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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Constraining the Nature of the PDS 70 Protoplanets with VLTI/GRAVITY

We present K-band interferometric observations of the PDS 70 protoplanets along with their host star using VLTI/GRAVITY. We obtained K-band spectra and 100 μas precision astrometry of both PDS 70 b and c in two epochs, as well as spatially resolving the hot inner disk around the star. Rejecting unstable orbits, we found a nonzero eccentricity for PDS 70 b of 0.17 ± 0.06, a near-circular orbit for PDS 70 c, and an orbital configuration that is consistent with the planets migrating into a 2:1 mean motion resonance. Enforcing dynamical stability, we obtained a 95% upper limit on the mass of PDS 70 b of 10 M {sub Jup}, while the mass of PDS 70 c was unconstrained. The GRAVITY K-band spectra rules out pure blackbody models for the photospheres of both planets. Instead, the models with the most support from the data are planetary atmospheres that are dusty, but the nature of the dust is unclear. Any circumplanetary dust around these planets is not well constrained by the planets’ 1–5 μm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and requires longer wavelength data to probe with SED analysis. However with VLTI/GRAVITY, we made the first observations of a circumplanetary environment with sub-astronomical-unit spatial resolution, placing an upper limit of 0.3 au on the size of a bright disk around PDS 70 b.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamical Avenues for Mercury’s Origin. I. The Lone Survivor of a Primordial Generation of Short-period Protoplanets

The absence of planets interior to Mercury continues to puzzle terrestrial-planet formation models, particularly when contrasted with the relatively high derived occurrence rates of short-period planets around Sun-like stars. Recent work proposed that the majority of systems hosting hot super-Earths attain their orbital architectures through an epoch of dynamical instability after forming in quasi-stable, tightly packed configurations. Isotopic evidence seems to suggest that the formation of objects in the super-Earth-mass regime is unlikely to have occurred in the solar system as the terrestrial-forming disk is thought to have been significantly mass deprived starting around 2 Myr after the formation of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions—a consequence of either Jupiter’s growth or an intrinsic disk feature. Nevertheless, terrestrial-planet formation models and high-resolution investigations of planetesimal dynamics in the gas-disk phase occasionally find that quasi-stable protoplanets with mass comparable to that of Mars emerge in the vicinity of Mercury’s modern orbit. In this paper, we investigate whether it is possible for a primordial configuration of such objects to be cataclysmically destroyed in a manner that leaves Mercury behind as the sole survivor without disturbing the other terrestrial worlds. We use numerical simulations to show that this scenario is plausible. In many cases, the surviving Mercury analog experiences a series of erosive impacts, thereby boosting its Fe/Si ratio. A caveat of our proposed genesis scenario for Mercury is that Venus typically experiences at least one late giant impact.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1984

Mechanical models of close approaches and collisions of large protoplanets

In models of lunar origin by great impact, attention is usually paid to the hydrodynamic expansion resulting from the great amount of thermal energy. However, the source of this disruption is inevitably significant in a close approach between large bodies, it is to be expected that significant departures from simple hyperbolic orbits would occur even before impact. These departures could arise from mechanical effects, and hence purely mechanical models are worth pursuing. The most interesting results obtained for approach offsets are small multiples of the planet radius and approach velocities of a few kilometers/second. In an interaction between Mars and Earth sized protoplanets, most of the material ends in collision, but a few percent end in elliptic orbits and a few percent escape. Another model considered is an offset collision, arising from a wide range of approach velocities and offsets.

Kaula, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

On the tidal interaction between protoplanets and the primordial solar nebula. II - Self-consistent nonlinear interaction

A method to analyze the full nonlinear response and physical processes associated with the tidal interaction between a binary system and a thin disk in the steady state is presented. Using this approach, density wave propagation, induced by tidal interaction, may be studied for a wide range of sound speeds and viscosities. The effect of self-gravity may also be incorporated. The results of several calculations relevant to the tidal interaction between a protoplanet and the primordial solar nebula are also presented.

Lin, D. N. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A vaporization model for iron/silicate fractionation in the Mercury protoplanet

A study has been carried out on the vaporization of a totally molten silicate magma of chondritic composition heated into the range 2500-3500 K. The motivation for this was to determine the changes in the composition of the mantle that would occur in the Mercury protoplanet should that body have been subjected to the high-temperature phase in the evolution of the primitive solar nebula, but the results are of more general interest. An empirical model based on ideal mixing of complex components was used to describe the nonideal magma. It is found that vaporization of about 70-80 percent of the original amount of silicate from a chondritic planet is required to produce an iron-rich body with a mean uncompressed density equal to that deduced for Mercury. At this point the silicate is depleted in the alkalis, FeO, and SiO2, and enriched in CaO, MgO, Al2O3, and TiO2 relative to chondritic material.

Fegley, Bruce, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Tidal disruption of inviscid protoplanets

Roche showed that equilibrium is impossible for a small fluid body synchronously orbiting a primary within a critical radius now termed the Roche limit. Tidal disruption of orbitally unbound bodies is a potentially important process for planetary formation through collisional accumulation, because the area of the Roche limit is considerably larger then the physical cross section of a protoplanet. Several previous studies were made of dynamical tidal disruption and different models of disruption were proposed. Because of the limitation of these analytical models, we have used a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code to model the tidal disruption process. The code is basically the same as the one used to model giant impacts; we simply choose impact parameters large enough to avoid collisions. The primary and secondary both have iron cores and silicate mantles, and are initially isothermal at a molten temperature. The conclusions based on the analytical and numerical models are summarized.

Boss, Alan P.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Volatile loss from accreting icy protoplanets

A large self-gravitating body does not easily lose significant mass because the escape velocity is much larger than the sound speed of atmosphere-forming species under ambient thermal conditions. The most significant exceptions to this are giant impacts or impact jetting by fast-moving projectiles. A very small object (e.g. a comet) also does not easily lose significant volatile mass upon formation because the energy release associated with its accretion is so small. (It can however lose a great deal of mass if it is subsequently moved closer to the Sun.) I argue that there is an intermediate mass range (corresponding to bodies with radii of approximately 300-800 km) for which the ambient steady-state mass loss is a maximum. By ambient, I mean those conditions pertaining to the formation region of the body. By steady state, I mean to exclude infrequent traumas (giant impacts). The existence of a preferred intermediate mass arises through the competition of growing gravitational containment and growing energy release by accretion; it corresponds typically to GM/(Rc(sub s)(exp 2)) approximately equals 2 to 4, where M is the protoplanet mass of radius R, and c(sub s) is the sound speed. Several factors determine the amount of volatile loss is this vulnerable zone during accretion but in general the loss is a substantial fraction of the volatiles, sometimes approaching 100 percent. The principal implication is that bodies larger than a few hundred kilometers in radius will not have a 'primitive' (i.e. cometary) composition. This is relevant for understanding Triton, Pluto, Charon, and perhaps Chiron.

Stevenson, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Ortho- and para-hydrogen in dense clouds, protoplanets, and planetary atmospheres

If ortho- and para-hydrogen achieve a thermal ratio on dynamical time scales in a molecular hydrogen cloud, then the specific heat is high enough in the temperature range 35-70 K to possibly induce hydrodynamic collapse. The ortho-para ratio in many interstellar cloud fragments is expected to meet this condition. The same may have been true for the primitive solar nebula. Detailed hydrodynamic and hydrostatic calculations are presented that show the effects of the assumed ortho-para ratio on the evolution of Jupiter during its protoplanetary phase. Some possible consequences of a thermalized ortho-para ratio in the atmospheres of the giant planets are also discussed.

Decampli, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Dynamic fission instability of dissipative protoplanets

Analytical and numerical approaches are taken to consider if a rapidly rotating, viscous protoearth would have lost mass by a fission process and thereby given birth to the moon. The fast rotation is assumed as the source of the instability in the dissipative liquid protoearth. Governing hydrodynamic equations are defined for the evolution of the protoearth. Account is taken of viscous dissipation, the pressure equation of state for the atmospheric material sent on a ballistic trajectory, and the effective viscosity. The results indicate that dynamic fission was probably not the process by which the protomoon came into existence.

Boss, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Structure and evolution of gaseous protoplanets

The evolutionary stages of a giant planet are reviewed, starting with the formation of the solar nebula and ending at the present time. The general mechanism for formation of a giant planet is assumed to involve the accumulation of solid material to form a core which grows to a critical mass, after which rapid accretion of the gaseous envelope occurs. The object then evolves at constant mass to its present state. Detailed numerical simulations of these evolutionary phases, under the assumption of spherical symmetry are reviewed, with particular attention to formation time scales, chemical composition, rotation, and satellite formation.

Bodenheimer, Peter↗
NASA NTRS1990

The isotopic composition of Ag in meteorites and the presence of Pd-107 in protoplanets

Results are presented on the isotopic composition of Ag and the concentrations of Pd and Ag in metal and sulfide phases in iron meteorites Gibeon, Derrick Peak, and Mundrabilla and in schereibersite in Derrick Peak. It was found that almost all iron meteorite samples with a ratio of Pd-108/Ag-109 greater than about 400 had an excess of Ag-107. The results, in conjunction with the data of Chen and Wasserburg (1983) on IIIA-IIIB meteorites, demonstrate the widespread occurrence of excess Ag-107 in diverse types of small early planetary bodies. The excess Ag-107 is believed to be produced by the decay of Pd-107.

Chen, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Candidate Protoplanet in the Taurus Star Forming Region

A long narrow filament seems to connect the protobinary to the faint companion TMR-1C, suggesting a physical association. If the sources are physically related then we hypothesize that TMR-1C has been ejected by the protobinary.

HST/NICMOS faint companion protostar filament prot↗
NASA NTRS2018

Dawn Mission's Search for Satellites of Ceres: Intact Protoplanets Don't Have Satellites

Upon its approach to orbit the dwarf planet Ceres in early 2015, optical navigation and dedicated satellite search images were acquired with the Dawn mission's framing camera 2. A team of searchers individually processed and examined the images for evidence of objects moving with Ceres. Completeness of search with respect to the space searched was calculated as a function of distance to Ceres and found to be complete down to 15 Ceres radii (Ceres' mean radius is 470 kilometers). Upper limits of detectable magnitude were determined for each observed set of images and an upper limit in size was calculated assuming for the putative objects, Ceres' geometric albedo of 0.11. Nothing was found associated with Ceres down to a radius of 12 meters for the most sensitive search, and down to a radius of 323m for the least sensitive search circumstances. Examination of the physical properties of the 41 largest and most massive main belt asteroids suggests that large asteroids without satellites are intact and their interiors have internal strength. This is consistent with results from the Dawn mission at both Vesta and Ceres. Ceres' volatile-rich composition also is a likely contributor to both the absence of satellites at Ceres and of Ceres meteorites at Earth. These results suggest that collisional disruption creating rubble pile structure is a necessary condition for formation of satellites around main belt asteroids.

McFadden, Lucy A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Accretion of Gas Giants Constrained by the Tidal Barrier

After protoplanets have acquired sufficient mass to open partial gaps in their natal protostellar disks, residual gas continues to diffuse onto horseshoe streamlines under the effect of viscous dissipation, and to meander in and out of the planets' Hill sphere. Within the Hill sphere, the horseshoe streamlines intercept gas flow in circumplanetary disks. The host star's tidal perturbation induces a barrier across the converging streamlines' interface. Viscous transfer of angular momentum across this tidal barrier determines the rate of mass diffusion from the horseshoe streamlines onto the circumplanetary disks, and eventually the accretion rate onto the protoplanets. Here, we carry out a series of numerical simulations to test the influence of this tidal barrier on superthermal planets. In weakly viscous disks, the protoplanets' accretion rate steeply decreases with their masses above the thermal limit. As their growth timescale exceeds the gas depletion timescale, their masses reach asymptotic values comparable to that of Jupiter. In relatively thick and strongly viscous disks, protoplanets' asymptotic masses exceed several times that of Jupiter. Two-dimensional numerical simulations show that such massive protoplanets strongly excite the eccentricity of nearby horseshoe streamlines, destabilize orderly flow, substantially enhance the diffusion rate across the tidal barrier, and elevate their growth rate until their natal disk is severely depleted. In contrast, eccentric streamlines remain stable in three-dimensional simulations. Based on the upper falloff in the observed mass distribution of known exoplanets, we suggest that their natal disks had relatively low viscosity (α ~ 10 –3 ) and modest thickness (H/R ~ 0.03–0.05).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

RESOLVING THE HD 100546 PROTOPLANETARY SYSTEM WITH THE GEMINI PLANET IMAGER: EVIDENCE FOR MULTIPLE FORMING, ACCRETING PLANETS

We report Gemini Planet Imager H-band high-contrast imaging/integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry of the HD 100546, a 10 Myr old early-type star recently confirmed to host a thermal infrared (IR) bright (super-)Jovian protoplanet at wide separation, HD 100546 b. We resolve the inner disk cavity in polarized light, recover the thermal IR-bright arm, and identify one additional spiral arm. We easily recover HD 100546 b and show that much of its emission plausibly originates from an unresolved point source. The point-source component of HD 100546 b has extremely red IR colors compared to field brown dwarfs, qualitatively similar to young cloudy super-Jovian planets; however, these colors may instead indicate that HD 100546 b is still accreting material from a circumplanetary disk. Additionally, we identify a second point-source-like peak at r{sub proj} ∼ 14 AU, located just interior to or at the inner disk wall consistent with being a <10–20 M{sub J} candidate second protoplanet—“HD 100546 c”—and lying within a weakly polarized region of the disk but along an extension of the thermal IR-bright spiral arm. Alternatively, it is equally plausible that this feature is a weakly polarized but locally bright region of the inner disk wall. Astrometric monitoring of this feature over the next 2 years and emission line measurements could confirm its status as a protoplanet, rotating disk hot spot that is possibly a signpost of a protoplanet, or a stationary emission source from within the disk.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

DM ORI: A YOUNG STAR OCCULTED BY A DISTURBANCE IN ITS PROTOPLANETARY DISK

In some planet formation theories, protoplanets grow gravitationally within a young star’s protoplanetary disk, a signature of which may be a localized disturbance in the disk’s radial and/or vertical structure. Using time-series photometric observations by the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope South project and the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae, combined with archival observations, we present the discovery of two extended dimming events of the young star, DM Ori. This young system faded by ∼1.5 mag from 2000 March to 2002 August and then again in 2013 January until 2014 September (depth ∼1.7 mag). We constrain the duration of the 2000–2002 dimming to be < 860 days, and the event in 2013–2014 to be < 585 days, separated by ∼12.5 years. A model of the spectral energy distribution indicates a large infrared excess consistent with an extensive circumstellar disk. Using basic kinematic arguments, we propose that DM Ori is likely being periodically occulted by a feature (possibly a warp or perturbation) in its circumstellar disk. In this scenario, the occulting feature is located >6 au from the host star, moving at ∼14.6 km s{sup −1} and is ∼4.9 au in width. This localized structure may indicate a disturbance such as that which may be caused by a protoplanet early in its formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining Accretion Signatures of Exoplanets in the TW Hya Transitional Disk

We present a near-infrared direct imaging search for accretion signatures of possible protoplanets around the young stellar object (YSO) TW Hya, a multi-ring disk exhibiting evidence of planet formation. The Paβ line (1.282 μm) is an indication of accretion onto a protoplanet, and its intensity is much higher than that of blackbody radiation from the protoplanet. We focused on the Paβ line and performed Keck/OSIRIS spectroscopic observations. Although spectral differential imaging (SDI) reduction detected no accretion signatures, the results of the present study allowed us to set 5σ detection limits for Paβ emission of 5.8 × 10{sup −18} and 1.5 × 10{sup −18} erg{sup −1} s{sup −1} cm{sup −2} at 0.″4 and 1.″6, respectively. We considered the mass of potential planets using theoretical simulations of circumplanetary disks and hydrogen emission. The resulting masses were 1.45 ± 0.04 M {sub J} and 2.29{sub −0.04}{sup +0.03} M{sub J} at 25 and 95 au, respectively, which agree with the detection limits obtained from previous broadband imaging. The detection limits should allow for the identification of protoplanets as small as ∼1 M {sub J}, which may assist in direct imaging searches around faint YSOs for which extreme adaptive optics instruments are unavailable.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗