53 research outputs found
Chemical composition of Earth-like planets
Models of planet formation are mainly focused on the accretion and dynamical
processes of the planets, neglecting their chemical composition. In this work,
we calculate the condensation sequence of the different chemical elements for a
low-mass protoplanetary disk around a solar-type star. We incorporate this
sequence of chemical elements (refractory and volatile elements) in our
semi-analytical model of planet formation which calculates the formation of a
planetary system during its gaseous phase. The results of the semi-analytical
model (final distributions of embryos and planetesimals) are used as initial
conditions to develope N-body simulations that compute the post-oligarchic
formation of terrestrial-type planets. The results of our simulations show that
the chemical composition of the planets that remain in the habitable zone has
similar characteristics to the chemical composition of the Earth. However,
exist differences that can be associated to the dynamical environment in which
they were formed.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures - Accepted for publication in the Bolet\'in de la
Asociaci\'on Argentina de Astronom\'ia, vol.5
Origin of volatiles in the main belt
We propose a scenario for the formation of the main belt in which asteroids incorporated icy particles formed in the outer solar nebula. We calculate the composition of icy planetesimals formed beyond a heliocentric distance of 5 au in the nebula by assuming that the abundances of all elements, in particular that of oxygen, are solar. As a result, we show that ices formed in the outer solar nebula are composed of a mix of clathrate hydrates, hydrates formed above 50 K and pure condensates produced at lower temperatures. We then consider the inward migration of solids initially produced in the outer solar nebula and show that a significant fraction may have drifted to the current position of the main belt without encountering temperature and pressure conditions high enough to vaporize the ices they contain. We propose that, through the detection and identification of initially buried ices revealed by recent impacts on the surfaces of asteroids, it could be possible to infer the thermodynamic conditions that were present within the solar nebula during the accretion of these bodies, and during the inward migration of icy planetesimals. We also investigate the potential influence that the incorporation of ices in asteroids may have on their porosities and densities. In particular, we show how the presence of ices reduces the value of the bulk density of a given body, and consequently modifies its macroporosity from that which would be expected from a given taxonomic typ
Cometary ices in forming protoplanetary disc midplanes
Low-mass protostars are the extrasolar analogues of the natal Solar system. Sophisticated physicochemical models are used to simulate the formation of two protoplanetary discs from the initial prestellar phase, one dominated by viscous spreading and the other by pure infall. The results show that the volatile prestellar fingerprint is modified by the chemistry en route into the disc. This holds relatively independent of initial abundances and chemical parameters: physical conditions are more important. The amount of CO2 increases via the grain-surface reaction of OH with CO, which is enhanced by photodissociation of H2O ice. Complex organic molecules are produced during transport through the envelope at the expense of CH3OH ice. Their abundances can be comparable to that of methanol ice (few per cent of water ice) at large disc radii (R > 30 au). Current Class II disc models may be underestimating the complex organic content. Planet population synthesis models may underestimate the amount of CO2 and overestimate CH3OH ices in planetesimals by disregarding chemical processing between the cloud and disc phases. The overall C/O and C/N ratios differ between the gas and solid phases. The two ice ratios show little variation beyond the inner 10 au and both are nearly solar in the case of pure infall, but both are subsolar when viscous spreading dominates. Chemistry in the protostellar envelope en route to the protoplanetary disc sets the initial volatile and prebiotically significant content of icy planetesimals and cometary bodies. Comets are thus potentially reflecting the provenances of the midplane ices in the solar nebula
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Characterization of the Subsurface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Abydos Site
We investigate the structure of the subsurface of the Abydos site using a cometary nucleus model with parameters adapted to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the Abydos landing site. We aim to compare the production rates derived from our model with those of the main molecules measured by Ptolemy. This will allow us to retrieve the depths at which the different molecules still exist in solid form
Composition of Ices in Low-Mass Extrasolar Planets
We study the formation conditions of icy planetesimals in protoplanetary
disks in order to determine the composition of ices in small and cold
extrasolar planets. Assuming that ices are formed from hydrates, clathrates,
and pure condensates, we calculate their mass fractions with respect to the
total quantity of ices included in planetesimals, for a grid of disk models. We
find that the composition of ices weakly depends on the adopted disk
thermodynamic conditions, and is rather influenced by the initial composition
of the gas phase. The use of a plausible range of molecular abundance ratios
and the variation of the relative elemental carbon over oxygen ratio in the gas
phase of protoplanetary disks, allow us to apply our model to a wide range of
planetary systems. Our results can thus be used to constrain the icy/volatile
phase composition of cold planets evidenced by microlensing surveys,
hypothetical ocean-planets and carbon planets, which could be detected by Corot
or Kepler.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Origin of volatiles in the main belt
We propose a scenario for the formation of the main belt in which asteroids incorporated icy particles formed in the outer solar nebula. We calculate the composition of icy planetesimals formed beyond a heliocentric distance of 5 au in the nebula by assuming that the abundances of all elements, in particular that of oxygen, are solar. As a result, we show that ices formed in the outer solar nebula are composed of a mix of clathrate hydrates, hydrates formed above 50 K and pure condensates produced at lower temperatures. We then consider the inward migration of solids initially produced in the outer solar nebula and show that a significant fraction may have drifted to the current position of the main belt without encountering temperature and pressure conditions high enough to vaporize the ices they contain. We propose that, through the detection and identification of initially buried ices revealed by recent impacts on the surfaces of asteroids, it could be possible to infer the thermodynamic conditions that were present within the solar nebula during the accretion of these bodies, and during the inward migration of icy planetesimals. We also investigate the potential influence that the incorporation of ices in asteroids may have on their porosities and densities. In particular, we show how the presence of ices reduces the value of the bulk density of a given body, and consequently modifies its macroporosity from that which would be expected from a given taxonomic type
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Evolution of the subsurface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s Abydos Site
On November 12, 2014, Rosetta's descent module Philae landed on the Abydos site of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). Here we investigate the structure of the subsurface of the Abydos site by making use of a cometary nucleus model [1] employing an updated set of thermodynamic parameters relevant for 67P and an appropriated parameterization of the illumination of the Abydos site. The model considers an initially homogeneous sphere composed of a predefined porous mixture of crystalline ices (H2O, CO and CO2) and dust in specified proportions, and uses parameters derived from recent 67P studies [2], [3] and [4]. The comparison of the production rates derived from our model with those of the main molecules measured by Ptolemy (the mass spectrometer performing the analysis of several samples collected from the surface and atmosphere of the comet) should allow us to place important constraints on the structure (layering and composition) of the subsurface of Philae’s landing site
Origin of volatiles in the Main Belt
We propose a scenario for the formation of the Main Belt in which asteroids
incorporated icy particles formed in the outer Solar Nebula. We calculate the
composition of icy planetesimals formed beyond a heliocentric distance of 5 AU
in the nebula by assuming that the abundances of all elements, in particular
that of oxygen, are solar. As a result, we show that ices formed in the outer
Solar Nebula are composed of a mix of clathrate hydrates, hydrates formed above
50 K and pure condensates produced at lower temperatures. We then consider the
inward migration of solids initially produced in the outer Solar Nebula and
show that a significant fraction may have drifted to the current position of
the Main Belt without encountering temperature and pressure conditions high
enough to vaporize the ices they contain. We propose that, through the
detection and identification of initially buried ices revealed by recent
impacts on the surfaces of asteroids, it could be possible to infer the
thermodynamic conditions that were present within the Solar Nebula during the
accretion of these bodies, and during the inward migration of icy
planetesimals. We also investigate the potential influence that the
incorporation of ices in asteroids may have on their porosities and densities.
In particular, we show how the presence of ices reduces the value of the bulk
density of a given body, and consequently modifies its macro-porosity from that
which would be expected from a given taxonomic type.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The composition of the protosolar disk and the formation conditions for comets
Conditions in the protosolar nebula have left their mark in the composition
of cometary volatiles, thought to be some of the most pristine material in the
solar system. Cometary compositions represent the end point of processing that
began in the parent molecular cloud core and continued through the collapse of
that core to form the protosun and the solar nebula, and finally during the
evolution of the solar nebula itself as the cometary bodies were accreting.
Disentangling the effects of the various epochs on the final composition of a
comet is complicated. But comets are not the only source of information about
the solar nebula. Protostellar disks around young stars similar to the protosun
provide a way of investigating the evolution of disks similar to the solar
nebula while they are in the process of evolving to form their own solar
systems. In this way we can learn about the physical and chemical conditions
under which comets formed, and about the types of dynamical processing that
shaped the solar system we see today.
This paper summarizes some recent contributions to our understanding of both
cometary volatiles and the composition, structure and evolution of protostellar
disks.Comment: To appear in Space Science Reviews. The final publication is
available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11214-015-0167-
Planetary population synthesis
In stellar astrophysics, the technique of population synthesis has been
successfully used for several decades. For planets, it is in contrast still a
young method which only became important in recent years because of the rapid
increase of the number of known extrasolar planets, and the associated growth
of statistical observational constraints. With planetary population synthesis,
the theory of planet formation and evolution can be put to the test against
these constraints. In this review of planetary population synthesis, we first
briefly list key observational constraints. Then, the work flow in the method
and its two main components are presented, namely global end-to-end models that
predict planetary system properties directly from protoplanetary disk
properties and probability distributions for these initial conditions. An
overview of various population synthesis models in the literature is given. The
sub-models for the physical processes considered in global models are
described: the evolution of the protoplanetary disk, the planets' accretion of
solids and gas, orbital migration, and N-body interactions among concurrently
growing protoplanets. Next, typical population synthesis results are
illustrated in the form of new syntheses obtained with the latest generation of
the Bern model. Planetary formation tracks, the distribution of planets in the
mass-distance and radius-distance plane, the planetary mass function, and the
distributions of planetary radii, semimajor axes, and luminosities are shown,
linked to underlying physical processes, and compared with their observational
counterparts. We finish by highlighting the most important predictions made by
population synthesis models and discuss the lessons learned from these
predictions - both those later observationally confirmed and those rejected.Comment: 47 pages, 12 figures. Invited review accepted for publication in the
'Handbook of Exoplanets', planet formation section, section editor: Ralph
Pudritz, Springer reference works, Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Ed
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