Meteoritic Stardust and the Evolution of the Galaxy
Larry Nittler (DTM)
Primitive meteorites contain unprocessed presolar dust grains which
condensed in the ejecta of ancient stars prior to the formation of the
Solar System. The isotopic compositions of these grains largely reflect
processes of nucleosynthesis and mixing in their parental stellar
sources. In some cases, however, a signature of galactic chemical
evolution is also imprinted on the grains' isotopic patterns. This talk
will discuss how presolar grains are identified in meteorites and what
they can tell us about the evolution of the Galaxy, including a new
method for estimating the age of the Milky Way.
