138 research outputs found
Water vapor in Jupiter's atmosphere
High spectral resolution observations of Jupiter at 2.7 and 5 microns acquired from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory were used to infer the vertical distribution of H2O between 0.7 and 6 bars. The H2O mole fraction, qH2O, is saturated for P<2 bars, qH2O = 4x.000001 in the 2 to 4 bar range and it increases to 3x.00001 at 6 bars where T = 288 K. The base of the 5 micron line formation region is determined by pressure-induced H2 opacity. At this deepest accessible level, the O/H ratio in Jupiter is depleted by a factor of 50 with respect to the solar atmosphere. High spatial resolution Voyager IRIS spectra of Jupiter's North Tropical Zone, Equatorial Zone, and Hot Spots in the North and South Equatorial Belt were analyzed to determine the spatial variation of H2O across the planet. The column abundance of H2O above the 4 bar level is the same in the zones as in the SEB Hot Spots, about 20 cm-amgt. A cloud model for Jupiter's belts and zones was developed in order to fit the IRIS 5 micron spectra. An absorbing cloud located at 2 bars whose 5 micron optical thickness varies between 1 in the Hot Spots and 4 in the coldest zones satisfactorily matches the IRIS data
The Jovian atmospheric window at 2.7 microns: A search for H2S
The atmospheric transmission window at 2.7 microns in Jupiter's atmosphere was observed at a spectral resolution of 0.1/cm from the Kuiiper Airborne Observatory. From an analysis of the CH4 abundance (80 m-am) and the H2O abundance ( 0.0125 cm-am) it was determined that the penetration depth of solar flux at 2.7 microns is near the base of the NH3 cloud layer. The upper limit to H2O at 2.7 microns and other results suggest that photolytic reactions in Jupiter's lower troposphere may not be as significant as was previously thought. A search for H2S in Jupiter's atmosphere yielded an upper limit of 0.1 cm-am. The corresponding limit to the element abundance ratio S/H was approx. 1.7x10(-8), about 10(-3) times the solar value. Upon modeling the abundance and distribution of H2S in Jupiter's atmosphere it was concluded that, contrary to expectations, sulfur-bearing chromophores are not present in significant amounts in Jupiter's visible clouds. Rather, it appears that most of Jupiter's sulfur is locked up as NH4SH in a lower cloud layer. Alternatively, the global abundance of sulfur in Jupiter may be significantly depleted
Jupiter's Deep Cloud Structure Revealed Using Keck Observations of Spectrally Resolved Line Shapes
Technique: We present a method to determine the pressure at which significant cloud opacity is present between 2 and 6 bars on Jupiter. We use: a) the strength of a Fraunhofer absorption line in a zone to determine the ratio of reflected sunlight to thermal emission, and b) pressure- broadened line profiles of deuterated methane (CH3D) at 4.66 meters to determine the location of clouds. We use radiative transfer models to constrain the altitude region of both the solar and thermal components of Jupiter's 5-meter spectrum. Results: For nearly all latitudes on Jupiter the thermal component is large enough to constrain the deep cloud structure even when upper clouds are present. We find that Hot Spots, belts, and high latitudes have broader line profiles than do zones. Radiative transfer models show that Hot Spots in the North and South Equatorial Belts (NEB, SEB) typically do not have opaque clouds at pressures greater than 2 bars. The South Tropical Zone (STZ) at 32 degrees South has an opaque cloud top between 4 and 5 bars. From thermochemical models this must be a water cloud. We measured the variation of the equivalent width of CH3D with latitude for comparison with Jupiter's belt-zone structure. We also constrained the vertical profile of H2O in an SEB Hot Spot and in the STZ. The Hot Spot is very dry for a probability less than 4.5 bars and then follows the H2O profile observed by the Galileo Probe. The STZ has a saturated H2O profile above its cloud top between 4 and 5 bars
Mid-IR Spectroscopy of the Jovian Stratosphere perturbed by comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 Impact
The objective was to obtain spectra from 5 to 14 micron before, during, and after the impacts. We were awarded 2 flights of the KAO which was based in Melbourne, Australia for the events. Impacts R and W were covered, and the observations were completely successful. A paper reporting the observation of water vapor is in press, and other work is in progress as limited funding permits. The text of this report is adapted from that of the Icarus paper
Seasonal Changes in Titan's Southern Stratosphere
In August 2009 Titan passed through northern spring equinox, and the southern hemisphere passed into fall. Since then, the moon's atmosphere has been closely watched for evidence of the expected seasonal reversal of stratospheric circulation, with increased northern insolation leading to upwelling, and consequent downwelling at southern high latitudes. If the southern winter mirrors the northern winter, this circulation will be traced by increases in short-lived gas species advected downwards from the upper atmosphere to the stratosphere. The Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn carries on board the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS), which has been actively monitoring the trace gas populations through measurement of the intensity of their infrared emission bands (7-1000 micron). In this presentation we will show fresh evidence from recent CIRS measurements in June 2012, that the shortest-lived and least abundant minor species (C3H4, C4H2, C6H6, HC3N) are indeed increasing dramatically southwards of 50S in the lower stratosphere. Intriguingly, the more stable gases (C2H2, HCN, CO2) have yet to show this trend, and continue to exhibit their 'summer' abundances, decreasing towards the south pole. Possible chemical and dynamical explanations of these results will be discussed , along with the potential of future CIRS measurements to monitor and elucidate these seasonal changes
Titan Science with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled for launch in 2018, is the
successor to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) but with a significantly larger
aperture (6.5 m) and advanced instrumentation focusing on infrared science
(0.6-28.0 m ). In this paper we examine the potential for scientific
investigation of Titan using JWST, primarily with three of the four
instruments: NIRSpec, NIRCam and MIRI, noting that science with NIRISS will be
complementary. Five core scientific themes are identified: (i) surface (ii)
tropospheric clouds (iii) tropospheric gases (iv) stratospheric composition and
(v) stratospheric hazes. We discuss each theme in depth, including the
scientific purpose, capabilities and limitations of the instrument suite, and
suggested observing schemes. We pay particular attention to saturation, which
is a problem for all three instruments, but may be alleviated for NIRCam
through use of selecting small sub-arrays of the detectors - sufficient to
encompass Titan, but with significantly faster read-out times. We find that
JWST has very significant potential for advancing Titan science, with a
spectral resolution exceeding the Cassini instrument suite at near-infrared
wavelengths, and a spatial resolution exceeding HST at the same wavelengths. In
particular, JWST will be valuable for time-domain monitoring of Titan, given a
five to ten year expected lifetime for the observatory, for example monitoring
the seasonal appearance of clouds. JWST observations in the post-Cassini period
will complement those of other large facilities such as HST, ALMA, SOFIA and
next-generation ground-based telescopes (TMT, GMT, EELT).Comment: 50 pages, including 22 figures and 2 table
D/H Ratios on Saturn and Jupiter from Cassini CIRS
We present new measurements of the deuterium abundance on Jupiter and Saturn, showing evidence that Saturn's atmosphere contains less deuterium than Jupiter's. We analyzed far-infrared spectra from the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer to measure the abundance of HD on both giant planets. Our estimate of the Jovian D/H = (2.95 ± 0.55) × 10−5 is in agreement with previous measurements by ISO/SWS: (2.25 ± 0.35) × 10−5, and the Galileo probe: (2.6 ± 0.7) × 10−5. In contrast, our estimate of the Saturn value of (2.10 ± 0.13) × 10−5 is somewhat lower than on Jupiter (by a factor of ), contrary to model predictions of a higher ratio: Saturn/Jupiter = 1.05–1.20. The Saturn D/H value is consistent with estimates for hydrogen in the protosolar nebula (2.1 ± 0.5) × 10−5, but its apparent divergence from the Jovian value suggests that our understanding of planetary formation and evolution is incomplete, which is in agreement with previous work.The US-based authors: J.E.D.P., C.A.N., G.L.B., R.K.A., B.E.H., and F.M.F. were supported by the NASA Cassini Mission during the period when this research was conducted. L.N.F. was supported by a Royal Society Research Fellowship at the University of Leicester. P.G.J.I. was supported by the United Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council.Peer-reviewedPublisher Versio
Perturbations of global monopoles as a black hole's hair
We study the stability of a spherically symmetric black hole with a global
monopole hair. Asymptotically the spacetime is flat but has a deficit solid
angle which depends on the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field. When
the vacuum expectation value is larger than a certain critical value, this
spacetime has a cosmological event horizon. We investigate the stability of
these solutions against the spherical and polar perturbations and confirm that
the global monopole hair is stable in both cases. Although we consider some
particular modes in the polar case, our analysis suggests the conservation of
the "topological charge" in the presence of the event horizons and violation of
black hole no-hair conjecture in asymptotically non-flat spacetime.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, some descriptions were improve
Seasonal Evolution of Saturn's Polar Temperatures and Composition
The seasonal evolution of Saturn's polar atmospheric temperatures and
hydrocarbon composition is derived from a decade of Cassini Composite Infrared
Spectrometer (CIRS) 7-16 m thermal infrared spectroscopy. We construct a
near-continuous record of atmospheric variability poleward of 60 from
northern winter/southern summer (2004, ) through the equinox
(2009, ) to northern spring/southern autumn (2014,
). The hot tropospheric polar cyclones and the hexagonal shape of
the north polar belt are both persistent features throughout the decade of
observations. The hexagon vertices rotated westward by
longitude between March 2007 and April 2013, confirming that they are not
stationary in the Voyager-defined System III longitude system as previously
thought. The extended region of south polar stratospheric emission has cooled
dramatically poleward of the sharp temperature gradient near 75S,
coinciding with a depletion in the abundances of acetylene and ethane, and
suggestive of stratospheric upwelling with vertical wind speeds of
mm/s. This is mirrored by a general warming of the northern
polar stratosphere and an enhancement in acetylene and ethane abundances that
appears to be most intense poleward of 75N, suggesting subsidence at
mm/s. However, the sharp gradient in stratospheric emission
expected to form near 75N by northern summer solstice (2017,
) has not yet been observed, so we continue to await the
development of a northern summer stratospheric vortex. North polar minima in
tropospheric and stratospheric temperatures were detected in 2008-2010 (lagging
one season, or 6-8 years, behind winter solstice); south polar maxima appear to
have occurred before the start of the Cassini observations (1-2 years after
summer solstice). [Abridged]Comment: Preprint of article accepted for publication in Icaru
Nuclear Broadening Effects on Hard Prompt Photons at Relativistic Energies
We calculate prompt photon production in high-energy nuclear collisions. We
focus on the broadening of the intrinsic transverse momenta of the partons in
the initial state from nuclear effects, and their influence on the prompt
photon p_t distribution. Comparing to WA98 data from Pb+Pb collisions at SPS
energy we find evidence for the presence of nuclear broadening at high p_t in
this hard process. Below p_t=2.7 GeV the photon distribution is due to small
momentum transfer processes. At RHIC energy, the effect of intrinsic transverse
momentum on the spectrum of prompt photons is less prominent. The region
p_t=3-4 GeV would be the most promising for studying the nuclear broadening
effects at that energy. Below p_t=2-3 GeV the contribution from large momentum
transfers flattens out, and we expect that region to be dominated by soft
contributions.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, minor changes, a few references adde
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