Universe Colloquium: Search for supernova debris in Earth's microfossil record

by Peter Ludwig (TUM)

Wednesday 18 Dec 2013, 16:30 → 17:30 Europe/Berlin

seminar room, basement (Excellence Cluster Universe)

When a nearby supernova explodes, our solar system is exposed to its ejecta, which can be incorporated into terrestrial geological records. In this talk, Peter will show how accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) can be used to detect such ejecta in the form of the long-lived radioisotope 60-Fe. After a short introduction including earlier results of 60-Fe measurements, he will show why the fossils of magnetotactic bacteria in ocean sediment are a promising geological reservoir for 60-Fe measurements and present a novel technique for their characterization using magnetic measurements. For this project, two sediment cores from the Eastern Equatorial Pacific are being analyzed. The preliminary AMS results of the first core and the first part of the second core will be presented as well. The Universe Colloquium is followed by a social gathering with wine and cheese.