Transforming Dust to Planets

We review recent progress in understanding how nebular dust and gas are converted into the planets of the present-day solar system, focusing particularly on the “Grand Tack” and pebble accretion scenarios. The Grand Tack can explain the observed division of the solar system into two different isotopic “flavours”, which are found in both differentiated and undifferentiated meteorites. The isotopic chronology inferred for the development of these two “flavours” is consistent with expectations of gas-giant growth and nebular gas loss timescales. The Grand Tack naturally makes a small Mars and a depleted, dynamically-excited and compositionally mixed asteroid belt (as observed); it builds both Mars and the Earth rapidly, which is consistent with the isotopically-inferred growth timescale of the former, but not the latter. Pebble accretion can explain the rapid required growth of Jupiter and Saturn, and the number of Kuiper Belt binaries, but requires specific assumptions to explain the relatively protracted growth timescale of Earth. Pure pebble accretion cannot explain the mixing observed in the asteroid belt, the fast proto-Earth spin rate, or the tilt of Uranus. No current observation requires pebble accretion to have operated in the inner solar system, but the thermal and compositional consequences of pebble accretion have yet to be explored in detail.     

An Oxygen Isotope Mixing Model for the Accretion and Composition of Rocky Planets

The oxygen isotope systematics in planetary and nebular matter are used to constrain the types of nebular material accreted to form a planet. The basic assumption of this model is that the mean oxygen isotopic composition of a planet is determined by the weighted mean oxygen isotopic composition of nebular matter accreted by the planet. Chondrites are taken as representatives of nebular matter. The chemical composition (which determines core size, mantle oxidation state, density, moment of inertia) of a planet results from the weighted mean compositions of the accreted nebular material, once the mass fractions of the different types of accreting matter are known. Here some results for Earth, Moon, Mars, and Vesta are discussed. The model implies that loss of volatile elements, such as alkalis and halogens, occurs during accretion and early planetary differentiation (e. g., by catastrophic impacts). The possible depletion mechanisms of moderately volatile elements are discussed. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vesta and Ceres: Crossing the History of the Solar System

The evolution of the Solar System can be schematically divided into three different phases: the Solar Nebula, the Primordial Solar System and the Modern Solar System. These three periods were characterized by very different conditions, both from the point of view of the physical conditions and from that of the processes there were acting through them. Across the Solar Nebula phase, planetesimals and planetary embryos were forming and differentiating due to the decay of short-lived radionuclides. At the same time, giant planets formed their cores and accreted the nebular gas to reach their present masses. After the gas dispersal, the Primordial Solar System began its evolution. In the inner Solar System, planetary embryos formed the terrestrial planets and, in combination with the gravitational perturbations of the giant planets, depleted the residual population of planetesimals. In the outer Solar System, giant planets underwent a violent, chaotic phase of orbital rearrangement which caused the Late Heavy Bombardment. Then the rapid and fierce evolution of the young Solar System left place to the more regular secular evolution of the Modern Solar System. Vesta, through its connection with HED meteorites, and plausibly Ceres too were between the first bodies to form in the history of the Solar System. Here we discuss the timescale of their formation and evolution and how they would have been affected by their passage through the different phases of the history of the Solar System, in order to draw a reference framework to interpret the data that Dawn mission will supply on them.     

Solar Nebula Magnetohydrodynamics

The dynamical state of the solar nebula depends critically upon whether or not the gas is magnetically coupled. The presence of a subthermal field will cause laminar flow to break down into turbulence. Magnetic coupling, in turn, depends upon the ionization fraction of the gas. The inner most region of the nebula (≲0.1 AU) is magnetically well-coupled, as is the outermost region (≳10 AU). The magnetic status of intermediate scales (∼1 AU) is less certain. It is plausible that there is a zone adjacent to the inner disk in which turbulent heating self-consistently maintains the requisite ionization levels. But the region adjacent to the active outer disk is likely to be magnetically ``dead.' Hall currents play a significant role in nebular magnetohydrodynamics. Though still occasionally argued in the literature, there is simply no evidence to support the once standard claim that differential rotation in a Keplerian disk is prone to break down into shear turbulence by nonlinear instabilities. There is abundant evidence—numerical, experimental, and analytic—in support of the stabilizing role of Coriolis forces. Hydrodynamical turbulence is almost certainly not a source of enhanced turbulence in the solar nebula, or in any other astrophysical accretion disk. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Chemical and Physical Processing of Presolar Materials in the Solar Nebula and the Implications for Preservation of Presolar Materials in Comets

Chemical and physical processes in the outer solar nebula are reviewed. It is argued that the outer nebula was a chemically active environment with UV photochemistry and ion-molecule chemistry in its low density regions and grain-catalyzed chemistry in Jovian protoplanetary subnebulae. Presolar material was altered to greater or lesser extent by these spatially and temporally variable processes, which mimic many features of interstellar chemistry. Experiments, models, and observations are recommended to address the questions of presolar versus nebular dominance in the outer solar nebula and of how to distinguish interstellar and nebular sources of cometary volatiles. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cometary Refractory Grains: Interstellar and Nebular Sources

Comets are heterogeneous mixtures of interstellar and nebular materials. The degree of mixing of interstellar sources and nebular sources at different nuclear size scales holds the promise of revealing how cometary particles, cometesimals, and cometary nuclei accreted. We can ascribe cometary materials to interstellar and nebular sources and see how comets probe planet-forming process in our protoplanetary disk. Comets and cometary IDPs contain carbonaceous matter that appears to be either similar to poorly-graphitized (amorphous) carbon, a likely ISM source, or highly labile complex organics, with possible ISM or outer disk heritage. The oxygen fugacity of the solar nebula depends on the dynamical interplay between the inward migration of carbon-rich grains and of icy (water-rich) grains. Inside the water dissociation line, OH^? reacts with carbon to form CO or CO₂, consuming available oxygen and contributing to the canonical low oxygen fugacity. Alternatively, the influx of water vapor and/or oxygen rich dust grains from outer (cooler) disk regions can raise the oxygen fugacity. Low oxygen fugacity of the canonical solar nebula favors the condensation of Mg-rich crystalline silicates and Fe-metal, or the annealing of Fe-Mg amorphous silicates into Mg-rich crystals and Fe-metal via Fe-reduction. High oxygen fugacity nebular conditions favors the condensation of Fe-bearing to Fe-rich crystalline silicates. In the ISM, Fe-Mg amorphous silicates are prevalent, in stark contrast to Mg-rich crystalline silicates that are rare. Hence, cometary Mg-rich crystalline silicates formed in the hot, inner regions of the canonical solar nebula and they are the touchstone for models of the outward radial transport of nebular grains to the comet-forming zone. Stardust samples are dominated by Mg-rich crystalline silicates but also contain abundant Fe-bearing and Fe-rich crystalline silicates that are too large (?0.1 μm) to be annealed Fe-Mg amorphous silicates. By comparison with asteroids, the Stardust Fe-bearing and Fe-rich crystalline silicates suggests partial aqueous alteration in comet nuclei. However, aqueous alteration transforms Fe-rich olivine to phyllosilicates before Mg-rich olivine, and Stardust has Mg-rich and Fe-rich olivine and no phyllosilicates. Hence, we look to a nebular source for the moderately Fe-rich to nearly pure-Fe crystalline silicates. Primitive matrices have Mg-Fe silicates but no phyllosilicates, supporting the idea that Mg-Fe silicates but not phyllosilicates are products of water-rich shocks. Chondrule-formation is a late stage process in our protoplanetary disk. Stardust samples show comet 81P/Wild 2 formed at least as late to incorporate a few chondrules, requiring radial transport of chondrules out to perhaps >20 AU. By similar radial transport mechanisms, collisional fragments of aqueously altered asteroids, in particular achondrites that formed earlier than chondrules, might reach the comet-forming zones. However, Stardust samples do not have phyllosilicates and chondrules are rare. Hence, the nebular refractory grains in comet 81P/Wild 2, as well as other comets, appear to be pre-accretionary with respect to asteroid parent bodies. By discussing nebular pathways for the formation of Fe-rich crystalline silicates, and also phyllosilicates and carbonates, we put forth the view that comets contain both the interstellar ingredients for and the products of nebular transmutation.     

Tenma observations of bright binary X-ray sources

Spectroscopic study of bright binary X-ray sources, performed with the gas scintillation proportional counters on board Tenma, is reviewed. Properties of an iron emission line from two classes of bright binary X-ray sources: X-ray pulsars and low-mass binary sources, are first presented. It is shown that a most likely candidate for the line emitting region is an Alfven shell in case of X-ray pulsars, whereas that of low mass binary sources is an outer accretion disk. Next, nature of the continuum emission from low-mass binary sources is consistently interpreted by a picture that an optically thick accretion disk extends down to very near the surface of a weakly magnetized neutron star. Origin of ultrasoft spectra of black hole candidate sources is also discussed.     

Low Velocity Collisions and the Growth of Planetesimals

The physics of low velocity collisions (5 m/s to 40 m/s) between basalt bodies ranging in size from 1 m to 10 km is studied in an effort to investigate the early phases of planetesimal accretions. To assess the importance of the internal structure of planetesimals on the outcome of the collisions, we model them either as solid spheres or as rubble piles with a filling factor of 0.5. The collisions are simulated using a three dimensional Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code that incorporates the combined effects of material strength and a brittle fragmentation model. This approach allows the determination not only of the mass of the largest fragments surviving the collisions but also their dynamical characteristics. We find that low velocity collisions are for equal incoming kinetic energy per gram of target material considerably more efficient in destroying and dispersing bodies than their high velocity counterparts. Furthermore, planetesimals modeled as rubble piles are found to be characterized by a disruption threshold about 5 times smaller than solid bodies. Both results are a consequence of a more efficient momentum transfer between projectile and fragments in collisions involving bodies of comparable sizes. Size and shape dependent gas drag is shown to provide relative collision velocities between similar meter-sized objects well in excess of the critical disruption threshold of either rubble piles or solid bodies. Unless accretion can proceed avoiding collisions between bodies of similar masses, the relative weakness of bodies in this size range creates a serious bottleneck for planetesimal growth. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Observational Tests of the Picture of Disk Accretion

In this chapter, I present a summary of observational tests of the basic picture of disk accretion. An emphasis is placed on tests relevant to black holes, but many of the fundamental results are drawn from studies of other classes of systems. Evidence is discussed for the basic structures of accretion flows. The cases of systems with and without accretion disks are discussed, as is the evidence that disks actually form. Also discussed are the hot spots where accretion streams impact the disks, and the boundary layers in the inner parts of systems where the accretors are not black holes. The nature of slow, large amplitude variability is discussed. It is shown that some of the key predictions of the classical thermal-viscous ionization instability model for producing outbursts are in excellent agreement with observational results. It is also show that there are systems whose outbursts are extremely difficult to explain without invoking variations in the rate of mass transfer from the donor star into the outer accretion disk, or tidally induced variations in the mass transfer rates. Finally, I briefly discuss recent quasar microlensing measurements which give truly independent constraints on the inner accretion geometry around black holes.     

Formation and Processing of Organics in the Early Solar System

Until pristine samples can be returned from cometary nuclei, primitive meteorites represent our best source of information about organic chemistry in the early solar system. However, this material has been affected by secondary processing on asteroidal parent bodies which probably did not affect the material now present in cometary nuclei. Production of meteoritic organic matter apparently involved the following sequence of events: Molecule formation by a variety of reaction pathways in dense interstellar clouds; Condensation of those molecules onto refractory interstellar grains; Irradiation of organic-rich interstellar-grain mantles producing a range of molecular fragments and free radicals; Inclusion of those interstellar grains into the protosolar nebula with probable heating of at least some grain mantles during passage through the shock wave bounding the solar accretion disc; Agglomeration of residual interstellar grains and locally produced nebular condensates into asteroid-sized planetesimals; Heating of planetesimals by decay of extinct radionuclides; Melting of ice to produce liquid water within asteroidal bodies; Reaction of interstellar molecules, fragments and radicals with each other and with the aqueous environment, possibly catalysed by mineral grains; Loss of water and other volatiles to space yielding a partially hydrated lithology containing a complex suite of organic molecules; Heating of some of this organic matter to generate a kerogen-like complex; Mixing of heated and unheated material to yield the meteoritic material now observed. Properties of meteoritic organic matter believed to be consistent with this scenario include: Systematic decrease of abundance with increasing C number in homologous series of characterisable molecules; Complete structural diversity within homologous series; Predominance of branched-chain isomers; Considerable isotopic variability among characterisable molecules and within kerogen-like material; Substantial deuterium enrichment in all organic fractions; Some fractions significantly enriched in nitrogen-15; Modest excesses of L-enantiomers in some racemisation-resistant molecules but no general enantiomeric preference. Despite much speculation about the possible role of Fischer-Tropsch catalytic hydrogenation of CO in production of organic molecules in the solar nebula, no convincing evidence for such material has been found in meteorites. A similarity between some meteoritic organics and those produced by Miller-Urey discharge synthesis may reflect involvement of common intermediates rather than the operation of electric discharges in the early solar system. Meteoritic organic matter constitutes a useful, but not exact, guide to what we shall find with in situ analytical and sample-return missions to cometary nuclei. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Disks, Extrasolar Planets and Migration

We review results about protoplanetary disk models, protoplanet migration and formation of giant planets with migrating cores. We first model the protoplanetary nebula as an α–accretion disk and present steady state calculations for different values of α and gas accretion rate through the disk. We then review the current theories of protoplanet migration in the context of these models, focusing on the gaseous disk–protoplanet tidal interaction. According to these theories, the migration timescale may be shorter than the planetary formation timescale. Therefore we investigate planet formation in the context of a migrating core, considering both the growth of the core and the build–up of the envelope in the course of the migration. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Minor objects in the solar system

The present status of theory and experiment relating to interplanetary bodies larger than molecules but smaller than asteroids is reviewed. The dynamics, nature, and origins of these objects are considered. The evidences from rocket and spacecraft measurements, meteor observations, terrestrial accretion and light-scattering phenomena are presented. The various lines of research are leading to a better understanding of these bodies, but there are many uncertainties to be resolved.This article was written independently but with approval of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The views or conclusions contained herein should not be interpreted as representing the official opinion of NASA.     

Modelling Spectral and Timing Properties of Accreting Black Holes: The Hybrid Hot Flow Paradigm

The general picture that emerged by the end of 1990s from a large set of optical and X-ray, spectral and timing data was that the X-rays are produced in the innermost hot part of the accretion flow, while the optical/infrared (OIR) emission is mainly produced by the irradiated outer thin accretion disc. Recent multiwavelength observations of Galactic black hole transients show that the situation is not so simple. Fast variability in the OIR band, OIR excesses above the thermal emission and a complicated interplay between the X-ray and the OIR light curves imply that the OIR emitting region is much more compact. One of the popular hypotheses is that the jet contributes to the OIR emission and even is responsible for the bulk of the X-rays. However, this scenario is largely ad hoc and is in contradiction with many previously established facts. Alternatively, the hot accretion flow, known to be consistent with the X-ray spectral and timing data, is also a viable candidate to produce the OIR radiation. The hot-flow scenario naturally explains the power-law like OIR spectra, fast OIR variability and its complex relation to the X-rays if the hot flow contains non-thermal electrons (even in energetically negligible quantities), which are required by the presence of the MeV tail in Cyg X-1. The presence of non-thermal electrons also lowers the equilibrium electron temperature in the hot flow model to ?100 keV, making it more consistent with observations. Here we argue that any viable model should simultaneously explain a large set of spectral and timing data and show that the hybrid (thermal/non-thermal) hot flow model satisfies most of the constraints.     

The Delivery of Water During Terrestrial Planet Formation

The planetary building blocks that formed in the terrestrial planet region were likely very dry, yet water is comparatively abundant on Earth. Here we review the various mechanisms proposed for the origin of water on the terrestrial planets. Various in-situ mechanisms have been suggested, which allow for the incorporation of water into the local planetesimals in the terrestrial planet region or into the planets themselves from local sources, although all of those mechanisms have difficulties. Comets have also been proposed as a source, although there may be problems fitting isotopic constraints, and the delivery efficiency is very low, such that it may be difficult to deliver even a single Earth ocean of water this way. The most promising route for water delivery is the accretion of material from beyond the snow line, similar to carbonaceous chondrites, that is scattered into the terrestrial planet region as the planets are growing. Two main scenarios are discussed in detail. First is the classical scenario in which the giant planets begin roughly in their final locations and the disk of planetesimals and embryos in the terrestrial planet region extends all the way into the outer asteroid belt region. Second is the Grand Tack scenario, where early inward and outward migration of the giant planets implants material from beyond the snow line into the asteroid belt and terrestrial planet region, where it can be accreted by the growing planets. Sufficient water is delivered to the terrestrial planets in both scenarios. While the Grand Tack scenario provides a better fit to most constraints, namely the small mass of Mars, planets may form too fast in the nominal case discussed here. This discrepancy may be reduced as a wider range of initial conditions is explored. Finally, we discuss several more recent models that may have important implications for water delivery to the terrestrial planets.     

Theories of magnetospheres around accreting compact objects

A wide class of galactic X-ray sources are believed to be binary systems where mass is flowing from a normal star to a companion that is a compact object, such as a neutron star. The strong magnetic fields of the compact object create a magnetosphere around it. We review the theoretical models developed to describe the properties of magnetospheres in such accreting binary systems. The size of the magnetosphere can be estimated from pressure balance arguments and is found to be small compared to the over-all size of the accretion region but large compared to the compact object if the latter is a neutron star. In the early models the magnetosphere was assumed to have open funnels in the polar regions, through which accreting plasma could pour in. Later, magnetically closed models were developed, with plasma entry made possible by instabilities at the magnetosphere boundary. The theory of plasma flow inside the magnetosphere has been formulated in analogy to a stellar wind with reversed flow; a complicating factor is the instability of the Alfvén critical point for inflow. In the case of accretion via a well-defined disk, new problems of magnetospheric structure appear, in particular the question to what extent and by what process the magnetic fields from the compact object can penetrate into the accretion disk. Since the X-ray emission is powered by the gravitational energy released in the accretion process, mass transfer into the magnetosphere is of fundamental importance; the various proposed mechanisms are critically examined.Proceedings of the NASA/JPL Workshop on the Physics of Planetary and Astrophysical Magnetospheres.     

The polars

The class of cataclysmic variables called Polars, or AM Her systems, is comprehensively reviewed. Each part of these systems, from the two underlying stars, to the accretion region and the stream, is considered in turn. New developments in our understanding of the accretion region are outlined in some detail.     

Accretion, Trapping and Binding of Sediment in Archean Stromatolites—Morphological Expression of the Antiquity of Life

This paper reviews and discusses Archean stromatolite occurrences and their modes of growth in the context of sedimentary facies. Modes of sediment accretion and trapping and binding of sedimentary grains, together with the resulting morphology of stromatolites and microbial mats in the Archean are analysed, in order to show existing interaction between the growth patterns, morphology and facies association. Architectural elements of sediment arrangement in Archean stromatolites, together with the dependence of stromatolite distribution and morphology on sedimentary facies changes, clearly argue for a biological origin of stromatolitic lamination preserved in Archean cherts and carbonates. The observed sediment behaviour of laminae accretion and sediment precipitation, trapping and binding cannot be explained by abiogenic carbonate or silica precipitation from saturated solutions. The time-dependent, increasing complexity of stromatolitic structures in the Archean is an additional strong argument for biologic impact on stromatolite formation. Therefore, biogenic stromatolites and microbial mats were undoubtfully present at 3.5 Ga and occupied an increasingly wide range of sedimentary environments during the Archean.     

外旋流器旋流数对三级旋流流场特性的影响

采用二维粒子图像测速(2D-PIV)流场测试技术,试验研究了相同进口条件下多种旋流数组合旋流器出口冷态流场,分析比较了外级旋流器旋流数对流场结构的影响.研究结果表明:外级旋流器旋流强弱并不是回流区形成的主要决定因素;随着外级旋流器旋流数的增加,涡心有向前及向外移动的趋势,其回流区轴向长度逐渐变长,最大回流速度逐渐减小;回流区形状同时受外级旋流器旋流数及内级旋流器旋流数的影响,当外级旋流器旋流数相对内级旋流器旋流数足够大时,较易出现尾迹区;在旋流器出口附近,外级旋流器旋流数较小时旋流器组合流场的湍流强度峰值较大.      

The evidence for planetary progenitor rotation and for the long term acceleration of the ejected nebular shell

Several theories seek to explain the peculiar shapes of planetary nebulae. Those of Louise, Kirkpatrick, and Phillips and Reay rely on progenitor rotation. The velocity-radius relation for the shells of well observed planetaries do not extrapolate back through the origin, but rather fall short, suggesting that the shell acquires its velocity over a significant period of time. Kirkpatrick's theory relies heavily on long term acceleration of the nebular shell, and other theoretical studies support the idea of acceleration of the nebular shell up to the time it becomes optically thin to the ionizing radiation from the central star.     

Thermal Evolution and Magnetic Field Generation in Terrestrial Planets and Satellites

Of the terrestrial planets, Earth and Mercury have self-sustained fields while Mars and Venus do not. Magnetic field data recorded at Ganymede have been interpreted as evidence of a self-generated magnetic field. The other icy Galilean satellites have magnetic fields induced in their subsurface oceans while Io and the Saturnian satellite Titan apparently are lacking magnetic fields of internal origin altogether. Parts of the lunar crust are remanently magnetized as are parts of the crust of Mars. While it is widely accepted that the magnetization of the Martian crust has been caused by an early magnetic field, for the Moon alternative explanations link the magnetization to plasma generated by large impacts. The necessary conditions for a dynamo in the terrestrial planets and satellites are the existence of an iron-rich core that is undergoing intense fluid motion. It is widely accepted that the fluid motion is caused by convection driven either by thermal buoyancy or by chemical buoyancy or by both. The chemical buoyancy is released upon the growth of an inner core. The latter requires a light alloying element in the core that is enriched in the outer core as the solid inner core grows. In most models, the light alloying element is assumed to be sulfur, but other elements such as, e.g., oxygen, silicon, and hydrogen are possible. The existence of cores in the terrestrial planets is either proven beyond reasonable doubt (Earth, Mars, and Mercury) or the case for a core is compelling as for Venus and the Moon. The Galilean satellites Io and Ganymede are likely to have cores judging from Galileo radio tracking data of the gravity fields of these satellites. The case is less clear cut for Europa. Callisto is widely taken as undifferentiated or only partially differentiated, thereby lacking an iron-rich core. Whether or not Titan has a core is not known at the present time. The terrestrial planets that do have magnetic fields either have a well-established inner core with known radius and density such as Earth or are widely agreed to have an inner core such as Mercury. The absence of an inner core in Venus, Mars, and the Moon (terrestrial bodies that lack fields) is not as well established although considered likely. The composition of the Martian core may be close to the Fe–FeS eutectic which would prevent an inner core to grow as long as the core has not cooled to temperatures around 1500 Kelvin. Venus may be on the verge of growing an inner core in which case a chemical dynamo may begin to operate in the geologically near future. The remanent magnetization of the Martian and the lunar crust is evidence for a dynamo in Mars’ and possibly the Moon’s early evolution and suggests that powerful thermally driven dynamos are possible. Both the thermally and the chemically driven dynamo require that the core is cooled at a sufficient rate by the mantle. For the thermally driven dynamo, the heat flow from the core into the mantle must by larger than the heat conducted along the core adiabat to allow a convecting core. This threshold is a few mW?m^?2 for small planets such as Mercury, Ganymede, and the Moon but can be as large as a few tens mW?m^?2 for Earth and Venus. The buoyancy for both dynamos must be sufficiently strong to overcome Ohmic dissipation. On Earth, plate tectonics and mantle convection cool the core efficiently. Stagnant lid convection on Mars and Venus are less efficient to cool the core but it is possible and has been suggested that Mars had plate tectonics in its early evolution and that Venus has experienced episodic resurfacing and mantle turnover. Both may have had profound implications for the evolution of the cores of these planets. It is even possible that inner cores started to grow in Mars and Venus but that the growth was frustrated as the mantles heated following the cessation of plate tectonics and resurfacing. The generation of Ganymede’s magnetic field is widely debated. Models range from magneto-hydrodynamic convection in which case the field will not be self-sustained to chemical and thermally-driven dynamos. The wide range of possible compositions for Ganymede’s core allows models with a completely liquid near eutectic Fe–FeS composition as well as models with Fe inner cores or cores in with iron snowfall.