On the Production of [TSUP]26[/TSUP]Al in the Early Solar System by Low-Energy Oxygen Cosmic Rays

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Abstract
Clayton & Jin have proposed that the high abundance of 26Al found in meteorites was produced by cosmic rays in the early solar system through the 12C(16O, x)26Algs reaction. We have measured the yield of 26Al in the ground state (i.e.,26Algs) from this reaction and find that, if this mechanism produced the meteoritic 26Al, a substantial fraction of the solar system oxygen must have entered the solar system as low-energy cosmic rays. This does not seem plausible. If the proto-Sun itself was the source of the oxygen cosmic rays, they must have carried off some 5% of the power of the protosolar wind for 1 Myr. This too seems unlikely. Although we do not address the role of other cosmic-ray species in the production of 26Al, it appears that 26Al was produced in a stellar environment, and not by cosmic rays.