Abstract:
Nucleation is an initial process to form a particle by self-assembly of
matter from a mother phase. In case of mineral formation in space,
nanometer sized particles, called dust, have been nucleated
homogeneously from a supercooled vapor, which is ejected from evolved
stars, such as asymptotic giant branch star and supernova. Some of the
dust has been found as presolar minerals in meteorites and almost all of
their formation processes have not been understood yet. We have
succeeded to duplicate some minerals founding in meteorites by taking
into account the size effect of nanoparticles, though formation
processes of those minerals have not been understood in detail. Here, I
will show our recent experimental studies to comprehend the detail of
the mineral formation in space.