Mars atmospheric dust properties: A synthesis of Mariner 9, Viking, and Phobos observations

We have modified a doubling-and-adding code to reanalyze the Mariner 9 IRIS spectra of Mars atmospheric dust as well as Viking IRTM EPF sequences in the 7, 9, and 20 micron channels. The code is capable of accurate emission/ absorption/scattering radiative transfer calculations over the 5-30 micron wavelength region for variable dust composition and particle size inputs, and incorporates both the Viking IRTM channel weightings and the Mariner 9 IRIS wavelength resolution for direct comparisons to these datasets. We adopt atmospheric temperature profiles according to the algorithm of Martin (1986) in the case of the Viking IRTM comparisons, and obtained Mariner 9 IRIS temperature retrievals from the 15 micron CO2 band for the case of the IRIS comparisons. We consider palagonite as the primary alternative to the montmorillonite composition of Mars atmospheric dust, based on several considerations. Palagonite absorbs in the ultraviolet and visible wavelength region due to its Fe content. Palagonite is also, in principal, consistent with the observed lack of clays on the Mars surface. Furthermore, palagonite does not display strong, structured absorption near 20 microns as does montmorillonite (in conflict with the IRIS observations). We propose that a palagonite composition with particle sizes roughly one-half that of the Toon et al. (1977) determination provide a much improved model to Mars atmospheric dust. Since palagonite is a common weathering product of terrrestrial basalts, it would not be unreasonable for palagonite to be a major surface component for Mars. The lack of even a minor component of Al-rich clays on the surface of Mars could be consistent with a palagonite composition for Mars dust if the conditions for basalt weathering on Mars were sufficiently anhydrous. Variations in palagonite composition could also lead to the inability of the modeled palagonite to fit the details of the 9 micron absorbtion indicated by the IRIS observations

Temporal and spatial mapping of atmospheric dust opacity and surface albedo on Mars

The Mariner 9 and Viking missions provided abundant evidence that eolian processes are active over much of the surface of Mars. Past studies have demonstrated that variations in regional albedo and wind streak patterns are indicative of sediment transport through a region, while thermal inertia data (derived from the Viking Infrared Thermal Mapper (IRTM) datasets) are indicative of the degree of surface mantling by dust deposits. We are making use of the method developed by T. Z. Martin to determine dust opacity from IRTM thermal observations. We have developed a radiative transfer model that allows corrections for the effects of atmospheric dust loading on observations of surface albedo to be made. This approach to determining 'dust-corrected surface albedo' incorporates the atmospheric dust opacity, the single-scattering albedo and particle phase function of atmospheric dust, the bidirectional reflectance of the surface, and accounts for variable lighting and viewing geometry

Processes of equatorial thermal structure at Jupiter: An analysis of the Galileo temperature profile with a three‐dimensional model

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94956/1/jgre1925.pd

Processes of Equatorial Thermal Structure: An Analysis of Galileo Temperature Profile with 3-D Model

The Jupiter Thermosphere General Circulation Model (JTGCM) calculates the global dynamical structure of Jupiter's thermosphere self-consistently with its global thermal structure and composition. The main heat source that drives the thermospheric flow is high-latitude Joule heating. A secondary source of heating is the auroral process of particle precipitation. Global simulations of Jovian thermospheric dynamics indicate strong neutral outflows from the auroral ovals with velocities up to approximately 2 kilometers per second and subsequent convergence and downwelling at the Jovian equator. Such circulation is shown to be an important process for transporting significant amounts of auroral energy to equatorial latitudes and for regulating the global heat budget in a manner consistent with the high thermospheric temperatures observed by the Galileo probe. Adiabatic compression of the neutral atmosphere resulting from downward motion is an important source of equatorial heating (less than 0.06 microbar). The adiabatic heating continues to dominate between 0.06 and 0.2 microbar, but with an addition of comparable heating due to horizontal advection induced by the meridional flow. Thermal conduction plays an important role in transporting heat down to lower altitudes (greater than 0.2microbar) where it is balanced by the cooling associated with the wind transport processes. Interestingly, we find that radiative cooling caused by H3(+), CH4, and C2H2 emissions does not play a significant role in interpreting the Galileo temperature profile

XMM-Newton observations of X-ray emission from Jupiter

We present the results of two XMM-Newton observations of Jupiter carried out in 2003 for 100 and 250 ks (or 3 and 7 planet rotations) respectively. X-ray images from the EPIC CCD cameras show prominent emission from the auroral regions in the 0.2 - 2.0 keV band: the spectra are well modelled by a combination of emission lines, including most prominently those of highly ionised oxygen (OVII and OVIII). In addition, and for the first time, XMM-Newton reveals the presence in both aurorae of a higher energy component (3 - 7 keV) which is well described by an electron bremsstrahlung spectrum. This component is found to be variable in flux and spectral shape during the Nov. 2003 observation, which corresponded to an extended period of intense solar activity. Emission from the equatorial regions of Jupiter's disk is also observed, with a spectrum consistent with that of solar X-rays scattered in the planet's upper atmosphere. Jupiter's X-rays are spectrally resolved with the RGS which clearly separates the prominent OVII contribution of the aurorae from the OVIII, FeXVII and MgXI lines, originating in the low-latitude disk regions of the planet.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures, Proceedings of the Symposium 'The X-ray Universe 2005', San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain, 26-30 September 2005. In pres

X‐ray emission from the outer planets: Albedo for scattering and fluorescence of solar X rays

Soft X‐ray emission has been observed from the low‐latitude "disk" of both Jupiter and Saturn as well as from the auroral regions of these planets. The disk emission as observed by ROSAT, the Chandra X‐Ray Observatory, and XMM‐Newton appears to be uniformly distributed across the disk and to be correlated with solar activity. These characteristics suggest that the disk X rays are produced by (1) the elastic scattering of solar X rays by atmospheric neutrals and (2) the absorption of solar X rays in the carbon K‐shell followed by fluorescent emission. The carbon atoms are found in methane molecules located below the homopause. In this paper we present the results of calculations of the scattering albedo for soft X rays. We also show the calculated X‐ray intensity for a range of atmospheric abundances for Jupiter and Saturn and for a number of solar irradiance spectra. The model calculations are compared with recent X‐ray observations of Jupiter and Saturn. We conclude that the emission of soft X rays from the disks of Jupiter and Saturn can be largely explained by the scattering and fluorescence of solar soft X rays. We suggest that measured X‐ray intensities from the disk regions of Jupiter and Saturn can be used to constrain both the absolute intensity and the spectrum of solar X rays

Jupiter's X-ray and EUV auroras monitored by Chandra, XXM-Newton, and Hisaki satellite

Jupiter's X-ray auroral emission in the polar cap region results from particles which have undergone strong field-aligned acceleration into the ionosphere. The origin of precipitating ions and electrons and the time variability in the X-ray emission are essential to uncover the driving mechanism for the high-energy acceleration. The magnetospheric location of the source field line where the X-ray is generated is likely affected by the solar wind variability. However, these essential characteristics are still unknown because the long-term monitoring of the X-rays and contemporaneous solar wind variability has not been carried out. In April 2014, the first long-term multiwavelength monitoring of Jupiter's X-ray and EUV auroral emissions was made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, XMM-Newton, and Hisaki satellite. We find that the X-ray count rates are positively correlated with the solar wind velocity and insignificantly with the dynamic pressure. Based on the magnetic field mapping model, a half of the X-ray auroral region was found to be open to the interplanetary space. The other half of the X-ray auroral source region is magnetically connected with the prenoon to postdusk sector in the outermost region of the magnetosphere, where the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability, magnetopause reconnection, and quasiperiodic particle injection potentially take place. We speculate that the high-energy auroral acceleration is associated with the KH instability and/or magnetopause reconnection. This association is expected to also occur in many other space plasma environments such as Saturn and other magnetized rotators

Time of life as it is in LiFeAs

The time of life of fermionic quasiparticles, the distribution of which in the momentum-energy space can be measured by angle resolved photoemission (ARPES), is the first quantity to look for fingerprints of interaction responsible for the superconducting pairing. Such an approach has been recently used for superconducting cuprates, but its direct application to pnictides was not possible due to essential three-dimensionality of the electronic band structure and magnetic ordering. Here, we report the investigation of the quasiparticle lifetime in LiFeAs, a non-magnetic stoichiometric superconductor with a well separated two-dimensional band. We have found two energy scales: the lower one contains clear fingerprints of optical phonon modes while the higher scale indicates a presence of strong electron-electron interaction. The result suggests that LiFeAs is a phonon mediated superconductor with strongly enhanced electronic density of states at the Fermi level.Comment: reevaluated electron-phonon coupling strength, added reference