Proposed Lunar Measurements of r-Process Radioisotopes to Distinguish the Origin of Deep-sea 244Pu

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

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

244Pu has recently been discovered in deep-sea deposits spanning the past 10 Myr, a period that includes two 60Fe pulses from nearby supernovae. 244Pu is among the heaviest r-process products, and we consider whether it was created in supernovae, which is disfavored by nucleosynthesis simulations, or in an earlier kilonova event that seeded the nearby interstellar medium with 244Pu that was subsequently swept up by the supernova debris. We discuss how these possibilities can be probed by measuring 244Pu and other r-process radioisotopes such as 129I and 182Hf, both in lunar regolith samples returned to Earth by missions such as Chang’e and Artemis, and in deep-sea deposits.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number113
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume948
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2023

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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