First laboratory observation of silica grains from core collapse supernovae

We report the discovery of two supernova silica (SiO₂) grains in the primitive carbonaceous chondrites LaPaZ 031117 and Grove Mountains 021710. Only five presolar silica grains have been previously reported from laboratory measurements but they all exhibit enrichments in ¹⁷O relative to solar, indicating origins in the envelopes of asymptotic giant branch stars. The two SiO₂ grains identified in this study are characterized by moderate enrichments in ¹⁸O relative to solar, indicating that they originated in Type II supernova ejecta. If compared to theoretical models, the oxygen isotopic compositions of these grains can be reproduced by mixing of different supernova zones. While both theoretical models of grain condensation and recent NASA Spitzer Space Telescope observations have suggested the presence of silica in supernova ejecta, no such grains had been identified, until now, in meteorites. The discovery of these two silica grains provides definitive evidence of the condensation of silica dust in supernova ejecta.