Mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes during high-temperature condensation in cosmochemical plasmas.

ABSTRACT: Contrary to all terrestrial rocks, planets and meteorites exhibit oxygen isotope variations decorrelated with the mass difference of their atomic nuclei. It has been proposed that, in the protosolar nebula (PSN), these variations could result from mass independent isotopic fractionation (MIF) either during specific chemical reactions similar to those responsible for the formation of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere or during ultraviolet (UV)-photolysis of carbon monoxide (CO) gas in the PSN. However, these potential chemical MIF reactions (Chem-MIFs) are not identified in conditions close to the PSN, and there is no experimental demonstration that large MIF signature can be transferred to solids forming in the PSN. Here, we show that MIFs, up to 60‰ depletion in ¹⁶O, are produced

SUBMITTER: Asset N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12067260 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature