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Article
Report number	astro-ph/9605128 ; FERMILAB-PUB-95-157-A ; CERN-TH-95-64 ; CERN-TH-95-64 ; FERMILAB-PUB-95-157
Title	Geological isotope anomalies as signatures of nearby supernovae
Author(s)	Ellis, John R. (CERN) ; Fields, Brian D. (Paris, Inst. Astrophys.) ; Schramm, David N. (CERN ; Chicago U.)
Affiliation	(CERN)
Publication	1996
Imprint	20 May 1996
Number of pages	28
In:	Astrophys. J. 470 (1996) 1227-1236
DOI	10.1086/177945
Subject category	Astrophysics and Astronomy
Abstract	Nearby supernova explosions may cause geological isotope anomalies via the direct deposition of debris or by cosmic-ray spallation in the earth's atmosphere. We estimate the mass of material deposited terrestrially by these two mechanisms, showing the dependence on the supernova distance. A number of radioactive isotopes are identified as possible diagnostic tools, such as Be-10, Al-26, Cl-36, Mn-53, Fe-60, and Ni-59, as well as the longer-lived I-129, Sm-146, and Pu-244. We discuss whether the 35 and 60 kyr-old Be-10 anomalies observed in the Vostok antarctic ice cores could be due to supernova explosions. Combining our estimates for matter deposition with results of recent nucleosynthesis yields, we calculate the expected signal from nearby supernovae using ice cores back to \sim 300 kyr ago, and we discuss using deep ocean sediments back to several hundred Myr. In particular, we examine the prospects for identifying isotope anomalies due to the Geminga supernova explosion, and signatures of the possibility that supernovae might have caused one or more biological mass extinctions.

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