The Search for Supernova-produced Radionuclides in Terrestrial Deep-sea Archives

TL;DR

This paper investigates supernova-produced radionuclides in deep-sea sediments to better understand supernova events near Earth 2 million years ago and their nucleosynthesis processes.

Contribution

It identifies suitable marine sediment cores and estimates radionuclide signals, advancing methods to link supernova events with terrestrial records.

Findings

Detection of radionuclides like 26Al, 53Mn, 60Fe, and 244Pu in sediments

Improved temporal resolution of supernova signals in Earth's history

Insights into nucleosynthesis and dust transport mechanisms from supernovae

Abstract

An enhanced concentration of 60Fe was found in a deep ocean's crust in 2004 in a layer corresponding to an age of ~2 Myr. The confirmation of this signal in terrestrial archives as supernova-induced and detection of other supernova-produced radionuclides is of great interest. We have identified two suitable marine sediment cores from the South Australian Basin and estimated the intensity of a possible signal of the supernova-produced radionuclides 26Al, 53Mn, 60Fe and the pure r-process element 244Pu in these cores. A finding of these radionuclides in a sediment core might allow to improve the time resolution of the signal and thus to link the signal to a supernova event in the solar vicinity ~2 Myr ago. Furthermore, it gives an insight on nucleosynthesis scenarios in massive stars, the condensation into dust grains and transport mechanisms from the supernova shell into the solar system.