The stellar origins of 96 Zr excesses in presolar graphites from the Murchison meteorite

Zirconium-96 is a stable isotope that can be synthesized under different neutron-rich nucleosynthetic conditions. Astrophysical models predict its production to occur in various stellar environments: from low-to-intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars to massive stars and core-collapse supernovae. Detections of 96 Zr excesses, in combination with other isotopic measurements from presolar grains can provide unique constraints on its stellar origin. Presolar grains are microscopic particles found in primitive Solar System materials, which formed in stellar winds and supernova ejecta. The isotopic composition of each grain can provide us a snapshot of the nucleosynthetic processes that took place during the parent star’s lifetime. In this study, we measured the stable isotopes of C, N, O, Mo, Zr, and Ru in high-density presolar graphite grains from the Murchison meteorite and found four grains that contain positive isotopic anomalies in 96 Zr carried by their internal subgrains. We analyzed multi-element isotopic datasets from each grain to explore the source of the observed ^ 96 Zr excesses. Comparisons with stellar models indicate that two grains likely condensed in an intermediate-mass AGB star with initial metallicity of Z łeq 0. 014. Their 96 Zr/⁹4Zr ratios also match those predicted for born-again AGB stars undergoing a very late thermal pulse and rapidly accreting white dwarfs. After comparing the relative populations of the aforementioned dust-producing stars, we propose rapidly accreting white dwarfs as a new, and more likely, stellar source for one of the presolar grains. The remaining two grains could have originated in the supernova ejecta of massive stars, due to correlated excesses in the -nuclides, ⁹2, 94Mo. Thus, grains with ^ p 96 Zr anomalies can have a variety of stellar origins, in agreement with theoretical studies. Our study highlights the importance of multi-element analysis in constraining the types of stars where presolar grains have condensed. These data will help improve our understanding of various nucleosynthesis processes in different stellar phases.