∼7 Mya, can cast light on the formation and evolution of the Local Bubble. The discovery of 244 Pu deposited during time periods including these 60 Fe pulses may be evidence for occurrences of the r-process for astrophysical nucleosynthesis in unusual supernovae and/or an earlier kilonova (Wang et al 2021a(Wang et al , 2021b. Measurements of 244 Pu deposition with finer time resolution will help distinguish between the single-or multiplesupernova interpretations of the 60 Fe pulse from ∼3 Mya.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

Ertel

Fry

Fields

et al. 2023

ApJ

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There is a wealth of data on live, undecayed 60Fe (t 1/2 = 2.6 Myr) in deep-sea deposits, the lunar regolith, cosmic rays, and Antarctic snow, which is interpreted as originating from the recent explosions of at least two near-Earth supernovae. We use the 60Fe profiles in deep-sea sediments to estimate the timescale of supernova debris deposition beginning ∼3 Myr ago. The available data admits a variety of different profile functions, but in all cases the best-fit 60Fe pulse durations are >1.6 Myr when all the data is combined. This timescale far exceeds the ≲0.1 Myr pulse that would be expected if 60Fe was entrained in the supernova blast wave plasma. We interpret the long signal duration as evidence that 60Fe arrives in the form of supernova dust, whose dynamics are separate from but coupled to the evolution of the blast plasma. In this framework, the >1.6 Myr is that for dust stopping due to drag forces. This scenario is consistent with the simulations in Fry et al. (2020), where the dust is magnetically trapped in supernova remnants and thereby confined around regions of the remnant dominated by supernova ejects, where magnetic fields are low. This picture fits naturally with models of cosmic-ray injection of refractory elements as sputtered supernova dust grains and implies that the recent 60Fe detections in cosmic rays complement the fragments of grains that survived to arrive on the Earth and Moon. Finally, we present possible tests for this scenario.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

Ertel

Fry

Fields

et al. 2023

ApJ

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“…Indeed, close-by events are required to successfully deliver SN ejecta to Earth (Fields et al 2008;Fry et al 2015;Fry 2016). In addition, the Wallner et al (2021) discovery of 244 Pu in the same time window further strengthens the case for nearby explosions and opens the possibility of an additional event from a kilonova (Wang et al 2021). These detections are entirely consistent with the presence of our solar system within the Local Bubble, a hot, low-density region of space that is thought to be a product of numerous nearby SN explosions coinciding with Earth's early Neogene Period (20 Myr) (Breitschwerdt et al 2016;Zucker et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 59%

X-Ray-luminous Supernovae: Threats to Terrestrial Biospheres

Brunton

O’Mahoney

Fields

et al. 2023

ApJ

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The spectacular outbursts of energy associated with supernovae (SNe) have long motivated research into their potentially hazardous effects on Earth and analogous environments. Much of this research has focused primarily on the atmospheric damage associated with the prompt arrival of ionizing photons within days or months of the initial outburst, and the high-energy cosmic rays that arrive thousands of years after the explosion. In this study, we turn the focus to persistent X-ray emission, arising in certain SNe that have interactions with a dense circumstellar medium and observed months and/or years after the initial outburst. The sustained high X-ray luminosity leads to large doses of ionizing radiation out to formidable distances. We assess the threat posed by these X-ray-luminous SNe for Earth-like planetary atmospheres; our results are rooted in the X-ray SN observations from Chandra, Swift-XRT, XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and others. We find that this threat is particularly acute for SNe showing evidence of strong circumstellar interaction, such as Type IIn explosions, which have significantly larger ranges of influence than previously expected and lethal consequences up to ∼50 pc away. Furthermore, X-ray-bright SNe could pose a substantial and distinct threat to terrestrial biospheres and tighten the Galactic habitable zone. We urge follow-up X-ray observations of interacting SNe for months and years after the explosion to shed light on the physical nature and full-time evolution of the emission and to clarify the danger that these events pose for life in our galaxy and other star-forming regions.

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“…Future further detection of live radioisotopes in the deep-sea floor might provide further constraints on the propagation mechanism of SLRs (e.g., Wang et al 2021aWang et al , 2021b. This will also be of further interest for the GCE of r-process elements, since it is yet unclear whether the behavior of different classes of elements (e.g., iron-group and r-process elements) is coupled or not (Beniamini & Hotokezaka 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhomogeneous Enrichment of Radioactive Nuclei in the Galaxy: Deposition of Live ⁵³Mn, ⁶⁰Fe, ¹⁸²Hf, and ²⁴⁴Pu into Deep-sea Archives. Surfing the Wave?

Wehmeyer

López

Côté

et al. 2023

ApJ

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While modeling the galactic chemical evolution (GCE) of stable elements provides insights to the formation history of the Galaxy and the relative contributions of nucleosynthesis sites, modeling the evolution of short-lived radioisotopes (SLRs) can provide supplementary timing information on recent nucleosynthesis. To study the evolution of SLRs, we need to understand their spatial distribution. Using a three-dimensional GCE model, we investigated the evolution of four SLRs: 53Mn, 60Fe, 182Hf, and 244Pu with the aim of explaining detections of recent (within the last ≈1–20 Myr) deposition of live 53Mn, 60Fe, and 244Pu of extrasolar origin into deep-sea reservoirs. We find that core-collapse supernovae are the dominant propagation mechanism of SLRs in the Galaxy. This results in the simultaneous arrival of these four SLRs on Earth, although they could have been produced in different astrophysical sites, which can explain why live extrasolar 53Mn, 60Fe, and 244Pu are found within the same, or similar, layers of deep-sea sediments. We predict that 182Hf should also be found in such sediments at similar depths.

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Future radioisotope measurements to clarify the origin of deep-ocean 244Pu

Cited by 3 publications

References 40 publications

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

X-Ray-luminous Supernovae: Threats to Terrestrial Biospheres

Inhomogeneous Enrichment of Radioactive Nuclei in the Galaxy: Deposition of Live ⁵³Mn, ⁶⁰Fe, ¹⁸²Hf, and ²⁴⁴Pu into Deep-sea Archives. Surfing the Wave?

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Future radioisotope measurements to clarify the origin of deep-ocean 244Pu

Cited by 3 publications

References 40 publications

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea 60Fe Time History

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea 60Fe Time History

X-Ray-luminous Supernovae: Threats to Terrestrial Biospheres

Inhomogeneous Enrichment of Radioactive Nuclei in the Galaxy: Deposition of Live 53Mn, 60Fe, 182Hf, and 244Pu into Deep-sea Archives. Surfing the Wave?

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Product

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Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

Supernova Dust Evolution Probed by Deep-sea ⁶⁰Fe Time History

Inhomogeneous Enrichment of Radioactive Nuclei in the Galaxy: Deposition of Live ⁵³Mn, ⁶⁰Fe, ¹⁸²Hf, and ²⁴⁴Pu into Deep-sea Archives. Surfing the Wave?