3,363 research outputs found
Evolution of "51Peg b-like" Planets
About one-quarter of the extrasolar giant planets discovered so far have
orbital distances smaller than 0.1 AU. These ``51Peg b-like'' planets can now
be directly characterized, as shown by the planet transiting in front the star
HD209458. We review the processes that affect their evolution.
We apply our work to the case of HD209458b, whose radius has been recently
measured. We argue that its radius can be reproduced only when the deep
atmosphere is assumed to be unrealistically hot. When using more realistic
atmospheric temperatures, an energy source appears to be missing in order to
explain HD209458b's large size. The most likely source of energy available is
not in the planet's spin or orbit, but in the intense radiation received from
the parent star. We show that the radius of HD209458b can be reproduced if a
small fraction (~1%) of the stellar flux is transformed into kinetic energy in
the planetary atmosphere and subsequently converted to thermal energy by
dynamical processes at pressures of tens of bars.Comment: 11 pages including 9 figures. A&A, in press. Also available at
http://www.obs-nice.fr/guillot/pegasi-planets
First Principles Calculations of Shock Compressed Fluid Helium
The properties of hot dense helium at megabar pressures were studied with two
first-principles computer simulation techniques, path integral Monte Carlo and
density functional molecular dynamics. The simulations predicted that the
compressibility of helium is substantially increased by electronic excitations
that are present in the hot fluid at thermodynamic equilibrium. A maximum
compression ratio of 5.24(4)-fold the initial density was predicted for 360 GPa
and 150000 K. This result distinguishes helium from deuterium, for which
simulations predicted a maximum compression ratio of 4.3(1). Hugoniot curves
for statically precompressed samples are also discussed.Comment: Accepted to publication in Physical Review Letter
Spatiotemporal instability of a confined capillary jet
Recent experimental studies on the instability appearance of capillary jets
have revealed the capabilities of linear spatiotemporal instability analysis to
predict the parametrical map where steady jetting or dripping takes place. In
this work, we present an extensive analytical, numerical and experimental
analysis of confined capillary jets extending previous studies. We propose an
extended, accurate analytic model in the limit of low Reynolds flows, and
introduce a numerical scheme to predict the system response when the liquid
inertia is not negligible. Theoretical predictions show a remarkable accuracy
with results from the extensive experimental exploration provided.Comment: Submitted to the Physical Review E (20-March-2008
Twisting algebras using non-commutative torsors
Non-commutative torsors (equivalently, two-cocycles) for a Hopf algebra can
be used to twist comodule algebras. After surveying and extending the
literature on the subject, we prove a theorem that affords a presentation by
generators and relations for the algebras obtained by such twisting. We give a
number of examples, including new constructions of the quantum affine spaces
and the quantum tori.Comment: 27 pages. Masuoka is a new coauthor. Introduction was revised.
Sections 1 and 2 were thoroughly restructured. The presentation theorem in
Section 3 is now put in a more general framework and has a more general
formulation. Section 4 was shortened. All examples (quantum affine spaces and
tori, twisting of SL(2), twisting of the enveloping algebra of sl(2)) are
left unchange
Effect of turbulence on collisions of dust particles with planetesimals in protoplanetary disks
Planetesimals in gaseous protoplanetary disks may grow by collecting dust
particles. Hydrodynamical studies show that small particles generally avoid
collisions with the planetesimals because they are entrained by the flow around
them. This occurs when , the Stokes number, defined as the ratio of the
dust stopping time to the planetesimal crossing time, becomes much smaller than
unity. However, these studies have been limited to the laminar case, whereas
these disks are believed to be turbulent. We want to estimate the influence of
gas turbulence on the dust-planetesimal collision rate and on the impact
speeds. We used three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of a fixed
sphere (planetesimal) facing a laminar and turbulent flow seeded with small
inertial particles (dust) subject to a Stokes drag. A no-slip boundary
condition on the planetesimal surface is modeled via a penalty method. We find
that turbulence can significantly increase the collision rate of dust particles
with planetesimals. For a high turbulence case (when the amplitude of turbulent
fluctuations is similar to the headwind velocity), we find that the collision
probability remains equal to the geometrical rate or even higher for , i.e., for dust sizes an order of magnitude smaller than in the laminar
case. We derive expressions to calculate impact probabilities as a function of
dust and planetesimal size and turbulent intensity
Atmospheric Circulation and Tides of "51Peg b-like" Planets
We examine the properties of the atmospheres of extrasolar giant planets at
orbital distances smaller than 0.1 AU from their stars. We show that these
``51Peg b-like'' planets are rapidly synchronized by tidal interactions, but
that small departures from synchronous rotation can occur because of
fluid-dynamical torques within these planets. Previous radiative-transfer and
evolution models of such planets assume a homogeneous atmosphere. Nevertheless,
we show using simple arguments that, at the photosphere, the day-night
temperature difference and characteristic wind speeds may reach ~500 K and ~2
km/s, respectively. Substantial departures from chemical equilibrium are
expected. The cloud coverage depends sensitively on the dynamics; clouds could
exist predominantly either on the dayside or nightside, depending on the
circulation regime. Radiative-transfer models that assume homogeneous
conditions are therefore inadequate in describing the atmospheric properties of
51Peg b-like planets. We present preliminary three-dimensional, nonlinear
simulations of the atmospheric circulation of HD209458b that indicate plausible
patterns for the circulation and generally agree with our simpler estimates.
Furthermore, we show that kinetic energy production in the atmosphere can lead
to the deposition of substantial energy in the interior, with crucial
consequences for the evolution of these planets. Future measurements of
reflected and thermally-emitted radiation from these planets will help test our
ideas.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. A&A, in press. Also available at
http://www.obs-nice.fr/guillot/pegasi-planets
Ion structure in warm dense matter: benchmarking solutions of hypernetted-chain equations by first-principle simulations
We investigate the microscopic structure of strongly coupled ions in warm dense matter using ab initio simulations and hypernetted chain (HNC) equations. We demonstrate that an approximate treatment of quantum effects by weak pseudopotentials fails to describe the highly degenerate electrons in warm dense matter correctly. However, one-component HNC calculations for the ions agree well with first-principles simulations if a linearly screened Coulomb potential is used. These HNC results can be further improved by adding a short-range repulsion that accounts for bound electrons. Examples are given for recently studied light elements, lithium and beryllium, and for aluminum where the extra short-range repulsion is essential
Modeling Pressure-Ionization of Hydrogen in the Context of Astrophysics
The recent development of techniques for laser-driven shock compression of
hydrogen has opened the door to the experimental determination of its behavior
under conditions characteristic of stellar and planetary interiors. The new
data probe the equation of state (EOS) of dense hydrogen in the complex regime
of pressure ionization. The structure and evolution of dense astrophysical
bodies depend on whether the pressure ionization of hydrogen occurs
continuously or through a ``plasma phase transition'' (PPT) between a molecular
state and a plasma state. For the first time, the new experiments constrain
predictions for the PPT. We show here that the EOS model developed by Saumon
and Chabrier can successfully account for the data, and we propose an
experiment that should provide a definitive test of the predicted PPT of
hydrogen. The usefulness of the chemical picture for computing astrophysical
EOS and in modeling pressure ionization is discussed.Comment: 16 pages + 4 figures, to appear in High Pressure Researc
A new model for mixing by double-diffusive convection (semi-convection): I. The conditions for layer formation
The process referred to as "semi-convection" in astrophysics and
"double-diffusive convection in the diffusive regime" in Earth and planetary
sciences, occurs in stellar and planetary interiors in regions which are stable
according to the Ledoux criterion but unstable according to the Schwarzschild
criterion. In this series of papers, we analyze the results of an extensive
suite of 3D numerical simulations of the process, and ultimately propose a new
1D prescription for heat and compositional transport in this regime which can
be used in stellar or planetary structure and evolution models.
In a preliminary study of the phenomenon, Rosenblum et al. (2011) showed
that, after saturation of the primary instability, a system can evolve in one
of two possible ways: the induced turbulence either remains homogeneous, with
very weak transport properties, or transitions into a thermo-compositional
staircase where the transport rate is much larger (albeit still smaller than in
standard convection).
In this paper, we show that this dichotomous behavior is a robust property of
semi-convection across a wide region of parameter space. We propose a simple
semi-analytical criterion to determine whether layer formation is expected or
not, and at what rate it proceeds, as a function of the background
stratification and of the diffusion parameters (viscosity, thermal diffusivity
and compositional diffusivity) only. The theoretical criterion matches the
outcome of our numerical simulations very adequately in the numerically
accessible "planetary" parameter regime, and can easily be extrapolated to the
stellar parameter regime.
Subsequent papers will address more specifically the question of quantifying
transport in the layered case and in the non-layered case.Comment: Submitted to Ap
Accretion and destruction of planetesimals in turbulent disks
We study the conditions for collisions between planetesimals to be
accretional or disruptive in turbulent disks, through analytical arguments
based on fluid dynamical simulations and orbital integrations. In turbulent
disks, the velocity dispersion of planetesimals is pumped up by random
gravitational perturbations from density fluctuations of the disk gas. When the
velocity dispersion is larger than the planetesimals' surface escape velocity,
collisions between planetesimals do not result in accretion, and may even lead
to their destruction. In disks with a surface density equal to that of the
``minimum mass solar nebula'' and with nominal MRI turbulence, we find that
accretion proceeds only for planetesimals with sizes above km at 1AU
and km at 5AU. We find that accretion is facilitated in disks with
smaller masses. However, at 5AU and for nominal turbulence strength, km-sized
planetesimals are in a highly erosive regime even for a disk mass as small as a
fraction of the mass of Jupiter. The existence of giant planets implies that
either turbulence was weaker than calculated by standard MRI models or some
mechanism was capable of producing Ceres-mass planetesimals in very short
timescales. In any case, our results show that in the presence of turbulence
planetesimal accretion is most difficult in massive disks and at large orbital
distances.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
- …