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A NUMERICAL SCHEME FOR SPECIAL RELATIVISTIC RADIATION MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS BASED ON SOLVING THE TIME-DEPENDENT RADIATIVE TRANSFER EQUATION

We develop a numerical scheme for solving the equations of fully special relativistic, radiation magnetohydrodynamics (MHDs), in which the frequency-integrated, time-dependent radiation transfer equation is solved to calculate the specific intensity. The radiation energy density, the radiation flux, and the radiation stress tensor are obtained by the angular quadrature of the intensity. In the present method, conservation of total mass, momentum, and energy of the radiation magnetofluids is guaranteed. We treat not only the isotropic scattering but also the Thomson scattering. The numerical method of MHDs is the same as that of our previous work. The advection terms are explicitly solved, and the source terms, which describe the gas–radiation interaction, are implicitly integrated. Our code is suitable for massive parallel computing. We present that our code shows reasonable results in some numerical tests for propagating radiation and radiation hydrodynamics. Particularly, the correct solution is given even in the optically very thin or moderately thin regimes, and the special relativistic effects are nicely reproduced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

GLOBAL MODELING OF NEBULAE WITH PARTICLE GROWTH, DRIFT, AND EVAPORATION FRONTS. I. METHODOLOGY AND TYPICAL RESULTS

We model particle growth in a turbulent, viscously evolving protoplanetary nebula, incorporating sticking, bouncing, fragmentation, and mass transfer at high speeds. We treat small particles using a moments method and large particles using a traditional histogram binning, including a probability distribution function of collisional velocities. The fragmentation strength of the particles depends on their composition (icy aggregates are stronger than silicate aggregates). The particle opacity, which controls the nebula thermal structure, evolves as particles grow and mass redistributes. While growing, particles drift radially due to nebula headwind drag. Particles of different compositions evaporate at “evaporation fronts” (EFs) where the midplane temperature exceeds their respective evaporation temperatures. We track the vapor and solid phases of each component, accounting for advection and radial and vertical diffusion. We present characteristic results in evolutions lasting 2 × 10{sup 5} years. In general, (1) mass is transferred from the outer to the inner nebula in significant amounts, creating radial concentrations of solids at EFs; (2) particle sizes are limited by a combination of fragmentation, bouncing, and drift; (3) “lucky” large particles never represent a significant amount of mass; and (4) restricted radial zones just outside each EF become compositionally enriched in the associated volatiles. We point out implications for millimeter to submillimeter SEDs and the inference of nebula mass, radial banding, the role of opacity on new mechanisms for generating turbulence, the enrichment of meteorites in heavy oxygen isotopes, variable and nonsolar redox conditions, the primary accretion of silicate and icy planetesimals, and the makeup of Jupiter’s core.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE RADIO–GAMMA CORRELATION IN STARBURST GALAXIES

We present a systematic study of non-thermal electron–proton plasma and its emission processes in starburst galaxies in order to explain the correlation between the luminosity in the radio band and the recently observed gamma luminosity. In doing so, a steady state description of the cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and protons within the spatially homogeneous starburst is considered where continuous momentum losses are included as well as catastrophic losses due to diffusion and advection. The primary source of the relativistic CRs, e.g., supernova remnants, provides a quasi-neutral plasma with a power-law spectrum in momentum where we account for rigidity-dependent differences between the electron and proton spectrum. We examine the resulting leptonic and hadronic radiation processes by synchrotron radiation, inverse Compton scattering, Bremsstrahlung, and hadronic pion production. Finally, the observations of NGC 253, M82, NGC 4945, and NGC 1068 in the radio and gamma-ray bands as well as the observed supernova rate are used to constrain a best-fit model. In the case of NGC 253, M82, and NGC 4945 our model is able to accurately describe the data, showing that: (i) supernovae are the dominant particle accelerators for NGC 253, M82, and NGC 4945, but not for NGC 1068; (ii) all considered starburst galaxies are poor proton calorimeters in which for NGC 253 the escape is predominantly driven by the galactic wind, whereas the diffusive escape dominates in NGC 4945 and M82 (at energies >1 TeV); and (iii) secondary electrons from hadronic pion production are important to model the radio flux, but the associated neutrino flux is below the current observation limit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

PROGENITOR-DEPENDENT EXPLOSION DYNAMICS IN SELF-CONSISTENT, AXISYMMETRIC SIMULATIONS OF NEUTRINO-DRIVEN CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

We present self-consistent, axisymmetric core-collapse supernova simulations performed with the Prometheus-Vertex code for 18 pre-supernova models in the range of 11–28 M {sub ⊙}, including progenitors recently investigated by other groups. All models develop explosions, but depending on the progenitor structure, they can be divided into two classes. With a steep density decline at the Si/Si–O interface, the arrival of this interface at the shock front leads to a sudden drop of the mass-accretion rate, triggering a rapid approach to explosion. With a more gradually decreasing accretion rate, it takes longer for the neutrino heating to overcome the accretion ram pressure and explosions set in later. Early explosions are facilitated by high mass-accretion rates after bounce and correspondingly high neutrino luminosities combined with a pronounced drop of the accretion rate and ram pressure at the Si/Si–O interface. Because of rapidly shrinking neutron star radii and receding shock fronts after the passage through their maxima, our models exhibit short advection timescales, which favor the efficient growth of the standing accretion-shock instability. The latter plays a supportive role at least for the initiation of the re-expansion of the stalled shock before runaway. Taking into account the effects of turbulent pressure in the gain layer, we derive a generalized condition for the critical neutrino luminosity that captures the explosion behavior of all models very well. We validate the robustness of our findings by testing the influence of stochasticity, numerical resolution, and approximations in some aspects of the microphysics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

EFFECT OF THE DRAG FORCE ON THE ORBITAL MOTION OF THE BROAD-LINE REGION CLOUDS

We investigate the orbital motion of cold clouds in the broad-line region of active galactic nuclei subject to the gravity of a black hole, a force due to a non-isotropic central source, and a drag force proportional to the velocity square. The intercloud is described using the standard solutions for the advection-dominated accretion flows. The orbit of a cloud decays because of the drag force, but the typical timescale of clouds falling onto the central black hole is shorter compared to the linear drag case. This timescale is calculated when a cloud moves through a static or rotating intercloud. We show that when the drag force is a quadratic function of the velocity, irrespective of the initial conditions and other input parameters, clouds will generally fall onto the central region much faster than the age of whole system, and since cold clouds present in most of the broad-line regions, we suggest that mechanisms for the continuous creation of the clouds must operate in these systems.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Is there a maximum mass for black holes in galactic nuclei?

The largest observed supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have a mass of M{sub BH}≃10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙}, nearly independent of redshift, from the local (z≃0) to the early (z>6) universe. We suggest that the growth of SMBHs above a few ×10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙} is prevented by small-scale accretion physics, independent of the properties of their host galaxies or of cosmology. Growing more massive BHs requires a gas supply rate from galactic scales onto a nuclear region as high as ≳10{sup 3} M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}. At such a high accretion rate, most of the gas converts to stars at large radii (∼10–100 pc), well before reaching the BH. We adopt a simple model for a star-forming accretion disk and find that the accretion rate in the subparsec nuclear region is reduced to the smaller value of at most a few × M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}. This prevents SMBHs from growing above ≃10{sup 11} M{sub ⊙} in the age of the universe. Furthermore, once an SMBH reaches a sufficiently high mass, this rate falls below the critical value at which the accretion flow becomes advection dominated. Once this transition occurs, BH feeding can be suppressed by strong outflows and jets from hot gas near the BH. We find that the maximum SMBH mass, given by this transition, is between M{sub BH,max}≃(1--6)×10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙}, depending primarily on the efficiency of angular momentum transfer inside the galactic disk, and not on other properties of the host galaxy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

EXPLORING THE ACCRETION MODEL OF M87 AND 3C 84 WITH THE FARADAY ROTATION MEASURE OBSERVATIONS

Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) are believed to be powered by an accretion-jet model, consisting of an inner advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF), an outer truncated standard thin disk, and a jet; however, model degeneracy still exists in this framework. For example, the X-ray emission can originate from either the ADAF or the jet. The aim of the present work is to check these models with the Faraday rotation measure (RM) observations recently detected for two LLAGNs, M87 and 3C 84, in the sub-mm band. For M87, we find that the RM predicted by the model in which the X-ray emission originates from the ADAF is larger than the observed upper limit of RM by over two orders of magnitude, while the model in which the X-ray emission originates from the jet predicts a RM lower than the observed upper limit. For 3C 84, the sub-mm emission is found to be dominated by the jet component, while the Faraday screen is attributed to the ADAFs. This scenario can naturally explain the observed external origin of the RM and why the RM is found to be stable during a two-year interval although the sub-mm emission increases at the same period.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

FARGO3D: A NEW GPU-ORIENTED MHD CODE

We present the FARGO3D code, recently publicly released. It is a magnetohydrodynamics code developed with special emphasis on the physics of protoplanetary disks and planet–disk interactions, and parallelized with MPI. The hydrodynamics algorithms are based on finite-difference upwind, dimensionally split methods. The magnetohydrodynamics algorithms consist of the constrained transport method to preserve the divergence-free property of the magnetic field to machine accuracy, coupled to a method of characteristics for the evaluation of electromotive forces and Lorentz forces. Orbital advection is implemented, and an N-body solver is included to simulate planets or stars interacting with the gas. We present our implementation in detail and present a number of widely known tests for comparison purposes. One strength of FARGO3D is that it can run on either graphical processing units (GPUs) or central processing units (CPUs), achieving large speed-up with respect to CPU cores. We describe our implementation choices, which allow a user with no prior knowledge of GPU programming to develop new routines for CPUs, and have them translated automatically for GPUs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DISCO: A 3D MOVING-MESH MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS CODE DESIGNED FOR THE STUDY OF ASTROPHYSICAL DISKS

This work presents the publicly available moving-mesh magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code DISCO. DISCO is efficient and accurate at evolving orbital fluid motion in two and three dimensions, especially at high Mach numbers. DISCO employs a moving-mesh approach utilizing a dynamic cylindrical mesh that can shear azimuthally to follow the orbital motion of the gas. The moving mesh removes diffusive advection errors and allows for longer time-steps than a static grid. MHD is implemented in DISCO using an HLLD Riemann solver and a novel constrained transport (CT) scheme that is compatible with the mesh motion. DISCO is tested against a wide variety of problems, which are designed to test its stability, accuracy, and scalability. In addition, several MHD tests are performed which demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the new CT approach, including two tests of the magneto-rotational instability, one testing the linear growth rate and the other following the instability into the fully turbulent regime.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Mapping Vinyl Cyanide and Other Nitriles in Titan’s Atmosphere Using ALMA

Vinyl cyanide (C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN) is theorized to form in Titan’s atmosphere via high-altitude photochemistry and is of interest regarding the astrobiology of cold planetary surfaces due to its predicted ability to form cell membrane-like structures (azotosomes) in liquid methane. In this work, we follow up on the initial spectroscopic detection of C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN on Titan by Palmer et al. with the detection of three new C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN rotational emission lines at submillimeter frequencies. These new, high-resolution detections have allowed for the first spatial distribution mapping of C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN on Titan. We present simultaneous observations of C{sub 2}H{sub 5}CN, HC{sub 3}N, and CH{sub 3}CN emission, and obtain the first (tentative) detection of C{sub 3}H{sub 8} (propane) at radio wavelengths. We present disk-averaged vertical abundance profiles, two-dimensional spatial maps, and latitudinal flux profiles for the observed nitriles. Similarly to HC{sub 3}N and C{sub 2}H{sub 5}CN, which are theorized to be short-lived in Titan’s atmosphere, C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN is most abundant over the southern (winter) pole, whereas the longer-lived CH{sub 3}CN is more concentrated in the north. This abundance pattern is consistent with the combined effects of high-altitude photochemical production, poleward advection, and the subsequent reversal of Titan’s atmospheric circulation system following the recent transition from northern to southern winter. We confirm that C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN and C{sub 2}H{sub 5}CN are most abundant at altitudes above 200 km. Using a 300 km step model, the average abundance of C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN is found to be 3.03 ± 0.29 ppb, with a C{sub 2}H{sub 5}CN/C{sub 2}H{sub 3}CN abundance ratio of 2.43 ± 0.26. Our HC{sub 3}N and CH{sub 3}CN spectra can be accurately modeled using abundance gradients above the tropopause, with fractional scale-heights of 2.05 ± 0.16 and 1.63 ± 0.02, respectively.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Stratified Simulations of Collisionless Accretion Disks

This paper presents a series of stratified-shearing-box simulations of collisionless accretion disks in the recently developed framework of kinetic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which can handle finite non-gyrotropy of a pressure tensor. Although a fully kinetic simulation predicted a more efficient angular-momentum transport in collisionless disks than in the standard MHD regime, the enhanced transport has not been observed in past kinetic-MHD approaches to gyrotropic pressure anisotropy. For the purpose of investigating this missing link between the fully kinetic and MHD treatments, this paper explores the role of non-gyrotropic pressure and makes the first attempt to incorporate certain collisionless effects into disk-scale, stratified disk simulations. When the timescale of gyrotropization was longer than, or comparable to, the disk-rotation frequency of the orbit, we found that the finite non-gyrotropy selectively remaining in the vicinity of current sheets contributes to suppressing magnetic reconnection in the shearing-box system. This leads to increases both in the saturated amplitude of the MHD turbulence driven by magnetorotational instabilities and in the resultant efficiency of angular-momentum transport. Our results seem to favor the fast advection of magnetic fields toward the rotation axis of a central object, which is required to launch an ultra-relativistic jet from a black hole accretion system in, for example, a magnetically arrested disk state.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Expanding and Contracting Coronal Loops as Evidence of Vortex Flows Induced by Solar Eruptions

Eruptive solar flares were predicted to generate large-scale vortex flows at both sides of the erupting magnetic flux rope. This process is analogous to a well-known hydrodynamic process creating vortex rings. The vortices lead to advection of closed coronal loops located at the peripheries of the flaring active region. Outward flows are expected in the upper part and returning flows in the lower part of the vortex. Here, we examine two eruptive solar flares, the X1.1-class flare SOL2012-03-05T03:20 and the C3.5-class SOL2013-06-19T07:29. In both flares, we find that the coronal loops observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly in its 171 Å, 193 Å, or 211 Å passbands show coexistence of expanding and contracting motions, in accordance with the model prediction. In the X-class flare, multiple expanding and contracting loops coexist for more than 35 minutes, while in the C-class flare, an expanding loop in 193 Å appears to be close by and cotemporal with an apparently imploding loop arcade seen in 171 Å. Later, the 193 Å loop also switches to contraction. These observations are naturally explained by vortex flows present in a model of eruptive solar flares.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Quenching of supermassive black hole growth around the apparent maximum mass

Recent quasar surveys have revealed that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) rarely exceed a mass of M {sub BH} ∼ a few × 10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙} during the entire cosmic history. It has been argued that quenching of the BH growth is caused by a transition of a nuclear accretion disk into an advection-dominated accretion flow, with which strong outflows and/or jets are likely to be associated. We investigate the relationship between the maximum mass of SMBHs and the radio-loudness of quasars with a well-defined sample of ∼10{sup 5} quasars at a redshift range of 0 < z < 2, obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys DR7 catalog. We find that the number fraction of the radio-loud (RL) quasars increases above a threshold of M {sub BH} ≃ 2 × 10{sup 9} M{sub ⊙}, independent of their redshifts. Moreover, the number fraction of RL quasars with lower Eddington ratios (out of all RL quasars), indicating lower accretion rates, increases above the critical BH mass. These observational trends can be natural consequences of the proposed scenario of suppressing BH growth around the apparent maximum mass of ∼10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙}. The ongoing VLA Sky Survey in radio will allow us to estimate of the exact number fraction of RL quasars more precisely, which gives further insight into the quenching processes for BH growth.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Hard X-Ray Emission from the M87 AGN Detected with NuSTAR

M87 hosts a 3–6 billion solar mass black hole with a remarkable relativistic jet that has been regularly monitored in radio to TeV bands. However, hard X-ray emission ≳10 keV, which would be expected to primarily come from the jet or the accretion flow, had never been detected from its unresolved X-ray core. We report NuSTAR detection up to 40 keV from the the central regions of M87. Together with simultaneous Chandra observations, we have constrained the dominant hard X-ray emission to be from its unresolved X-ray core, presumably in its quiescent state. The core spectrum is well fitted by a power law with photon index Γ=2.11{sub −0.11}{sup +0.15}. The measured flux density at 40 keV is consistent with a jet origin, although emission from the advection-dominated accretion flow cannot be completely ruled out. The detected hard X-ray emission is significantly lower than that predicted by synchrotron self-Compton models introduced to explain emission above a GeV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A Linearized Prognostic Cloud Scheme in NASAs Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation Tools

A linearized prognostic cloud scheme has been developed to accompany the linearized convection scheme recently implemented in NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System data assimilation tools. The linearization, developed from the nonlinear cloud scheme, treats cloud variables prognostically so they are subject to linearized advection, diffusion, generation, and evaporation. Four linearized cloud variables are modeled, the ice and water phases of clouds generated by large-scale condensation and, separately, by detraining convection. For each species the scheme models their sources, sublimation, evaporation, and autoconversion. Large-scale, anvil and convective species of precipitation are modeled and evaporated. The cloud scheme exhibits linearity and realistic perturbation growth, except around the generation of clouds through large-scale condensation. Discontinuities and steep gradients are widely used here and severe problems occur in the calculation of cloud fraction. For data assimilation applications this poor behavior is controlled by replacing this part of the scheme with a perturbation model. For observation impacts, where efficiency is less of a concern, a filtering is developed that examines the Jacobian. The replacement scheme is only invoked if Jacobian elements or eigenvalues violate a series of tuned constants. The linearized prognostic cloud scheme is tested by comparing the linear and nonlinear perturbation trajectories for 6-, 12-, and 24-h forecast times. The tangent linear model performs well and perturbations of clouds are well captured for the lead times of interest.

Precipitation↗

Increasing Contribution of the Atmospheric Vertical Motion to Precipitation in a Warming Climate

Global warming already influences precipitation, with more intense precipitation in many locations. Although the ‘wet-get-wetter, dry-get-drier’ tendency in mean precipitation holds in many locations, the situations for precipitation extremes are more complex, due to changes in dynamic and thermodynamic influences on atmospheric moisture distributions. Here, we build a dynamically interactive atmospheric moisture model for the present (2006–2025) and the future climate (2081–2100), using outputs from coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation models. We find that the dynamic process of vertical advection of moisture dominates the same-day precipitation, while the smaller impact of the thermodynamic process provides available moisture for several days. As climate warms, we find that the dynamical-induced precipitation more completely exhausts the vertically-integrated moisture and the distribution of the dynamic process’s impact on precipitation exhibits a greater spread in the warmer future. The dynamical process is primarily responsible for more extreme heavy precipitation as climate warms, at all latitudes.

Climate and Earth system modelling↗

Fundamental Study on Temperature Dependence of Deposition Rate of Silicic Acid - 13270

The dynamic behavior of the silicic acid is one of the key factors to estimate the condition of the repository system after the backfill. This study experimentally examined the temperature dependence of dynamic behavior of supersaturated silicic acid in the co-presence of solid phase, considering Na ions around the repository, and evaluated the deposition rate constant, k, of silicic acid by using the first-order reaction equation considering the specific surface area. The values of k were in the range of 1.0x10{sup -11} to 1.0x10{sup -9} m/s in the temperature range of 288 K to 323 K. The deposition rate became larger with increments of temperature under the Na ion free condition. Besides, in the case of Na ions 0.6 M, colloidal silicic acid decreased dramatically at a certain time. This means that the diameter of the colloidal silicic acid became larger than the pore size of filter (0.45 μm) due to bridging of colloidal silicic acid. Furthermore, this study estimated the range of altering area and the aperture of flow-path in various value of k corresponding to temperature by using advection-dispersion model. The concentration in the flow-path became lower with increments of temperature, and when the value of k is larger than 1.0x10{sup -11} m/s, the deposition range of supersaturated silicic acid was estimated to be less than 20 m around the repository. In addition, the deposition of supersaturated silicic acid led the decrement of flow-path aperture, which was remarkable under the condition of relatively high temperature. Such a clogging in flow paths is expected as a retardation effect of radionuclides. (authors)

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Development of monitoring system of helium leakage from canister

This paper presents a computational method for the helium leakage from a canister. The governing equations for compressible fluids consist of mass conservation equation in Eulerian description, momentum equations and energy equation. The numerical procedures are divided into three phases, advection, diffusion and acoustic phases, and the equations of compressible fluids are discretized with a finite volume method. Thus, the mass conservation law is sufficiently satisfied in the calculation region. In particular, our computational method enables us to predict the change of the temperature distributions around the canister boundaries by calculating the governing equations for the compressible gas flows, which are leaked out from a slight crack on the canister boundary. In order to confirm the validity of our method, it was applied to the basic problem, 2-dimensional natural convection flows in a rectangular cavity. As a result, it was shown that the naturally convected flows can be reasonably simulated by our method. Furthermore, numerical experiments were conducted for the helium leakage from canister and we derived a close relationship between the inner pressure and the boundary temperature distributions.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗