The12C/13C isotope ratio in comets,stars and interstellar matter

The¹²C/¹³C isotope ratio in the interstellar medium and in stellar atmospheres is discussed and compared to the value found in the solar system and especially in comets. The cometary value (100) tends to be slightly above the terrestrial value and is definitively higher than that for interstellar molecular clouds (about 30 to 50).This result implies that comets are not of interstellar origin; that the original isotopic abundances of the primitive solar nebula has been preserved in the cometary material; and that due to an enrichment of the interstellar medium in¹³C, the¹²C/¹³C isotope ratio has decreased by a factor of about 2.5 since the formation of the solar system (i.e., during the past 4.5×10⁹ years) — a result which is roughly in agreement with present theories of the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The relatively high cometary carbon isotope ratio (as compared to the terrestrial value) indicates that some correction should be applied to the semi-empirical models describing the¹³C enrichment in the Galaxy.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30 May, 1978.