image: This figure illustrates the formation and numerical replication of barred olivine, a unique crystalline texture found in chondrules within meteorites. (a) A polarized light micrograph shows a natural chondrule containing barred olivine, characterized by parallel olivine bars within a spherical boundary. These features are considered records of rapid crystallization under the early solar system’s unique environments. (b) A schematic representation highlights the key structural components: an outer olivine rim and internal parallel bars, which are not separate crystals but continuous parts of a single olivine crystal. (c) A numerical simulation based on a phase-field model successfully reproduces the distinctive barred olivine texture. The simulation suggests that this texture emerges from rapid crystallization under compositional changes caused by evaporation near the chondrule surface. The resulting rim-bar pattern closely matches the morphology seen in actual chondrules. This replication marks the first theoretical reproduction of barred olivine and provides strong support for new models of crystal growth and cooling conditions in early solar system environments. The findings may revise existing theories of chondrule formation and offer new constraints on the timescales and processes that led to planetary accretion.
Credit: © Hitoshi Miura, Nagoya City University
Researchers from Nagoya City University, Tohoku University, and other institutions have used numerical simulations to replicate how a peculiar mineral texture called barred olivine forms inside chondrules—millimeter-sized spherical particles found in meteorites. These chondrules are considered time capsules from the early solar system, and barred olivine is a rare mineral texture not seen in Earth rocks.
Associate Professor Hitoshi Miura of Nagoya City University and the team was the first to reproduce this texture using numerical simulations and theoretically elucidate its formation process.
Using a phase-field model, the team simulated the rapid cooling of molten chondrules in a vacuum-like environment and found that the formation of barred olivine requires a cooling rate exceeding 1°C per second—faster than previously assumed. Their results indicate that conventional experimental conditions may underestimate how quickly chondrules cooled in space.
This work not only provides a new theoretical model for crystal growth under early solar system enrivonments but also has significant implications for understanding how planetary building blocks formed. The team is now preparing a microgravity experiment aboard the International Space Station to further validate their findings.
The study was published in Science Advances.
Journal
Science Advances
Method of Research
Computational simulation/modeling
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Decoding the formation of barred olivine chondrules: Realization of numerical replication
Article Publication Date
23-May-2025