83 research outputs found
Perspectives on Astrophysics Based on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Techniques
About two generations ago, a large part of AMO science was dominated by
experimental high energy collision studies and perturbative theoretical
methods. Since then, AMO science has undergone a transition and is now
dominated by quantum, ultracold, and ultrafast studies. But in the process, the
field has passed over the complexity that lies between these two extremes. Most
of the Universe resides in this intermediate region. We put forward that the
next frontier for AMO science is to explore the AMO complexity that describes
most of the Cosmos.Comment: White paper submission to the Decadal Assessment and Outlook Report
on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Science (AMO 2020
Saturn's atmospheric response to the large influx of ring material inferred from Cassini INMS measurements
During the Grand Finale stage of the Cassini mission, organic-rich ring
material was discovered to be flowing into Saturn's equatorial upper atmosphere
at a surprisingly large rate. Through a series of photochemical models, we have
examined the consequences of this ring material on the chemistry of Saturn's
neutral and ionized atmosphere. We find that if a substantial fraction of this
material enters the atmosphere as vapor or becomes vaporized as the solid ring
particles ablate upon atmospheric entry, then the ring-derived vapor would
strongly affect the composition of Saturn's ionosphere and neutral
stratosphere. Our surveys of Cassini infrared and ultraviolet remote-sensing
data from the final few years of the mission, however, reveal none of these
predicted chemical consequences. We therefore conclude that either (1) the
inferred ring influx represents an anomalous, transient situation that was
triggered by some recent dynamical event in the ring system that occurred a few
months to a few tens of years before the 2017 end of the Cassini mission, or
(2) a large fraction of the incoming material must have been entering the
atmosphere as small dust particles less than ~100 nm in radius, rather than as
vapor or as large particles that are likely to ablate. Future observations or
upper limits for stratospheric neutral species such as HCN, HCN, and CO
at infrared wavelengths could shed light on the origin, timing, magnitude, and
nature of a possible vapor-rich ring-inflow event.Comment: accepted in Icaru
Triton Haze Analogs: The Role of Carbon Monoxide in Haze Formation
Triton is the largest moon of the Neptune system and possesses a thin nitrogen atmosphere with trace amounts of carbon monoxide and methane, making it of similar composition to that of the dwarf planet Pluto. Like Pluto and Saturn\u27s moon Titan, Triton has a haze layer thought to be composed of organics formed through photochemistry. Here, we perform atmospheric chamber experiments of 0.5% CO and 0.2% CH4 in N2 at 90 K and 1 mbar to generate Triton haze analogs. We then characterize the physical and chemical properties of these particles. We measure their production rate, their bulk composition with combustion analysis, their molecular composition with very high resolution mass spectrometry, and their transmission and reflectance from the optical to the near-infrared with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. We compare these properties to existing measurements of Triton\u27s tenuous atmosphere and surface, as well as contextualize these results in view of all the small, hazy, nitrogen-rich worlds of our solar system. We find that carbon monoxide present at greater mixing ratios than methane in the atmosphere can lead to significantly oxygen- and nitrogen-rich haze materials. These Triton haze analogs have clear observable signatures in their near-infrared spectra, which may help us differentiate the mechanisms behind haze formation processes across diverse solar system bodies
Titan: Earth-like on the outside, ocean world on the inside
Thanks to the Cassini-Huygens mission, Titan, the pale orange dot of Pioneer and Voyager encounters, has been revealed to be a dynamic, hydrologically shaped, organic-rich ocean world offering unparalleled opportunities to explore prebiotic chemistry. And while Cassini-Huygens revolutionized our understanding of each of the three "layers" of Titan-the atmosphere, the surface, and the interior-we are only beginning to hypothesize how these realms interact. In this paper, we summarize the current state of Titan knowledge and discuss how future exploration of Titan would address some of the next decade's most compelling planetary science questions. We also demonstrate why exploring Titan, both with and beyond the Dragonfly New Frontiers mission, is a necessary and complementary component of an Ocean Worlds Program that seeks to understand whether habitable environments exist elsewhere in our solar system
Saturn’s atmospheric response to the large influx of ring material inferred from Cassini INMS measurements
During the Grand Finale stage of the Cassini mission, organic-rich ring material was discovered to be flowing into Saturn’s equatorial upper atmosphere at a surprisingly large rate. Through a series of photochemical models, we have examined the consequences of this ring material on the chemistry of Saturn’s neutral and ionized atmosphere. We find that if a substantial fraction of this material enters the atmosphere as vapor or becomes vaporized as the solid ring particles ablate upon atmospheric entry, then the ring-derived vapor would strongly affect the composition of Saturn’s ionosphere and neutral stratosphere. Our surveys of Cassini infrared and ultraviolet remote-sensing data from the final few years of the mission, however, reveal none of these predicted chemical consequences. We therefore conclude that either (1) the inferred ring influx represents an anomalous, transient situation that was triggered by some recent dynamical event in the ring system that occurred a few months to a few tens of years before the 2017 end of the Cassini mission, or (2) a large fraction of the incoming material must have been entering the atmosphere as small dust particles less than 100 nm in radius, rather than as vapor or as large particles that are likely to ablate. Future observations or upper limits for stratospheric neutral species such as HCN, HCN, and CO at infrared wavelengths could shed light on the origin, timing, magnitude, and nature of a possible vapor-rich ring-inflow event
MedShapeNet -- A Large-Scale Dataset of 3D Medical Shapes for Computer Vision
Prior to the deep learning era, shape was commonly used to describe the
objects. Nowadays, state-of-the-art (SOTA) algorithms in medical imaging are
predominantly diverging from computer vision, where voxel grids, meshes, point
clouds, and implicit surface models are used. This is seen from numerous
shape-related publications in premier vision conferences as well as the growing
popularity of ShapeNet (about 51,300 models) and Princeton ModelNet (127,915
models). For the medical domain, we present a large collection of anatomical
shapes (e.g., bones, organs, vessels) and 3D models of surgical instrument,
called MedShapeNet, created to facilitate the translation of data-driven vision
algorithms to medical applications and to adapt SOTA vision algorithms to
medical problems. As a unique feature, we directly model the majority of shapes
on the imaging data of real patients. As of today, MedShapeNet includes 23
dataset with more than 100,000 shapes that are paired with annotations (ground
truth). Our data is freely accessible via a web interface and a Python
application programming interface (API) and can be used for discriminative,
reconstructive, and variational benchmarks as well as various applications in
virtual, augmented, or mixed reality, and 3D printing. Exemplary, we present
use cases in the fields of classification of brain tumors, facial and skull
reconstructions, multi-class anatomy completion, education, and 3D printing. In
future, we will extend the data and improve the interfaces. The project pages
are: https://medshapenet.ikim.nrw/ and
https://github.com/Jianningli/medshapenet-feedbackComment: 16 page
Scientific rationale for Uranus and Neptune <i>in situ</i> explorations
The ice giants Uranus and Neptune are the least understood class of planets in our solar system but the most frequently observed type of exoplanets. Presumed to have a small rocky core, a deep interior comprising ∼70% heavy elements surrounded by a more dilute outer envelope of H2 and He, Uranus and Neptune are fundamentally different from the better-explored gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Because of the lack of dedicated exploration missions, our knowledge of the composition and atmospheric processes of these distant worlds is primarily derived from remote sensing from Earth-based observatories and space telescopes. As a result, Uranus's and Neptune's physical and atmospheric properties remain poorly constrained and their roles in the evolution of the Solar System not well understood. Exploration of an ice giant system is therefore a high-priority science objective as these systems (including the magnetosphere, satellites, rings, atmosphere, and interior) challenge our understanding of planetary formation and evolution. Here we describe the main scientific goals to be addressed by a future in situ exploration of an ice giant. An atmospheric entry probe targeting the 10-bar level, about 5 scale heights beneath the tropopause, would yield insight into two broad themes: i) the formation history of the ice giants and, in a broader extent, that of the Solar System, and ii) the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. The probe would descend under parachute to measure composition, structure, and dynamics, with data returned to Earth using a Carrier Relay Spacecraft as a relay station. In addition, possible mission concepts and partnerships are presented, and a strawman ice-giant probe payload is described. An ice-giant atmospheric probe could represent a significant ESA contribution to a future NASA ice-giant flagship mission
Perspectives on Astrophysics Based on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Techniques
About two generations ago, a large part of AMO science was dominated by experimental high energy collision studies and perturbative theoretical methods. Since then, AMO science has undergone a transition and is now dominated by quantum, ultracold, and ultrafast studies. But in the process, the field has passed over the complexity that lies between these two extremes. Most of the Universe resides in this intermediate region. We put forward that the next frontier for AMO science is to explore the AMO complexity that describes most of the Cosmos
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