Non-equilibrium condensation of the first Solar System solids
, 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.
Authors
- S. Charnoz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7442-491X)
- Patrick Franco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4779-7518)
- Paolo A. Sossi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1462-1882)
- Marc Chaussidon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8475-0690)
- Jérôme Aléon
- Yves Marrocchi
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Institut de physique du globe de Paris (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Laboratoire de Minéralogie & Cosmochimie du Muséum (FR)
- Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (FR)
- Université de Lorraine (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature
- Published
- 2026-04-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10257-5
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 15.13
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation
- Labex UnivEarthS