title: The absolute chronology and thermal processing of solids in the solar protoplanetary disk.
abstract: Transient heating events that formed calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules are fundamental processes in the evolution of the solar protoplanetary disk, but their chronology is not understood. Using U-corrected Pb-Pb dating, we determined absolute ages of individual CAIs and chondrules from primitive meteorites. CAIs define a brief formation interval corresponding to an age of 4567.30 ± 0.16 million years (My), whereas chondrule ages range from 4567.32 ± 0.42 to 4564.71 ± 0.30 My. These data refute the long-held view of an age gap between CAIs and chondrules and, instead, indicate that chondrule formation started contemporaneously with CAIs and lasted ~3 My. This time scale is similar to disk lifetimes inferred from astronomical observations, suggesting that the formation of CAIs and chondrules reflects a process intrinsically linked to the secular evolution of accretionary disks.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Star and Planet Formation and Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. connelly@snm.ku.dk
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Connelly
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bizzarro
authors.forename: Alexander N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Krot
authors.forename: Åke
authors.initials: Å
authors.lastname: Nordlund
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wielandt
authors.forename: Marina A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ivanova