Barium Isotopes in Allende Meteorite: Evidence against an Extinct Superheavy Element
Abstract
Carbon and chromite fractions from the Allende meteorite that contain isotopically anomalous xenon-131 to xenon-136 (carbonaceous chondrite fission or CCF xenon) at up to 5 × 1011 atoms per gram show no detectable isotopic anomalies in barium-130 to barium-138. This rules out the possibility that the CCF xenon was formed by in situ fission of an extinct superheavy element. Apparently the CCF xenon and its carbonaceous carrier are relics from stellar nucleosynthesis.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- December 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.222.4627.1013
- Bibcode:
- 1983Sci...222.1013L
- Keywords:
-
- Barium Isotopes;
- Heavy Elements;
- Meteoritic Composition;
- Carbonaceous Chondrites;
- Nuclear Fission;
- Xenon Isotopes;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration; Meteorites;
- METEORITES;
- ALLENDE;
- ISOTOPES;
- BARIUM;
- EXTINCTION;
- ANOMALIES;
- CARBON;
- SAMPLES;
- METEORITE;
- CHROMITE;
- XENON;
- FORMATION;
- HYPOTHESES;
- FISSION;
- NUCLEOSYSNTHESIS;
- DATA;
- ABUNDANCE;
- MODELS;
- PROCEDURE;
- EXPERIMENTS