10,866 research outputs found
Planetesimal disk evolution driven by embryo-planetesimal gravitational scattering
The process of gravitational scattering of planetesimals by a massive
protoplanetary embryo is explored theoretically. We propose a method to
describe the evolution of the disk surface density, eccentricity, and
inclination caused by the embryo-planetesimal interaction. It relies on the
analytical treatment of the scattering in two extreme regimes of the
planetesimal epicyclic velocities: shear-dominated (dynamically ``cold'') and
dispersion-dominated (dynamically ``hot''). In the former, planetesimal
scattering can be treated as a deterministic process. In the latter, scattering
is mostly weak because of the large relative velocities of interacting bodies.
This allows one to use the Fokker-Planck approximation and the two-body
approximation to explore the disk evolution. We compare the results obtained by
this method with the outcomes of the direct numerical integrations of
planetesimal orbits and they agree quite well. In the intermediate velocity
regime an approximate treatment of the disk evolution is proposed based on
interpolation between the two extreme regimes. We also calculate the rate of
embryo's mass growth in an inhomogeneous planetesimal disk and demonstrate that
it is in agreement with both the simulations and earlier calculations. Finally
we discuss the question of the direction of the embryo-planetesimal interaction
in the dispersion-dominated regime and demonstrate that it is repulsive. This
means that the embryo always forms a gap in the disk around it, which is in
contrast with the results of other authors. The machinery developed here will
be applied to realistic protoplanetary systems in future papers.Comment: 40 pages, 9 figures, submitted to A
Spectral statistics of molecular resonances in erbium isotopes: How chaotic are they?
We perform a comprehensive analysis of the spectral statistics of the
molecular resonances in Er and Er observed in recent ultracold
collision experiments [Frisch et al., Nature {\bf 507}, 475 (2014)] with the
aim of determining the chaoticity of this system. We calculate different
independent statistical properties to check their degree of agreement with
random matrix theory (RMT), and analyze if they are consistent with the
possibility of having missing resonances. The analysis of the short-range
fluctuations as a function of the magnetic field points to a steady increase of
chaoticity until G. The repulsion parameter decreases for higher
magnetic fields, an effect that can be interpreted as due to missing
resonances. The analysis of long-range fluctuations allows us to be more
quantitative and estimate a fraction of missing levels. Finally, a
study of the distribution of resonance widths provides additional evidence
supporting missing resonances of small width compared with the experimental
magnetic field resolution. We conclude that further measurements with increased
resolution will be necessary to give a final answer to the problem of missing
resonances and the agreement with RMT.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Termination of planetary accretion due to gap formation
The process of gap formation by a growing planetary embryo embedded in a
planetesimal disk is considered. It is shown that there exists a single
parameter characterizing this process, which represents the competition between
the gravitational influence of the embryo and planetesimal-planetesimal
scattering. For realistic assumptions about the properties of the planetesimal
disk and the planetary embryo, a gap is opened long before the embryo can
accrete all the bodies within its region of influence. The implication of this
result is that the embryo stops growing and, thus, large bodies formed during
the coagulation stage should be less massive than is usually assumed. For
conditions expected at 1 AU in the solar protoplanetary disk, gap formation is
expected to occur around bodies of mass < 10^24 g. The effect of protoplanetary
radial migration is also discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, submitted to A
Transient behavior of surface plasmon polaritons scattered at a subwavelength groove
We present a numerical study and analytical model of the optical near-field
diffracted in the vicinity of subwavelength grooves milled in silver surfaces.
The Green's tensor approach permits computation of the phase and amplitude
dependence of the diffracted wave as a function of the groove geometry. It is
shown that the field diffracted along the interface by the groove is equivalent
to replacing the groove by an oscillating dipolar line source. An analytic
expression is derived from the Green's function formalism, that reproduces well
the asymptotic surface plasmon polariton (SPP) wave as well as the transient
surface wave in the near-zone close to the groove. The agreement between this
model and the full simulation is very good, showing that the transient
"near-zone" regime does not depend on the precise shape of the groove. Finally,
it is shown that a composite diffractive evanescent wave model that includes
the asymptotic SPP can describe the wavelength evolution in this transient
near-zone. Such a semi-analytical model may be useful for the design and
optimization of more elaborate photonic circuits whose behavior in large part
will be controlled by surface waves.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure
A polarity reversal in the large-scale magnetic field of the rapidly rotating Sun HD 190771
Aims. We investigate the long-term evolution of the large-scale photospheric
magnetic field geometry of the solar-type star HD 190771. With fundamental
parameters very close to those of the Sun except for a shorter rotation period
of 8.8 d, HD 190771 provides us with a first insight into the specific impact
of the rotation rate in the dynamo generation of magnetic fields in 1
stars.
Methods. We use circularly polarized, high-resolution spectra obtained with
the NARVAL spectropolarimeter (Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France) and compute
cross-correlation line profiles with high signal-to-noise ratio to detect
polarized Zeeman signatures. From three phase-resolved data sets collected
during the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009, we model the large-scale
photospheric magnetic field of the star by means of Zeeman-Doppler imaging and
follow its temporal evolution.
Results. The comparison of the magnetic maps shows that a polarity reversal
of the axisymmetric component of the large-scale magnetic field occurred
between 2007 and 2008, this evolution being observed in both the poloidal and
toroidal magnetic components. Between 2008 and 2009, another type of global
evolution occured, characterized by a sharp decrease of the fraction of
magnetic energy stored in the toroidal component. These changes were not
accompanied by significant evolution in the total photospheric magnetic energy.
Using our spectra to perform radial velocity measurements, we also detect a
very low-mass stellar companion to HD 190771.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics (Letter to the Editor
Simulated CII observations for SPICA/SAFARI
We investigate the case of CII 158 micron observations for SPICA/SAFARI using
a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulation of the diffuse
interstellar medium (ISM) and the Meudon PDR code. The MHD simulation consists
of two converging flows of warm gas (10,000 K) within a cubic box 50 pc in
length. The interplay of thermal instability, magnetic field and self-gravity
leads to the formation of cold, dense clumps within a warm, turbulent
interclump medium. We sample several clumps along a line of sight through the
simulated cube and use them as input density profiles in the Meudon PDR code.
This allows us to derive intensity predictions for the CII 158 micron line and
provide time estimates for the mapping of a given sky area.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the workshop "The
Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology & Astrophysics: Revealing the Origins
of Planets and Galaxies" (July 2009, Oxford, United Kingdom
The Kuiper Belt Luminosity Function from m(R)=21 to 26
We have performed an ecliptic imaging survey of the Kuiper belt with our
deepest and widest field achieving a limiting flux of m(g') = 26.4, with a sky
coverage of 3.0 square-degrees. This is the largest coverage of any other
Kuiper belt survey to this depth. We detect 72 objects, two of which have been
previously observed. We have improved the Bayesian maximum likelihood fitting
technique presented in Gladman et al. (1998) to account for calibration and sky
density variations and have used this to determine the luminosity function of
the Kuiper belt. Combining our detections with previous surveys, we find the
luminosity function is well represented by a single power-law with slope alpha
= 0.65 +/- 0.05 and an on ecliptic sky density of 1 object per square-degree
brighter than m(R)=23.42 +/- 0.13. Assuming constant albedos, this slope
suggests a differential size-distribution slope of 4.25 +/- 0.25, which is
steeper than the Dohnanyi slope of 3.5 expected if the belt is in a state of
collisional equilibrium. We find no evidence for a roll-over or knee in the
luminosity function and reject such models brightward of m(R) ~ 24.6.Comment: 50 Pages, 8 Figure
Long-term spectropolarimetric monitoring of the cool supergiant Betelgeuse
We report on a long-term monitoring of the cool supergiant Betelgeuse, using
the NARVAL and ESPaDOnS high-resolution spectropolarimeters, respectively
installed at Telescope Bernard Lyot (Pic du Midi Observatory, France) and at
the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (Mauna Kea Observatory, Hawaii). The data
set, constituted of circularly polarized (Stokes V) and intensity (Stokes I)
spectra, was collected between 2010 and 2012. We investigate here the temporal
evolution of magnetic field, convection and temperature at photospheric level,
using simultaneous measurements of the longitudinal magnetic field component,
the core emission of the Ca II infrared triplet, the line-depth ratio of
selected photospheric lines and the radial velocity of the star.Comment: Proceedings of the Betelgeuse Workshop, Paris, 26-29 Nov 201
The IRAM-30m line survey of the Horsehead PDR: IV. Comparative chemistry of H2CO and CH3OH
Aims. We investigate the dominant formation mechanism of H2CO and CH3OH in
the Horsehead PDR and its associated dense core. Methods. We performed deep
integrations of several H2CO and CH3OH lines at two positions in the Horsehead,
namely the PDR and dense core, with the IRAM-30m telescope. In addition, we
observed one H2CO higher frequency line with the CSO telescope at both
positions. We determine the H2CO and CH3OH column densities and abundances from
the single-dish observations complemented with IRAM-PdBI high-angular
resolution maps (6") of both species. We compare the observed abundances with
PDR models including either pure gas-phase chemistry or both gas-phase and
grain surface chemistry. Results. We derive CH3OH abundances relative to total
number of hydrogen atoms of ~1.2e-10 and ~2.3e-10 in the PDR and dense core
positions, respectively. These abundances are similar to the inferred H2CO
abundance in both positions (~2e-10). We find an abundance ratio H2CO/CH3OH of
~2 in the PDR and ~1 in the dense core. Pure gas-phase models cannot reproduce
the observed abundances of either H2CO or CH3OH at the PDR position. Both
species are therefore formed on the surface of dust grains and are subsequently
photodesorbed into the gas-phase at this position. At the dense core, on the
other hand, photodesorption of ices is needed to explain the observed abundance
of CH3OH, while a pure gas-phase model can reproduce the observed H2CO
abundance. The high-resolution observations show that CH3OH is depleted onto
grains at the dense core. CH3OH is thus present in an envelope around this
position, while H2CO is present in both the envelope and the dense core itself.
Conclusions. Photodesorption is an efficient mechanism to release complex
molecules in low FUV-illuminated PDRs, where thermal desorption of ice mantles
is ineffective.Comment: 12 pages, 5 tables, 7 figures; Accepted for publication in A&
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