Measurements of Diffusion of Volatiles in Amorphous Solid Water: Application to Interstellar Medium Environments

Jiao He1, SM Emtiaz, and Gianfranco Vidali
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 156 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad227]
Physics Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
1Current address: Raymond and Beverly Sackler Laboratory for Astrophysics, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.

The diffusion of atoms and molecules in ices covering dust grains in dense clouds in interstellar space is an important but poorly characterized step in the formation of complex molecules in space. Here we report the measurement of diffusion of simple molecules in amorphous solid water (ASW), an analog of interstellar ices, which are amorphous and made mostly of water molecules. The new approach that we used relies on measuring, in situ, the change in band strength and position of mid-infrared features of OH dangling bonds as molecules move through pores and channels of ASW. We obtained the Arrhenius pre-exponents and activation energies for diffusion of CO, O2, N2, CH4, and Ar in ASW. The diffusion energy barrier of H2 and D2 were also measured, but only upper limits were obtained. These values constitute the first comprehensive set of diffusion parameters of simple molecules on the pore surface of ASW and can be used in simulations of the chemical evolution of Interstellar Medium environments, thus replacing unsupported estimates. We also present a set of argon temperature programmed desorption experiments to determine the desorption energy distribution of argon on non-porous ASW.

Nucleosynthesis Constraints on the Explosion Mechanism for Type Ia Supernovae

Kanji Mori1,2, Michael A. Famiano3,2, Toshitaka Kajino4,2,1, Toshio Suzuki5,2, Peter M. Garnavich6, Grant J. Mathews5,2, Roland Diehl7,2, Shing-Chi Leung8, and Ken’ichi Nomoto8
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 176 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad233]
1Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
2National Astronomical Observatory of Japan 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan
3Department of Physics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
4School of Physics and Nuclear Energy Engineering, and Internationsl Research Center for Big-Bang Cosmology and Element Genesis, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
5Department of Physics, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University 3-25-40 Sakurajosui, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan
6Departmant of Physics, Center for Astrophysics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
7Max Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, D-85748 Garching, Germany
8Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583, Japan

Observations of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) include information about the characteristic nucleosynthesis associated with these thermonuclear explosions. We consider observational constraints from iron-group elemental and isotopic ratios, to compare with various models obtained with the most realistic recent treatment of electron captures (ECs). The nucleosynthesis is sensitive to the highest white-dwarf central densities. Hence, nucleosynthesis yields can distinguish high-density Chandrasekhar-mass models from lower-density burning models such as white-dwarf mergers. We discuss new results of post-processing nucleosynthesis for two spherical models (deflagration and/or delayed-detonation models) based upon new EC rates. We also consider cylindrical and 3D explosion models (including deflagration, delayed-detonation, or a violent merger model). Although there are uncertainties in the observational constraints, we identify some trends in the observations and the models. We make a new comparison of the models with elemental and isotopic ratios from five observed supernovae and three supernova remnants. We find that the models and data tend to fall into two groups. In one group, low-density cores such as in a 3D merger model are slightly more consistent with the nucleosynthesis data, while the other group is slightly better identified with higher-density cores such as in single-degenerate 1D–3D deflagration models. Hence, we postulate that both types of environments appear to contribute nearly equally to observed SN Ia. We also note that observational constraints on the yields of 54Cr and 54Fe, if available, might be used as a means to clarify the degree of geometrical symmetry of SN Ia explosions.

Abundances of Ordinary Chondrites in Thermally Evolving Planetesimals

Shigeru Wakita1,2, Yasuhiro Hasegawa3, and Takaya Nozawa4
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 100 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad0a2]
1Center for Computational Astrophysics, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
2Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
3Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
4Division of Theoretical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan

Chondrites are some of the most primitive objects in the solar system, and they maintain a record of the degree of thermal metamorphism experienced in their parent bodies. This thermal history can be classified by the petrologic type. We investigate the thermal evolution of planetesimals to account for the current abundances (known as the fall statistics) of petrologic types 3–6 of ordinary chondrites. We carry out a number of numerical calculations in which formation times and sizes of planetesimals are taken as parameters. We find that planetesimals that form within 2.0 Myr after the formation of Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs) can contain all petrologic types of ordinary chondrites. Our results also indicate that plausible scenarios of planetesimal formation, which are consistent with the fall statistics, are that planetesimals with radii larger than 60 km start to form around 2.0 Myr after CAIs and/or that ones with radii less than 50 km should be formed within 1.5 Myr after CAIs. Thus, thermal modeling of planetesimals is important for revealing the occurrence and amount of metamorphosed chondrites and for providing invaluable insights into planetesimal formation.

On the Origin of Early Solar System Radioactivities: Problems with the Asymptotic Giant Branch and Massive Star Scenarios

D. Vescovi1,2 et al. (>10)
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 115 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad191]
1Gran Sasso Science Institute, Viale Francesco Crispi, 7, I-67100 L’Aquila, Italy

Recent improvements in stellar models for intermediate-mass stars and massive stars (MSs) are recalled, together with their expectations for the synthesis of radioactive nuclei of lifetimes τ lesssim 25 Myr, in order to re-examine the origins of now extinct radioactivities that were alive in the solar nebula. The Galactic inheritance broadly explains most of them, especially if r-process nuclei are produced by neutron star merging, according to recent models. Instead, 26Al, 41Ca, 135Cs, and possibly 60Fe require nucleosynthetic events close to the solar formation. We outline the persisting difficulties to account for these nuclei by intermediate-mass stars (2 lesssim M/M  lesssim 7–8). Models of their final stages now predict the ubiquitous formation of a 13C reservoir as a neutron capture source; hence, even in the presence of 26Al production from deep mixing or hot bottom burning, the ratio 26Al/107Pd remains incompatible with measured data, with a large excess in 107Pd. This is shown for two recent approaches to deep mixing. Even a late contamination by an MS encounters problems. In fact, the inhomogeneous addition of supernova debris predicts nonmeasured excesses on stable isotopes. Revisions invoking specific low-mass supernovae and/or the sequential contamination of the presolar molecular cloud might be affected by similar problems, although our conclusions here are weakened by our schematic approach to the addition of SN ejecta. The limited parameter space that remains to be explored for solving this puzzle is discussed.

The Energetic Particle Environment of the Lunar Nearside: Influence of the Energetic Ions from Earth’s Bow Shock

Xiaojun Xu1,2, Qing Chang1, Qi Xu1, Vassilis Angelopoulos3, Yi Wang4, and Pingbing Zuo4
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 80 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad282]
1Space Science Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macao, People’s Republic of China
2Institute of Space Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China
3Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
4Institute of Science and Applied Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China

Energetic particles from Earth’s bow shock can frequently access the lunar orbit. These energetic particles are mainly ions. Since they are mostly field-aligned, they have much greater impacts on the lunar near side than on its far side. We present a statistical study of these upstream energetic ions at the lunar orbit using ARTEMIS observations. During the five-year time interval from 2012 to 2016, 496 energetic ion events with time durations ≥30 minutes were identified. The average duration of an event is about 1.93 hr. Most events occurred at the dawn-looking quadrants of Earth, showing an asymmetric dawn–dusk distribution in space. In 490 of the 496 events, the magnetic field lines directly extend to the bow shock. This is very important in order for energetic ions to arrive at the lunar orbit along field lines. The highest energies of these upstream energetic ions range from 101.5 to 658.5 keV based on the energy channels of ARTEMIS. The spatial distribution of the events depends on the highest energy. Events with higher energies tend to occur near the subsolar region and are related to greater AE indices, indicating stronger disturbances of the geomagnetosphere. By taking into account upstream energetic ions, in addition to galactic cosmic rays and solar energetic particles, our results provide a more comprehensive understanding of the energetic particle environment of the lunar near side.

Verification of the Flow Regimes Based on High-fidelity Observations of Bright Meteors

Manuel Moreno-Ibáñez1, Elizabeth A. Silber2, Maria Gritsevich3,4, and Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez1,5
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 174 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad334]
1Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Meteorites, Minor Bodies and Planetary Science Group, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n E-08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
2Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
3Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
4Institute of Physics and Technology, Ural Federal University, Mira str. 19. 620002 Ekaterinburg, Russia
5Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), C/ Gran Capitá, 2-4, Ed. Nexus, desp. 201, E-08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Infrasound monitoring has proved to be effective in detection of meteor-generated shock waves. When combined with optical observations of meteors, this technique is also reliable for detecting centimeter-sized meteoroids that usually ablate at high altitudes, thus offering relevant clues that open the exploration of the meteoroid flight regimes. Since a shock wave is formed as a result of a passage of the meteoroid through the atmosphere, the knowledge of the physical parameters of the surrounding gas around the meteoroid surface can be used to determine the meteor flow regime. This study analyzes the flow regimes of a data set of 24 centimeter-sized meteoroids for which well-constrained infrasound and photometric information is available. This is the first time that the flow regimes for meteoroids in this size range are validated from observations. From our approach, the Knudsen and Reynolds numbers are calculated, and two different flow regime evaluation approaches are compared in order to validate the theoretical formulation. The results demonstrate that a combination of fluid dynamic dimensionless parameters is needed to allow a better inclusion of the local physical processes of the phenomena.

A Subgrid Model for the Growth of Dust Particles in Hydrodynamical Simulations of Protoplanetary Disks

Tomas Tamfal, Joanna Dra̧żkowska, Lucio Mayer, and Clement Surville
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 97 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad1f4]
Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology, Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland

We present the first 2D hydrodynamical finite-volume simulations in which dust is fully coupled with the gas, including its back-reaction onto it, and at the same time the dust size is evolving according to coagulation and fragmentation based on a subgrid model. The aim of this analysis is to present the differences occurring when dust evolution is included relative to simulations with fixed dust size, with and without an embedded Jupiter-mass planet that triggers gap formation. We use the two-fluid polar Godunov-type code RoSSBi developed by Surville et al. combined with a new local subgrid method for dust evolution based on the model by Birnstiel et al. We find striking differences between simulations with variable and fixed dust sizes. The timescales for dust depletion differ significantly and yield a completely different evolution of the dust surface density. In general, sharp features such as pileups of dust in the inner disk and near gap edges, when a massive planet is present, become much weaker. This has important implications for the interpretation of observed substructure in disks, suggesting that the presence of a massive planet does not necessarily cause sharp gaps and rings in the dust component. Also, particles with different dust sizes show a different distribution, pointing to the importance of multiwavelength synthetic observations in order to compare with observations by ALMA and other instruments. We also find that simulations adopting fixed intermediate particle sizes, in the range of 10−2 to 10−1 cm, best approximate the surface density evolution seen in simulations with dust evolution.

The Spatial Origin of Chondrules in Individual Chondrites: Constraints from Modeling Chondrule Mixing

Dominik C. Hezel1,2 and Eric J. R. Parteli3
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 54 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad041]
1University of Cologne, Department of Geology and Mineralogy Zülpicher Str. 49b, D-50674 Köln, Germany
2Department of Mineralogy, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK
3University of Cologne, Department of Geosciences Pohligstr. 3, D-50969 Köln, Germany

Chondrules are a major component of chondritic meteorites and potentially populated the entire protoplanetary disk before planet formation. Chondrules provide insights into the physical and chemical evolution of the protoplanetary disk. An important constraint for the protoplanetary disk is whether chondrules in individual chondrite groups formed in spatially separate reservoirs and were then transported and mixed throughout the disk, finally accreting in chondrites, or did chondrules in individual chondrite groups form and then accrete in the same reservoir and locality, without large-scale transport and mixing involved. Both scenarios have been proposed. Here we use bulk chondrule compositional data from the recently published ChondriteDB database in combination with a mixing model we developed to test whether the compositional distributions of chondrule populations in individual chondrites (1) are the result of mixing chondrules from multiple parental reservoirs or (2) originated from single parental reservoirs. We thereby provide a fundamental framework that each mixing model needs to obey. Although one mixing model is principally possible, this particular model is unlikely, and it therefore appears more reasonable that chondrules in individual chondrites originated from single, although different, parental reservoirs. Significant disk-wide transport or mixing of chondrules seems unlikely, while chondrule-forming models that produce chondrules from single reservoirs seem more likely. Anomalous minor element and nucleosynthetic isotope chondrule compositions are possibly best explained by admixing tiny nuggets such as refractory or presolar grains with distinct elemental or isotopic compositions into chondrules.

Outer Solar System Possibly Shaped by a Stellar Fly-by

Susanne Pfalzner1, Asmita Bhandare1,2, Kirsten Vincke1, and Pedro Lacerda3
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 45 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad23c]
1Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany
2Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomy, Königstuhl 17 D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany
3Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

The planets of our solar system formed from a gas-dust disk. However, there are some properties of the solar system that are peculiar in this context. First, the cumulative mass of all objects beyond Neptune (trans-Neptunian objects [TNOs]) is only a fraction of what one would expect. Second, unlike the planets themselves, the TNOs do not orbit on coplanar, circular orbits around the Sun, but move mostly on inclined, eccentric orbits and are distributed in a complex way. This implies that some process restructured the outer solar system after its formation. However, some of the TNOs, referred to as Sednoids, move outside the zone of influence of the planets. Thus, external forces must have played an important part in the restructuring of the outer solar system. The study presented here shows that a close fly-by of a neighboring star can simultaneously lead to the observed lower mass density outside 30 au and excite the TNOs onto eccentric, inclined orbits, including the family of Sednoids. In the past it was estimated that such close fly-bys are rare during the relevant development stage. However, our numerical simulations show that such a scenario is much more likely than previously anticipated. A fly-by also naturally explains the puzzling fact that Neptune has a higher mass than Uranus. Our simulations suggest that many additional Sednoids at high inclinations still await discovery, perhaps including bodies like the postulated planet X.

On the Dynamics of Pebbles in Protoplanetary Disks with Magnetically Driven Winds

M. Shadmehri1, F. Khajenabi1, and M. E. Pessah2
The Astrophysical Journal 863, 33 Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aad047]
1Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Golestan University, Gorgan 49138-15739, Iran
2Niels Bohr International Academy, Niels Bohr Institute, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

We present an analytical model to investigate the production of pebbles and their radial transport through a protoplanetary disk (PPD) with magnetically driven winds. While most of the previous analytical studies in this context assumed that the radial turbulent coefficient is equal to the vertical dust diffusion coefficient, in the light of the results of recent numerical simulations, we relax this assumption by adopting effective parameterizations of the turbulent coefficients involved, in terms of the strength of the magnetic fields driving the wind. Theoretical studies have already pointed out that even in the absence of winds, these coefficients are not necessarily equal, though how this absence affects pebble production has not been explored. In this paper, we investigate the evolution of the pebble production line, the radial mass flux of the pebbles, and their corresponding surface density as a function of the plasma parameter at the disk midplane. Our analysis explicitly demonstrates that the presence of magnetically driven winds in a PPD leads to considerable reduction of the rate and duration of the pebble delivery. We show that when the wind is strong, the core growth in mass due to the pebble accretion is so slow that it is unlikely that a core could reach a pebble isolation mass during a PPD lifetime. When the mass of a core reaches this critical value, pebble accretion is halted due to core-driven perturbations in the gas. With decreasing wind strength, however, pebble accretion may, in a shorter time, increase the mass of a core to the pebble isolation mass.