The opacity of grains in protoplanetary atmospheres

We have computed the size distribution of silicate grains in the outer radiative region of the envelope of a protoplanet evolving according to the scenario of Pollack et al. (1996). Our computation includes grain growth due to Brownian motion and overtake of smaller grains by larger ones. We also include the input of new grains due to the breakup of planetesimals in the atmosphere. We follow the procedure of Podolak (2003), but have speeded it up significantly. This allows us to test the sensitivity of the code to various parameters. We have also made a more careful estimate of the resulting grain opacity. We find that the grain opacity is of the order of $10^{-2}\ \mathrm{cm^2 g^{-1}}$throughout most of the outer radiative zone as Hubickyj et al. (2005) assumed for their low opacity case, but near the outer edge of the envelope, the opacity can increase to$\sim{1} \mathrm{cm^2 g^{-1}}$. We discuss the effect of this on the evolution of the models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 Figs., to be published in Icarus (accepted Sep. 2007

Are the aerosols on Uranus and Neptune composed of methane photopolymers?

The measured optical properties of photochemically produced aerosols in an adding-doubling radiative transfer code were used to match various points in the spectra of Uranus and Neptune. How well these points are fit are shown by different assumptions regarding the size and distribution of these aerosols in the Uranus and Neptune atmospheres. The consistency of these derived distributions with those expected from computations of the sedimentation rate of such aerosols is discussed

The Evolution and Internal Structure of Jupiter and Saturn with Compositional Gradients

The internal structure of gas giant planets may be more complex than the commonly assumed core-envelope structure with an adiabatic temperature profile. Different primordial internal structures as well as various physical processes can lead to non-homogenous compositional distributions. A non-homogenous internal structure has a significant impact on the thermal evolution and final structure of the planets. In this paper, we present alternative structure and evolution models for Jupiter and Saturn allowing for non-adiabatic primordial structures and the mixing of heavy elements by convection as these planets evolve. We present the evolution of the planets accounting for various initial composition gradients, and in the case of Saturn, include the formation of a helium-rich region as a result of helium rain. We investigate the stability of regions with composition gradients against convection, and find that the helium shell in Saturn remains stable and does not mix with the rest of the envelope. In other cases, convection mixes the planetary interior despite the existence of compositional gradients, leading to the enrichment of the envelope with heavy elements. We show that non-adiabatic structures (and cooling histories) for both Jupiter and Saturn are feasible. The interior temperatures in that case are much higher that for standard adiabatic models. We conclude that the internal structure is directly linked to the formation and evolution history of the planet. These alternative internal structures of Jupiter and Saturn should be considered when interpreting the upcoming Juno and Cassini data.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap

The Availability of a Jury in Federal Courts: Suits against Foreign Sovereign-Owned Instrumentalities

Three recent circuit court decisions concluded that there is no right to a jury trial for a foreign sovereign-owned corporate entity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. The issue seems unsettled, however, due to a strong dissent in one of these cases and four contrary district court opinions. This Note argues that the circuit court cases were wrongly decided, not because of a misreading of congressional intent, but rather because the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act violates the Seventh Amendment right to jury trial in civil cases. Furthermore, the circuit courts failed to properly distinguished between a foreign sovereign and its corporate entities in formulating a test for immunity under the Act

Constructing an advanced software tool for planetary atmospheric modeling

Scientific model building can be an intensive and painstaking process, often involving the development of large and complex computer programs. Despite the effort involved, scientific models cannot be easily distributed and shared with other scientists. In general, implemented scientific models are complex, idiosyncratic, and difficult for anyone but the original scientist/programmer to understand. We believe that advanced software techniques can facilitate both the model building and model sharing process. In this paper, we describe a prototype for a scientific modeling software tool that serves as an aid to the scientist in developing and using models. This tool includes an interactive intelligent graphical interface, a high level domain specific modeling language, a library of physics equations and experimental datasets, and a suite of data display facilities. Our prototype has been developed in the domain of planetary atmospheric modeling, and is being used to construct models of Titan's atmosphere

12 and 18 micron images of dust surrounding HD 32297

We present the first subarcsecond-resolution images at multiple mid-IR wavelengths of the thermally-emitting dust around the A0 star HD 32297. Our observations with T-ReCS at Gemini South reveal a nearly edge-on resolved disk at both 11.7 microns and 18.3 microns that extends ~150 AU in radius. The mid-IR is the third wavelength region in which this disk has been resolved, following coronagraphic observations by others of the source at optical and near-IR wavelengths. The global mid-IR colors and detailed consideration of the radial color-temperature distribution imply that the central part of the disk out to ~80 AU is relatively deficient in dust.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

Evolution of Coated Grains in Spiral Shocks of Self-Gravitating Protoplanetary Disks

We investigate the evolution of grains composed of an ice shell surrounding an olivine core as they pass through a spiral shock in a protoplanetary disk. We use published three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of massive self-gravitating protoplanetary disks to extract the thermodynamics of spiral shocks in the region between 10 and 20 AU from the central star. As the density wave passes, it heats the grains, causing them to lose their ice shell and resulting in a lowering of the grain opacity. In addition, since grains of different sizes will have slightly different temperatures, there will be a migration of ice from the hotter grains to the cooler ones. The rate of migration depends on the temperature of the background gas, so a grain distribution that is effectively stable for low temperatures, can undergo an irreversible change in opacity if the gas is temporarily heated to above $\sim 150$\,K. We find that the opacity can drop more, and at a significantly faster rate throughout the spiral shocks relative to the prediction of standard dust grains models adopted in hydrodynamical calculations of protoplanetary disks. This would lead to faster gas cooling within spiral arms. We discuss the implications of our results on the susceptibility of disk fragmentation into sub-stellar objects at distances of a few tens of astronomical units.Comment: 28 pages; 9 figures. To appear in Ap.

Inhomogeneous models of the Venus clouds containing sulfur

Based on the suggestion that elemental sulfur is responsible for the yellow color of Venus, calculations are compared at 3.4 microns of the reflectivity phase function of two sulfur containing inhomogeneous cloud models with that of a homogeneous model. Assuming reflectivity observations with 25% or less total error, comparison of the model calculations leads to a minimum detectable mass of sulfur equal to 7% of the mass of sulfuric acid for the inhomogeneous drop model. For the inhomogeneous cloud model the comparison leads to a minimum detectable mass of sulfur between 17% and 38% of the mass of the acid drops, depending upon the actual size of the large particles. It is concluded that moderately accurate 3.4 microns reflectivity observations are capable of detecting quite small amounts of elemental sulfur at the top of the Venus clouds

Planet formation around low mass stars: the moving snow line and super-Earths

We develop a semi-analytic model for planet formation during the pre-main sequence contraction phase of a low mass star. During this evolution, the stellar magnetosphere maintains a fixed ratio between the inner disk radius and the stellar radius. As the star contracts at constant effective temperature, the `snow line', which separates regions of rocky planet formation from regions of icy planet formation, moves inward. This process enables rapid formation of icy protoplanets that collide and merge into super-Earths before the star reaches the main sequence. The masses and orbits of these super-Earths are consistent with super-Earths detected in recent microlensing experiments.Comment: accepted by ApJ Letter