Determining the Elemental and Isotopic Composition of the Pre-solar Nebula from Genesis Data Analysis: The Case of Oxygen

Abstract

We compare element and isotopic fractionations measured in bulk solar wind samples collected by NASA’s Genesis mission with those predicted from models incorporating both the ponderomotive force in the chromosphere and conservation of the first adiabatic invariant in the low corona. Generally good agreement is found, suggesting that these factors are consistent with the process of solar wind fractionation. Based on bulk wind measurements, we also consider in more detail the isotopic and elemental abundances of O. We find mild support for an O abundance in the range 8.75–8.83, with a value as low as 8.69 disfavored. A stronger conclusion must await solar wind regime-specific measurements from the Genesis samples.