Abstract:
Accreting in the first few million years of the Solar System, planetesimals recorded conditions in the protoplanetary disk and formed the building blocks of the rocky planets. The meteorite paleomagnetic record carries key insights into the thermal history of planetesimals and their extent of differentiation. In this talk, I use thermal evolution and dynamo generation models to translate meteorite magnetisations into properties of planetesimals and the protoplanetary disk.
I will begin by presenting my 1D planetesimal thermal evolution and dynamo generation model that I developed during my PhD. Subsequently, I will present the effects of mantle viscosity, core composition and planetesimal size on dynamo generation and the implications for the magnetic field sources recorded in the meteorite paleomagnetic record. I will also discuss the potential of future meteorite paleomagnetic measurements combined with thermal modelling to reveal new insights about the protoplanetary disk. Finally, I will show how the time-resolved paleomagnetic records of the Main Group pallasites and IIE irons can shed light on the properties of differentiated planetesimals.