Circularizing Planet Nine through dynamical friction with an extended, cold planetesimal belt

Unexpected clustering in the orbital elements of minor bodies beyond the Kuiper belt has led to speculations that our solar system actually hosts nine planets, the eight established plus a hypothetical "Planet Nine". Several recent studies have shown that a planet with a mass of about 10 Earth masses on a distant eccentric orbit with perihelion far beyond the Kuiper belt could create and maintain this clustering. The evolutionary path resulting in an orbit such as the one suggested for Planet Nine is nevertheless not easily explained. Here we investigate whether a planet scattered away from the giant-planet region could be lifted to an orbit similar to the one suggested for Planet Nine through dynamical friction with a cold, distant planetesimal belt. Recent simulations of planetesimal formation via the streaming instability suggest that planetesimals can readily form beyond 100au. We explore this circularisation by dynamical friction with a set of numerical simulations. We find that a planet that is scattered from the region close to Neptune onto an eccentric orbit has a 20-30% chance of obtaining an orbit similar to that of Planet Nine after 4.6Gyr. Our simulations also result in strong or partial clustering of the planetesimals; however, whether or not this clustering is observable depends on the location of the inner edge of the planetesimal belt. If the inner edge is located at 200au the degree of clustering amongst observable objects is significant.Comment: Accepted to MNRA

A low accretion efficiency of planetesimals formed at planetary gap edges

Observations and models of giant planets indicate that such objects are enriched in heavy elements compared to solar abundances. The prevailing view is that giant planets accreted multiple Earth masses of heavy elements after the end of core formation. Such late solid enrichment is commonly explained by the accretion of planetesimals. Planetesimals are expected to form at the edges of planetary gaps, and here we address the question of whether these planetesimals can be accreted in large enough amounts to explain the inferred high heavy element contents of giant planets. We performed a series of N-body simulations of the dynamics of planetesimals and planets during the planetary growth phase, taking gas drag into account as well as the enhanced collision cross section caused by the extended envelopes. We considered the growth of Jupiter and Saturn via gas accretion after reaching the pebble isolation mass and we included their migration in an evolving disk. We find that the accretion efficiency of planetesimals formed at planetary gap edges is very low: less than 10% of the formed planetesimals are accreted even in the most favorable cases, which in our model corresponds to a few Earth masses. When planetesimals are assumed to form beyond the feeding zone of the planets, extending to a few Hill radii from a planet, accretion becomes negligible. Furthermore, we find that the accretion efficiency increases when the planetary migration distance is increased and that the efficiency does not increase when the planetesimal radii are decreased. Based on these results, we conclude that it is difficult to explain the large heavy element content of giant planets with planetesimal accretion during the gas accretion phase. Alternative processes most likely are required, such as accretion of vapor deposited by drifting pebbles

Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 4: Regulation by Thiazolidinediones and Implication in Glyceroneogenesis in Adipose Tissue

OBJECTIVE—Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) serves as the metabolic switch between glucose and fatty acid utilization. PDC activity is inhibited by PDC kinase (PDK). PDC shares the same substrate, i.e., pyruvate, as glyceroneogenesis, a pathway controlling fatty acid release from white adipose tissue (WAT). Thiazolidinediones activate glyceroneogenesis. We studied the regulation by rosiglitazone of PDK2 and PDK4 isoforms and tested the hypothesis that glyceroneogenesis could be controlled by PDK

β-Amyloid 1-42 Oligomers Impair Function of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons

Cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients is associated with a decline in the levels of growth factors, impairment of axonal transport and marked degeneration of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs). Neurogenesis persists in the adult human brain, and the stimulation of regenerative processes in the CNS is an attractive prospect for neuroreplacement therapy in neurodegenerative diseases such as AD. Currently, it is still not clear how the pathophysiological environment in the AD brain affects stem cell biology. Previous studies investigating the effects of the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide on neurogenesis have been inconclusive, since both neurogenic and neurotoxic effects on progenitor cell populations have been reported. In this study, we treated pluripotent human embryonic stem (hES) cells with nerve growth factor (NGF) as well as with fibrillar and oligomeric Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 (nM-µM concentrations) and thereafter studied the differentiation in vitro during 28-35 days. The process applied real time quantitative PCR, immunocytochemistry as well as functional studies of intracellular calcium signaling. Treatment with NGF promoted the differentiation into functionally mature BFCNs. In comparison to untreated cells, oligomeric Aβ1–40 increased the number of functional neurons, whereas oligomeric Aβ1–42 suppressed the number of functional neurons. Interestingly, oligomeric Aβ exposure did not influence the number of hES cell-derived neurons compared with untreated cells, while in contrast fibrillar Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 induced gliogenesis. These findings indicate that Aβ1–42 oligomers may impair the function of stem cell-derived neurons. We propose that it may be possible for future AD therapies to promote the maturation of functional stem cell-derived neurons by altering the brain microenvironment with trophic support and by targeting different aggregation forms of Aβ

Search for a pseudoscalar boson decaying into a Z boson and the 125 GeV Higgs boson in ℓ+ℓ-bb final states

Results are reported on a search for decays of a pseudoscalar A boson into a Z boson and a light scalar h boson, where the Z boson decays into a pair of oppositely-charged electrons or muons, and the h boson decays into bb- The search is based on data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=8 TeV collected with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb-1. The h boson is assumed to be the standard model-like Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV. With no evidence for signal, upper limits are obtained on the product of the production cross section and the branching fraction of the A boson in the Zh channel. Results are also interpreted in the context of two Higgs doublet models. © 2015

Pebble drift and planetesimal formation in protoplanetary discs with embedded planets

Nearly axisymmetric gaps and rings are commonly observed in protoplanetary discs. The leading theory regarding the origin of these patterns is that they are due to dust trapping at the edges of gas gaps induced by the gravitational torques from embedded planets. If the concentration of solids at the gap edges becomes high enough, it could potentially result in planetesimal formation by the streaming instability. We tested this hypothesis by performing global 1D simulations of dust evolution and planetesimal formation in a protoplanetary disc that is perturbed by multiple planets. We explore different combinations of particle sizes, disc parameters, and planetary masses, and we find that planetesimals form in all of these cases. We also compare the spatial distribution of pebbles from our simulations with protoplanetary disc observations. Planets larger than one pebble isolation mass catch drifting pebbles efficiently at the edge of their gas gaps, and depending on the efficiency of planetesimal formation at the gap edges, the protoplanetary disc transforms within a few 100 000 yr to either a transition disc with a large inner hole devoid of dust or to a disc with narrow bright rings. For simulations with planetary masses lower than the pebble isolation mass, the outcome is a disc with a series of weak ring patterns but there is no strong depletion between the rings. By lowering the pebble size artificially to a 100 micrometer-sized “silt”, we find that regions between planets get depleted of their pebble mass on a longer time-scale of up to 0.5 million years. These simulations also produce fewer planetesimals than in the nominal model with millimeter-sized particles and always have at least two rings of pebbles that are still visible after 1 Myr

Can Uranus and Neptune form concurrently via pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion?

The origin of Uranus and Neptune has long been challenging to explain, due to the large orbital distances from the Sun. After a planetary embryo has been formed, the main accretion processes are likely pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion. Previous studies of Uranus and Neptune formation typically do not consider all three processes; and furthermore, do not investigate how the formation of the outer planet impacts the inner planet. In this paper, we study the concurrent formation of Uranus and Neptune via pebble, gas, and planetesimal accretion. We use a dust-evolution model to predict the size and mass flux of pebbles, and derive our own fit for gas accretion. We do not include migration, but consider a wide range of formation locations between 12 and $40\, \textrm {au}$. If the planetary embryos form at the same time and with the same mass, our formation model with an evolving dust population is unable to produce Uranus and Neptune analogues. This is because the mass difference between the planets and the H–He mass fractions become too high. However, if the outer planetary embryo forms earlier and/or more massive than the inner embryo, the two planets do form in a few instances when the disc is metal-rich and dissipates after a few Myr. Furthermore, our study suggests that in situ formation is rather unlikely. Nevertheless, giant impacts and/or migration could potentially aid in the formation, and future studies including these processes could bring us one step closer to understanding how Uranus and Neptune formed