8,866 research outputs found
Possible Solutions to the Radius Anomalies of Transiting Giant Planets
We calculate the theoretical evolution of the radii of all fourteen of the
known transiting extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) for a variety of assumptions
concerning atmospheric opacity, dense inner core masses, and possible internal
power sources. We incorporate the effects of stellar irradiation and customize
such effects for each EGP and star. Looking collectively at the family as a
whole, we find that there are in fact two radius anomalies to be explained. Not
only are the radii of a subset of the known transiting EGPs larger than
expected from previous theory, but many of the other objects are smaller than
the default theory would allow. We suggest that the larger EGPs can be
explained by invoking enhanced atmospheric opacities that naturally retain
internal heat. This explanation might obviate the necessity for an extra
internal power source. We explain the smaller radii by the presence in perhaps
all the known transiting EGPs of dense cores, such as have been inferred for
Saturn and Jupiter. Importantly, we derive a rough correlation between the
masses of our "best-fit" cores and the stellar metallicity that seems to
buttress the core-accretion model of their formation. Though many caveats and
uncertainties remain, the resulting comprehensive theory that incorporates
enhanced-opacity atmospheres and dense cores is in reasonable accord with all
the current structural data for the known transiting giant planets.Comment: 22 pages in emulateapj format, including 10 figures (mostly in
color), accepted to the Astrophysical Journal (February 9, 2007); to appear
in volume 661, June 200
Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Giant Planets
We present the first models of Saturn and Jupiter to couple their evolution
to both a radiative-atmosphere grid and to high-pressure phase diagrams of
hydrogen with helium. The purpose of these models is to quantify the
evolutionary effects of helium phase separation in Saturn's deep interior. We
find that prior calculated phase diagrams in which Saturn's interior reaches a
region of predicted helium immiscibility do not allow enough energy release to
prolong Saturn's cooling to its known age and effective temperature. We explore
modifications to published phase diagrams that would lead to greater energy
release, and find a modified H-He phase diagram that is physically reasonable,
leads to the correct extension of Saturn's cooling, and predicts an atmospheric
helium mass fraction Y_atmos in agreement with recent estimates. We then expand
our inhomogeneous evolutionary models to show that hypothetical extrasolar
giant planets in the 0.15 to 3.0 Jupiter mass range may have T_effs 10-15 K
greater than one would predict with models that do not incorporate helium phase
separation.Comment: 4 pages. Contribution to 'The Search for Other Worlds', Oct 2003,
University of Marylan
Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Extrasolar Giant Planets
We build on recent new evolutionary models of Jupiter and Saturn and here
extend our calculations to investigate the evolution of extrasolar giant
planets of mass 0.15 to 3.0 M_J. Our inhomogeneous thermal history models show
that the possible phase separation of helium from liquid metallic hydrogen in
the deep interiors of these planets can lead to luminosities ~2 times greater
than have been predicted by homogeneous models. For our chosen phase diagram
this phase separation will begin to affect the planets' evolution at ~700 Myr
for a 0.15 M_J object and ~10 Gyr for a 3.0 M_J object. We show how phase
separation affects the luminosity, effective temperature, radii, and
atmospheric helium mass fraction as a function of age for planets of various
masses, with and without heavy element cores, and with and without the effect
of modest stellar irradiation. This phase separation process will likely not
affect giant planets within a few AU of their parent star, as these planets
will cool to their equilibrium temperatures, determined by stellar heating,
before the onset of phase separation. We discuss the detectability of these
objects and the likelihood that the energy provided by helium phase separation
can change the timescales for formation and settling of ammonia clouds by
several Gyr. We discuss how correctly incorporating stellar irradiation into
giant planet atmosphere and albedo modeling may lead to a consistent
evolutionary history for Jupiter and Saturn.Comment: 22 pages, including 14 figures. Accepted to the Astrophysical Journa
Effect of Particle-Hole Asymmetry on the Mott-Hubbard Metal-Insulator Transition
The Mott-Hubbard metal-insulator transition is one of the most important
problems in correlated electron systems. In the past decade, much progress has
been made on examining a particle-hole symmetric form of the transition in the
Hubbard model with dynamical mean field theory where it was found that the
electronic self energy develops a pole at the transition. We examine the
particle-hole asymmetric metal-insulator transition in the Falicov-Kimball
model, and find that a number of features change when the noninteracting
density of states has a finite bandwidth. Since, generically particle-hole
symmetry is broken in real materials, our results have an impact on
understanding the metal-insulator transition in real materials.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Analytic Scattering and Refraction Models for Exoplanet Transit Spectra
Observations of exoplanet transit spectra are essential to understanding the
physics and chemistry of distant worlds. The effects of opacity sources and
many physical processes combine to set the shape of a transit spectrum. Two
such key processes - refraction and cloud and/or haze forward scattering - have
seen substantial recent study. However, models of these processes are typically
complex, which prevents their incorporation into observational analyses and
standard transit spectrum tools. In this work, we develop analytic expressions
that allow for the efficient parameterization of forward scattering and
refraction effects in transit spectra. We derive an effective slant optical
depth that includes a correction for forward scattered light, and present an
analytic form of this correction. We validate our correction against a
full-physics transit spectrum model that includes scattering, and we explore
the extent to which the omission of forward scattering effects may bias models.
Also, we verify a common analytic expression for the location of a refractive
boundary, which we express in terms of the maximum pressure probed in a transit
spectrum. This expression is designed to be easily incorporated into existing
tools, and we discuss how the detection of a refractive boundary could help
indicate the background atmospheric composition by constraining the bulk
refractivity of the atmosphere. Finally, we show that opacity from Rayleigh
scattering and collision induced absorption will outweigh the effects of
refraction for Jupiter-like atmospheres whose equilibrium temperatures are
above 400-500 K.Comment: ApJ accepted; submitted Feb. 7, 201
Compressibility of the Two-Dimensional infinite-U Hubbard Model
We study the interactions between the coherent quasiparticles and the
incoherent Mott-Hubbard excitations and their effects on the low energy
properties in the Hubbard model. Within the framework of a
systematic large-N expansion, these effects first occur in the next to leading
order in 1/N. We calculate the scattering phase shift and the free energy, and
determine the quasiparticle weight Z, mass renormalization, and the
compressibility. It is found that the compressibility is strongly renormalized
and diverges at a critical doping . We discuss the nature
of this zero-temperature phase transition and its connection to phase
separation and superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Loschmidt echo for a chaotic oscillator
Chaotic dynamics of a nonlinear oscillator is considered in the semiclassical
approximation. The Loschmidt echo is calculated for a time scale which is of
the power law in semiclassical parameter. It is shown that an exponential decay
of the Loschmidt echo is due to a Lyapunov exponent and it has a pure classical
nature.Comment: Submit to PR
Fractional Aharonov-Bohm effect in mesoscopic rings
We study the effects of correlations on a one dimensional ring threaded by a
uniform magnetic flux. In order to describe the interaction between particles,
we work in the framework of the U Hubbard and - models. We focus
on the dilute limit. Our results suggest the posibility that the persistent
current has an anomalous periodicity , where is an integer in
the range ( is the number of particles in the ring
and is the flux quantum). We found that this result depends neither
on disorder nor on the detailed form of the interaction, while remains the on
site infinite repulsion.Comment: 14 pages (Revtex), 5 postscript figures. Send e-mail to:
[email protected]
Investigations of meltwater refreezing and density variations in the snowpack and firn within the percolation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet
The mass balance of polythermal ice masses is critically dependent on the proportion of surface-generated meltwater that subsequently refreezes in the snowpack and firn. In order to quantify this effect and to characterize its spatial variability, we measured near-surface (26%, resulting in a 32% increase in net accumulation. This 'seasonal densification' increased at lower elevations, rising to 47% 10 km closer to the ice-sheet margin at 1860 m a. s. l. Density/depth profiles from nine sites within 1 km2 at ∼1945 m a.s.l. reveal complex stratigraphies that change over short spatial scales and seasonally. We conclude that estimates of mass-balance change cannot be calculated solely from observed changes in surface elevation, but that near-surface densification must also be considered. However, predicting spatial and temporal variations in densification may not be straightforward. Further, the development of complex firn-density profiles both masks discernible annual layers in the near-surface firn and ice stratigraphy and is likely to introduce error into radar-derived estimates of surface elevation
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