Isotope fractionation in the solar system

The inner nebula out to ˜3 A.U. was depleted in volatile elements that included potassium and manganese at a very early stage of solar-system history. The inner planets and many meteorites inherited this element signature, the cause of which probably was early violent solar activity. Because of this evidence for elemental depletions correlated with volatility, one might also expect to find examples of fractionation, particularly among lower mass elements. Here we discuss the search for such effects among the isotopes of K, Mg, Si, and Ca in a wide variety of terrestrial, lunar, and meteoritic samples. We examine examples of vaporization without isotope fractionation, and a comparison of the effects expected between distillation and condensation. Effects attributable both to evaporation and condensation are observed in refractory inclusions (CAIs) in meteorites and reflect localized events in the early nebula. However, the lack of isotopic fractionation that is observed among a wider variety of presolar-system materials rules out the general operation of Rayleigh-type fractionation on primitive solar-nebular material. We conclude with a discussion of volatileelement behavior during the giant Moon-forming impact that shows that the material in the Moon was not subjected to Rayleigh-type distillation.