Nucleosynthetic Anomalies in the Solar System

Meteorites, frequently referred to as the poor scientist’s space probes, are non-terrestrial rocks that allow us to decipher the composition of and processes in the Solar System. However, some of these rocks simply contain the original, unaltered composition of the solar nebula and therefore allow us to study the material from which the sun, planets, and ultimately life itself formed. Detailed analyses of the isotopic composition of meteorites revealed various nucleosynthetic anomalies.

In this talk I present recent discoveries on the overall nucleosynthetic anomalies in the Solar System that point towards various nucleosynthetic sources. In detail anomalies due to short-lived radionuclides that were present in the solar nebula and have since decayed are discussed. The talk focuses on how we can detect and measure them and what they can teach us about the make-up of the molecular cloud from which the Solar System formed.