Oxidation Constraints on Terrestrial Planet Formation from a Ring
The present-day solar system comprises meteorites with varying oxidation levels, derived from different parent bodies. Previous studies (e.g. Rubie et al., 2011) of the partitioning of siderophile elements between mantle and core during planetary growth and differentiation showed that Earth must accrete reduced bodies first and oxidised bodies later. Here we show that, if the terrestrial planets formed from a narrow ring of planetesimals, this condition is not fulfilled, whatever heliocentric gradient of oxidation is assumed in the ring. The reason is that planetary embryos quickly accrete planetesimals from the whole width of the ring, incorporating both reduced and oxidised material. The partially oxidised state of all planetary embryos leads to mismatches with the composition of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE) because oxygen fugacity strongly affects the partitioning of siderophile elements. We demonstrate that reproducing the BSE composition requires reduced and oxidised reservoirs to remain segregated until embryo formation is almost complete. The delivery of oxidised material to the terrestrial planet-forming ring towards the end of the disc's lifetime is therefore a key requirement of any successful dynamical model of terrestrial planet formation.