40 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
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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
Elemental abundances and minimum mass of heavy elements in the envelope of HD 189733b
Oxygen (O) and carbon (C) have been inferred recently to be subsolar in
abundance from spectra of the atmosphere of the transiting hot Jupiter HD
189733b. Yet, the mass and radius of the planet coupled with structure models
indicate a strongly supersolar abundance of heavy elements in the interior of
this object. Here we explore the discrepancy between the large amount of heavy
elements suspected in the planet's interior and the paucity of volatiles
measured in its atmosphere. We describe the formation sequence of the icy
planetesimals formed beyond the snow line of the protoplanetary disk and
calculate the composition of ices ultimately accreted in the envelope of HD
189733b on its migration pathway. This allows us to reproduce the observed
volatile abundances by adjusting the mass of ices vaporized in the envelope.
The predicted elemental mixing ratios should be 0.15--0.3 times solar in the
envelope of HD 189733b if they are fitted to the recent O and C determinations.
However, our fit to the minimum mass of heavy elements predicted by internal
structure models gives elemental abundances that are 1.2--2.4 times oversolar
in the envelope of HD189733b. We propose that the most likely cause of this
discrepancy is irradiation from the central star leading to development of a
radiative zone in the planet's outer envelope which would induce gravitational
settling of elements. Hence, all strongly irradiated extrasolar planets should
present subsolar abundances of volatiles. We finally predict that the
abundances of nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P) are of , and relative to
H, respectively in the atmosphere of HD 189733b.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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Evolution of the subsurface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenkoâs 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 Philaeâs landing site
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
Dynamical Evolution of Planetary Systems
Planetary systems can evolve dynamically even after the full growth of the
planets themselves. There is actually circumstantial evidence that most
planetary systems become unstable after the disappearance of gas from the
protoplanetary disk. These instabilities can be due to the original system
being too crowded and too closely packed or to external perturbations such as
tides, planetesimal scattering, or torques from distant stellar companions. The
Solar System was not exceptional in this sense. In its inner part, a crowded
system of planetary embryos became unstable, leading to a series of mutual
impacts that built the terrestrial planets on a timescale of ~100 My. In its
outer part, the giant planets became temporarily unstable and their orbital
configuration expanded under the effect of mutual encounters. A planet might
have been ejected in this phase. Thus, the orbital distributions of planetary
systems that we observe today, both solar and extrasolar ones, can be different
from the those emerging from the formation process and it is important to
consider possible long-term evolutionary effects to connect the two.Comment: Review to appear as a chapter in the "Handbook of Exoplanets", ed. H.
Deeg & J.A. Belmont
On the origin and evolution of the material in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
International audiencePrimitive objects like comets hold important information on the material that formed our solar system. Several comets have been visited by spacecraft and many more have been observed through Earth- and space-based telescopes. Still our understanding remains limited. Molecular abundances in comets have been shown to be similar to interstellar ices and thus indicate that common processes and conditions were involved in their formation. The samples returned by the Stardust mission to comet Wild 2 showed that the bulk refractory material was processed by high temperatures in the vicinity of the early sun. The recent Rosetta mission acquired a wealth of new data on the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G) and complemented earlier observations of other comets. The isotopic, elemental, and molecular abundances of the volatile, semi-volatile, and refractory phases brought many new insights into the origin and processing of the incorporated material. The emerging picture after Rosetta is that at least part of the volatile material was formed before the solar system and that cometary nuclei agglomerated over a wide range of heliocentric distances, different from where they are found today. Deviations from bulk solar system abundances indicate that the material was not fully homogenized at the location of comet formation, despite the radial mixing implied by the Stardust results. Post-formation evolution of the material might play an important role, which further complicates the picture. This paper discusses these major findings of the Rosetta mission with respect to the origin of the material and puts them in the context of what we know from other comets and solar system objects