Non-equilibrium condensation of the first Solar System solidsOPEN ACCESS 

· by · in , , ,

Sébastien Charnoz, Jérôme Aléon, Marc Chaussidon, Paolo A. Sossi, Yves Marrocchi & Patrick Franco

Nature, Volume 652, pages 925–930, Published: 22 April 2026

LINK (OPEN ACCESS)
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

“Primitive meteorites (chondrites) consist of an out-of-equilibrium assemblage of minerals formed during the assembly of our solar nebula. The conditions under which their precursors condensed remain unclear as a result of subsequent reprocessing in the protoplanetary disk or in asteroidal parent bodies. Chondrites are classified into three main classes—enstatite, ordinary and carbonaceous—and these are distinguished by different bulk composition and oxidation state. Although equilibrium condensation models explain the composition of some of their refractory components, they do not explain the emergence of three mineralogical classes. Moreover, the low pressures, steep temperature gradients and short dynamical transport timescales in forming protoplanetary discs probably hindered equilibrium. Here we test the hypothesis that chondrite precursors formed via kinetic non-equilibrium condensation. Using a new time-dependent condensation model, we show that varying the cooling rate and pressure produce only three types of mineralogies. Departure from equilibrium yields increasingly oxidized and hydrous mineralogies. When projected into a Urey–Craig diagram, the predicted mineralogical types fall close to the redox states of enstatite, ordinary and carbonaceous chondrites. These results suggest that the mineralogical diversity of chondrites may reflect, in part, local condensation kinetics, offering an alternative to large-scale variations of oxidation conditions.”

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Early evolution of the solar accretion disk inferred from Cr-Ti-O isotopes in individual chondrulesOPEN ACCESS 
  2. Microstructural analysis of phosphorus (P)-bearing assemblages in type 3 chondrites: Implications for P condensation and processing in the early solar nebula
  3. The NC-CC Isotope Dichotomy: Implications for the Chemical and Isotopic Evolution of the Early Solar System
  4. Mixing and transport of dust in the early solar nebula as inferred from titanium isotope variations among chondrulesOPEN ACCESS 
  5. The selenium isotopic variations in chondrites are mass-dependent; Implications for sulfide formation in the early solar system
  6. Subsolar Al/Si and Mg/Si ratios of non-carbonaceous chondrites reveal planetesimal formation during early condensation in the protoplanetary diskOPEN ACCESS 
  7. Calcium Isotopic Compositions of Chondrites
  8. Chemically defining the building blocks of the EarthOPEN ACCESS 
  9. Diverse space weathering effects on asteroid surfaces as inferred via laser irradiation of meteoritesOPEN ACCESS 
  10. High field strength elements in chondrites and their refractory componentsOPEN ACCESS 
Tags: , , , ,