A Shocking Solar Nebula?

Abstract

It has been suggested that shock waves in the solar nebula formed the high temperature materials observed in meteorites and comets. It is shown that the temperatures at the inner rim of the solar nebula could have been high enough over a sufficient length of time to produce chondrules, CAIs, refractory dust grains and other high-temperature materials observed in comets and meteorites. The solar bipolar jet flow may have produced an enrichment of 16O in the solar nebula over time and the chondrule oxygen isotopic reservoirs are possibly due to temporal changes in the relative position of the inner edge of the solar nebula and the subsequent strength of the solar bipolar jet flow. As such, nebula heating models, such as the shock model, are not required to explain the formation of most high-temperature chondritic componentsComment: 19 pages, 5 figure