# Compound chondrule formation in optically thin shock waves

## TL;DR

This study investigates how optically thin shock waves in the solar nebula could lead to compound chondrule formation through collisions of supercooled precursors, highlighting conditions that allow their survival and potential for reproducing observed features.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that supercooled chondrule precursors can survive high-speed collisions in optically thin shock waves, providing a viable mechanism for compound chondrule formation.

## Key findings

- Supercooled chondrule precursors form immediately in optically thin shocks.
- Precursors can survive collisions at ~1 km/s below 1400 K.
- A fraction of compound chondrules can be reproduced with specific precursor-to-gas ratios.

## Abstract

Shock-wave heating within the solar nebula is one of the leading candidates for the source of chondrule-forming events. Here, we examine the possibility of compound chondrule formation via optically thin shock waves. Several features of compound chondrules indicate that compound chondrules are formed via the collisions of supercooled precursors. We evaluate whether compound chondrules can be formed via the collision of supercooled chondrule precursors in the framework of the shock-wave heating model by using semi-analytical methods and discuss whether most of the crystallized chondrules can avoid destruction upon collision in the post-shock region. We find that chondrule precursors immediately turn into supercooled droplets when the shock waves are optically thin and they can maintain supercooling until the condensation of evaporated fine dust grains. Owing to the large viscosity of supercooled melts, supercooled chondrule precursors can survive high-speed collisions on the order of $1\ {\rm km}\ {\rm s}^{-1}$ when the temperature is below $\sim 1400\ {\rm K}$. From the perspective of the survivability of crystallized chondrules, shock waves with a spatial scale of $\sim 10^{4}\ {\rm km}$ may be potent candidates for the chondrule formation mechanism. Based on our results from one-dimensional calculations, a fraction of compound chondrules can be reproduced when the chondrule-to-gas mass ratio in the pre-shock region is $\sim 2 \times 10^{-3}$, which is approximately half of the solar metallicity.