The retention of spallation products in interstellar grains

Stimulated by recent studies indicating the possible survival of presolar grains in certain meteorites, the importance of recoil loss for the retention of spallation products in submicrometer-sized interstellar dust during irradiation by high-energy cosmic ray protons has been calculated. The model presented incorporates range straggling effects, a realistic distribution of interstellar grain sizes, and utilizes an accurate theoretical formalism for the fragmentation recoil momenta. Apart from an only vague understanding of possible grain composition, the greatest uncertainty concerns the intrinsic material density of interstellar dust which determines the recoil range for any given momentum. It is found that even allowing for a fivefold variation of density values, the retention against recoil is substantial: for example, some 20 to 50% of all ³⁸Ar nuclei resulting from high-energy interaction remain trapped, depending on the target element considered. Retentivities for the various spallation reactions contributing to ³⁸Ar have been calculated and are used to deduce an interstellar spallogenic production rate. The results are then considered in the light of recent discoveries of ⁴⁰Ar³⁹Ar apparent ages in excess of 4.53×10⁹ years for some inclusions from the meteorite Allende. Limitations of both the theoretical and experimental efforts presently preclude conclusive statements regarding the question of interstellar grain survival. However, a procedure is outlined whereby this issue might be clarified in future investigations.