116 research outputs found
A perspective from extinct radionuclides on a Young Stellar Object: The Sun and its accretion disk
Meteorites, which are remnants of solar system formation, provide a direct
glimpse into the dynamics and evolution of a young stellar object (YSO), namely
our Sun. Much of our knowledge about the astrophysical context of the birth of
the Sun, the chronology of planetary growth from micrometer-sized dust to
terrestrial planets, and the activity of the young Sun comes from the study of
extinct radionuclides such as 26Al (t1/2 = 0.717 Myr). Here we review how the
signatures of extinct radionuclides (short-lived isotopes that were present
when the solar system formed and that have now decayed below detection level)
in planetary materials influence the current paradigm of solar system
formation. Particular attention is given to tying meteorite measurements to
remote astronomical observations of YSOs and modeling efforts. Some extinct
radionuclides were inherited from the long-term chemical evolution of the
Galaxy, others were injected into the solar system by a nearby supernova, and
some were produced by particle irradiation from the T-Tauri Sun. The chronology
inferred from extinct radionuclides reveals that dust agglomeration to form
centimeter-sized particles in the inner part of the disk was very rapid (<50
kyr), planetesimal formation started early and spanned several million years,
planetary embryos (possibly like Mars) were formed in a few million years, and
terrestrial planets (like Earth) completed their growths several tens of
million years after the birth of the Sun.Comment: 49 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. Uncorrected preprin
Formation of Kuiper Belt Binaries
It appears that at least several percent of large Kuiper belt objects are
members of wide binaries. Physical collisions are too infrequent to account for
their formation. Collisionless gravitational interactions are more promising.
These provide two channels for binary formation. In each, the initial step is
the formation of a transient binary when two large bodies penetrate each
other's Hill spheres. Stabilization of a transient binary requires that it lose
energy. Either dynamical friction due to small bodies or the scattering of a
third large body can be responsible. Our estimates favor the former, albeit by
a small margin. We predict that most objects of size comparable to those
currently observed in the Kuiper belt are members of multiple systems. More
specifically, we derive the probability that a large body is a member of a
binary with semi-major axis of order a. The probability depends upon sigma, the
total surface density, Sigma, the surface density of large bodies having radius
R, and theta=10^-4, the angle subtended by the solar radius as seen from the
Kuiper belt. For (sigma/Sigma)R<a< R/theta, the probability is just (Sigma/rho
R)theta^-2, the optical depth of the large bodies divided by the solid angle
subtended by the Sun. For R<a<r_u=(sigma/Sigma)R, it varies inversely with
semimajor axis and reaches (sigma/rho R)theta^-2 at a=R. Based on current
surveys of the Kuiper belt, we estimate Sigma/rho=3 10^-4cm and R=100km. We
obtain sigma/rho=0.3cm by extrapolating the surface density deduced for the
minimum mass solar nebula. Rough predictions are: outside of the critical
separation r_u/a_odot=3'', the binary probability is 0.3%; at separations of
0.2'', comparable to current resolving capabilities, it reaches 5%, in
agreement with results from the HST binary survey by Brown
Origin of the cataclysmic Late Heavy Bombardment period of the terrestrial planets
Nature, 435, pp. 466-469, http://dx.doi.org./10.1038/nature03676International audienc
The formation of Kuiper-belt Binaries through Exchange Reactions
Recent observations have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among
the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper-belt. The
discovered binaries have four characteristics they comprise a few percent of
the TNOs, the mass ratio of their components is close to unity, their internal
orbits are highly eccentric, and the orbits are more than 100 times wider than
the primary's radius. In contrast, theories of binary asteroid formation tend
to produce close, circular binaries. Therefore, a new approach is required to
explain the unique characteristics of the TNO binaries. Two models have been
proposed. Both, however, require extreme assumptions on the size distribution
of TNOs. Here we show a mechanism which is guaranteed to produces binaries of
the required type during the early TNO growth phase, based on only one
plausible assumption, namely that initially TNOs were formed through
gravitational instabilities of the protoplanetary dust layer.Comment: 12pages, 4 figure
The role of chaotic resonances in the solar system
Our understanding of the Solar System has been revolutionized over the past
decade by the finding that the orbits of the planets are inherently chaotic. In
extreme cases, chaotic motions can change the relative positions of the planets
around stars, and even eject a planet from a system. Moreover, the spin axis of
a planet-Earth's spin axis regulates our seasons-may evolve chaotically, with
adverse effects on the climates of otherwise biologically interesting planets.
Some of the recently discovered extrasolar planetary systems contain multiple
planets, and it is likely that some of these are chaotic as well.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
Planet Populations as a Function of Stellar Properties
Exoplanets around different types of stars provide a window into the diverse
environments in which planets form. This chapter describes the observed
relations between exoplanet populations and stellar properties and how they
connect to planet formation in protoplanetary disks. Giant planets occur more
frequently around more metal-rich and more massive stars. These findings
support the core accretion theory of planet formation, in which the cores of
giant planets form more rapidly in more metal-rich and more massive
protoplanetary disks. Smaller planets, those with sizes roughly between Earth
and Neptune, exhibit different scaling relations with stellar properties. These
planets are found around stars with a wide range of metallicities and occur
more frequently around lower mass stars. This indicates that planet formation
takes place in a wide range of environments, yet it is not clear why planets
form more efficiently around low mass stars. Going forward, exoplanet surveys
targeting M dwarfs will characterize the exoplanet population around the lowest
mass stars. In combination with ongoing stellar characterization, this will
help us understand the formation of planets in a large range of environments.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Handbook of Exoplanet
Planetary Dynamics and Habitable Planet Formation In Binary Star Systems
Whether binaries can harbor potentially habitable planets depends on several
factors including the physical properties and the orbital characteristics of
the binary system. While the former determines the location of the habitable
zone (HZ), the latter affects the dynamics of the material from which
terrestrial planets are formed (i.e., planetesimals and planetary embryos), and
drives the final architecture of the planets assembly. In order for a habitable
planet to form in a binary star system, these two factors have to work in
harmony. That is, the orbital dynamics of the two stars and their interactions
with the planet-forming material have to allow terrestrial planet formation in
the habitable zone, and ensure that the orbit of a potentially habitable planet
will be stable for long times. We have organized this chapter with the same
order in mind. We begin by presenting a general discussion on the motion of
planets in binary stars and their stability. We then discuss the stability of
terrestrial planets, and the formation of potentially habitable planets in a
binary-planetary system.Comment: 56 pages, 29 figures, chapter to appear in the book: Planets in
Binary Star Systems (Ed. N. Haghighipour, Springer publishing company
The role of planetary formation and evolution in shaping the composition of exoplanetary atmospheres
Over the last twenty years, the search for extrasolar planets revealed us the
rich diversity of the outcomes of the formation and evolution of planetary
systems. In order to fully understand how these extrasolar planets came to be,
however, the orbital and physical data we possess are not enough, and they need
to be complemented with information on the composition of the exoplanets.
Ground-based and space-based observations provided the first data on the
atmospheric composition of a few extrasolar planets, but a larger and more
detailed sample is required before we can fully take advantage of it. The
primary goal of the Exoplanet Characterization Observatory (EChO) is to fill
this gap, expanding the limited data we possess by performing a systematic
survey of hundreds of extrasolar planets. The full exploitation of the data
that EChO and other space-based and ground-based facilities will provide in the
near future, however, requires the knowledge of what are the sources and sinks
of the chemical species and molecules that will be observed. Luckily, the study
of the past history of the Solar System provides several indications on the
effects of processes like migration, late accretion and secular impacts, and on
the time they occur in the life of planetary systems. In this work we will
review what is already known about the factors influencing the composition of
planetary atmospheres, focusing on the case of gaseous giant planets, and what
instead still need to be investigated.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication on
Experimental Astronomy, special issue on the M3 EChO mission candidat
Predicting risk for Alcohol Use Disorder using longitudinal data with multimodal biomarkers and family history: a machine learning study.
Predictive models have succeeded in distinguishing between individuals with Alcohol use Disorder (AUD) and controls. However, predictive models identifying who is prone to develop AUD and the biomarkers indicating a predisposition to AUD are still unclear. Our sample (n = 656) included offspring and non-offspring of European American (EA) and African American (AA) ancestry from the Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) who were recruited as early as age 12 and were unaffected at first assessment and reassessed years later as AUD (DSM-5) (n = 328) or unaffected (n = 328). Machine learning analysis was performed for 220 EEG measures, 149 alcohol-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from a recent large Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) of alcohol use/misuse and two family history (mother DSM-5 AUD and father DSM-5 AUD) features using supervised, Linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier to test which features assessed before developing AUD predict those who go on to develop AUD. Age, gender, and ancestry stratified analyses were performed. Results indicate significant and higher accuracy rates for the AA compared with the EA prediction models and a higher model accuracy trend among females compared with males for both ancestries. Combined EEG and SNP features model outperformed models based on only EEG features or only SNP features for both EA and AA samples. This multidimensional superiority was confirmed in a follow-up analysis in the AA age groups (12-15, 16-19, 20-30) and EA age group (16-19). In both ancestry samples, the youngest age group achieved higher accuracy score than the two other older age groups. Maternal AUD increased the model's accuracy in both ancestries' samples. Several discriminative EEG measures and SNPs features were identified, including lower posterior gamma, higher slow wave connectivity (delta, theta, alpha), higher frontal gamma ratio, higher beta correlation in the parietal area, and 5 SNPs: rs4780836, rs2605140, rs11690265, rs692854, and rs13380649. Results highlight the significance of sampling uniformity followed by stratified (e.g., ancestry, gender, developmental period) analysis, and wider selection of features, to generate better prediction scores allowing a more accurate estimation of AUD development
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