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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
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NASA NTRS1987

Zelda and company - Petrogenesis of sulfide-rich Fremdlinge and constraints on solar nebula processes

A detailed petrographic and chemical study of Zelda (a gigantic sulfide-rich Fremdling from the Allende Ca-rich inclusion, CAI, Egg 6) and its contact with the host was conducted using analytical SEM and electron-microprobe techniques, and the results were compared with those obtained on other sulfide-rich and oxide-rich Fremdlinge. Strong evidence is presented that Zelda, a type-example of sulfide-rich Fremdlinge, has been formed from a preexisting Ur-Fremdling, similar by composition to Willy, by closed-system sulfidization of magnetite and metal. At least two different sulfidization mechanisms appear to have occurred in altering Fremdlinge: one producing compositionally homogeneous equigranular objects such as Zelda, the other producing compositionally and texturally heterogeneous objects.

Armstrong, John T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Axisymmetric perturbations of thin gaseous disks. I - Unstable convective modes and their consequences for the solar nebula

The axisymmetric perturbations of a thin, differentially rotating gas disk in which the vertical temperature stratification is superadiabatic are analyzed. The growth rate of adiabatic convective normal modes is calculated, departures from simple polytropic disk models are briefly discussed, and the detailed vertical structure of the eigenfunctions is analyzed. The stabilizing effect of radiative diffusion on convective modes is considered. It is found that rotation and compressibility tend to reduce the rate of growth of the disturbances, and that the growth rate increases without limit and is proportional to the square root of the radial wavenumber in polytropic equilibria. The maximum radial size of convective eddies scales like the square root of the degree of superadiabaticity times the size of the convective zone. There is significant convective penetration into radiatively stable layers only for the fundamental and low-order harmonic modes, whose vertical wavelength is comparable to the size of the convective layer.

Ruden, Steven P.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Kinetics of mineral condensation in the solar nebula

A natural extension of the type of gas-mineral-melt condensation experiments is to study the gas-mineral-melt reaction process by controlling the reaction times of appropriate gas compositions with silicate materials. In a condensing and vaporizing gas-solid system, important processes that could influence the composition of and speciation in the gas phase are the kinetics of vaporization of components from silicate crystals and melts. The high vacuum attainable in the space station would provide an environment for studying these processes at gas pressures much lower than those obtainable in experimental devices operated at terrestrial conditions in which the gas phase and mineral or melt would be allowed to come to exchange equilibrium. Further experiments would be performed at variable gas flow rates to simulate disequilibrium vapor fractionation. In this type of experiment it is desirable to analyze directly the species in the gas phase in equilibrium with the condensed silicate material. This analytical method would provide a direct determination of the species present in the gas phase. Currently, the notion of gas speciation is based on calculations from thermodynamic data. The proposed experiments require similar furnace designs and use similar experimental starting compositions, pressures, and temperatures as those described by Mysen.

Grove, T. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Corotation torques in the solar nebula - The cutoff function

The behavior of high-order corotation resonances in a disk of finite thickness is examined. The torque exerted at an mth-order resonance is determined by employing a vertically averaged disturbing function, and the ratio of this torque to that exerted on a cold, two-dimensional disk is identified as the so-called torque cutoff function. This function is then used to calculate contributions from the corotation torques to eccentricity variations of a perturber's orbit assumed orbiting in the disk.

Ward, William R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A review of solar nebula models

The major changes that have occurred in thinking about protosolar nebula models are discussed. The concept favored by astrophysicists for the last decade, that of a viscous accretion-disk nebula, is examined. The properties of recent accretion-disk models that are most relevant to chondrite-forming processes are noted.

Wood, John A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Proton irradiation of SiH4-Fe(CO)5-H2O ices - Production of refractory silicates and implications for the solar nebula

The results of a number of experiments are reported in which SiH4-Fe(CO)5-H2O ice mixtures were irradiated by 1 MeV protons at 15 K and then warmed to room temperature in approximately 50 K steps. The properties of a sample were monitored by observing its infrared absorption spectrum as a function of its processing history. In each experiment in which ice samples containing SiH4 were irradiated, a refractory amorphous silicate residue remained after warming to room temperature. In addition to the usual broad silicate features at 10 and 20 microns, features due to water or hydroxyl at 3 and 6.2 microns, and a feature due to CO at 5 microns, a surprisingly stable infrared feature at 4.6 microns, attributed to the SiH stretching fundamental, was observed.

Nuth, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Identification of solar nebula condensates in interplanetary dust particles and unequilibrated ordinary chondrites

Orthopyroxene and olivine grains, low in FeO, but containing MnO contents up to 5 wt percent were found in interplanetary dust particles (IDP) collected in the stratosphere. The majority of olivines and pyroxenes in meteorites contain less than 0.5 wt percent MnO. Orthopyroxenes and olivines high in Mn and low in FeO have only been reported from a single coarse grained chondrule rim in the Allende meteorite and from a Tieschitz matrix augite grain. The bulk MnO contents of the extraterrestrial dust particles with high MnO olivines and pyroxenes are close to CI chondrite abundances. High MnO, low FeO olivines and orthopyroxenes were also found in the matrix of Semarkona, an unequilibrated ordinary chondrite. This may indicate a related origin for minerals in extraterrestrial dust particles and in the matrix of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites.

Kloeck, W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

On neglect of nonlinear momentum terms in solar nebula accretion disk models

The standard model for accretion disks (e.g., Pringle, 1981; Lin and Papaloizou, 1985) parameterizes the radial eddy angular momentum flux which is quadratically nonlinear in velocity, solely by a viscous diffusion process which is linear in velocity. This paper shows that the eddy angular momentum flux, in addition to a gradient dissipative (viscous) flux, involves a countergradient accelerating flux. Therefore, the momentum parameterization in the standard model is in general unjustified. The formalism of the parameterization can be justified only by recognizing that the eddy viscosity used in the standard model is in fact a pseudoviscosity which includes the effects of countergradient fluxes, and which therefore may have a magnitude less than the eddy diffusivity K for mixing trace constituents in the disk.

Prinn, Ronald G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Are cosmic rays effective for ionization of the solar nebula?

In this paper, we argue that the effectiveness of cosmic rays to ionize the bulk of the nebular gas may be further impaired by the influence of the magnetic field on the propagation of cosmic rays. When cosmic rays enter the nebular disk they ionize the gas and make the dynamo generation of magnetic fields possible. However, once magnetic fields are embedded in the nebular gas, the upcoming cosmic rays can no longer penetrate directly into the nebular disk because they start to interact with the magnetic field and lose their energy before propagating significantly toward the midplane. That, in turn, undercuts the ionization source within the bulk of the gas stopping the dynamo action. Nebular dynamo models ignored this back reaction of magnetic fields on cosmic rays. We calculate this back reaction effect, but for the sake of mathematical simplicity, we ignore the effect of magnetic field weakening due to diminishing ionization by cosmic rays.

Dolginov, A. Z.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Boundary conditions for the paleoenvironment: Chemical and physical processes in the pre-solar nebula

In observations with the NRAO 12m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona, Irvine, a new interstellar radical, CH2N, has been detected. This identification is important for the study of hydrogenation processes in the interstellar medium. In particular, although the abundance of hydrogen is some four orders of magnitude higher than that of other reactive elements in this environment, many organic molecules in quiescent clouds are very unsaturated. This is a consequence of activation barriers which cannot be overcome at the temperatures of cold clouds, even when such reactions are energetically allowed. The hydrogenation series based on the cyanide radical (HnCN) has had four members previously detected in the interstellar medium: CN (n equals O), HCN (n equals l), CH2CN (n equals 3), and CH3NH2 (n equals 5). The recent determination of the rotational spectrum of the CH2N radical through microwave spectroscopy in Japan has made possible a search for this species. In addition to its potential importance for interstellar chemistry, the CH2N radical has been proposed as a reaction intermediate for HCN production in the atmosphere of Jupiter, and as a possible species in the expanding envelopes of oxygen--rich evolved stars. We detected CH2N in the cold cloud TMC--1 where the abundance seems to be some three orders of magnitude lower than that of HCN. A tentative detection was made in the Galactic Center molecular cloud Sgr B2. To our knowledge, there are no predicted abundances of CH2N from models of interstellar chemistry.

Irvine, William M.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Gas-grain energy transfer in solar nebula shock waves: Implications for the origin of chondrules

Meteoritic chondrules provide evidence for the occurrence of rapid transient heating events in the protoplanetary nebula. Astronomical evidence suggests that gas dynamic shock waves are likely to be excited in protostellar accretion disks by processes such as protosolar mass ejections, nonaxisymmetric structures in an evolving disk, and impact on the nebula surface of infalling 'clumps' of circumstellar gas. Previous detailed calculations of gas-grain energy and momentum transfer have supported the possibility that such shock waves could have melted pre-existing chondrule-sized grains. The main requirement for grains to reach melting temperatures in shock waves with plausibly low Mach numbers is that grains existed in dust-rich zones (optical depth greater than 1) where radiative cooling of a given grain can be nearly balanced by radiation from surrounding grains. Localized dust-rich zones also provide a means of explaining the apparent small spatial scale of heating events. For example, the scale size of at least some optically thick dust-rich zones must have been relatively small (less than 10 kilometers) to be consistent with petrologic evidence for accretion of hot material onto cold chondrules. The implied number density of mm-sized grains for these zones would be greater than 30 m(exp -3). In this paper, we make several improvements of our earlier calculations to include radiation self-consistently in the shock jump conditions, and we include heating of grains due to radiation from the shocked gas. In addition, we estimate the importance of momentum feedback of dust concentrations onto the shocked gas which would tend to reduce the efficiency of gas dynamic heating of grains in the center of the dust cloud.

Hood, L. L.↗
NASA NTRS1996

From Chondrules to Planetesimals: Solids and Turbulence in the Solar Nebula

The usual theory of planetesimal formation is untenable because turbulence inhibits gravitational instability. However, turbulence can actually concentrate chondrule-sized particles by factors up to a million near stagnation points. The implications for accretion may be profound.

Dobrovolskis, Anthony R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Enstatite Meteorites and the Original Heterogeneity of Mn-53 Distribution in the Solar Nebula

We have shown earlier that the relative abundance of radiogenic Cr-53 in bulk ordinary chondrites (approximately 0.48 epsilon) is clearly different from that in the earth-moon system (0 epsilon). The SNC parent body (Mars) is characterized by an intermediate Cr-53 excess (approximately 0.23 epsilon). We have also shown that the Mn-Cr systematics of the howardite-eucrite-diogenite parent body (HED PB, the asteroid Vesta) is consistent with the chondritic Mn/Cr ratio in the bulk HED PB and that it has a Cr-53 excess of approximately 0.5 epsilon units which is within error the same as that of chondrites. It appears that the excesses of Cr-53 in these planets are a function of their present heliocentric distance. The study of some other meteorite classes (angrites, pallasites, primitive achondrites) has shown that their Mn-CR systematics is consistent with that of the ordinary chondrites. The observed gradient in the radiogenic Cr-53 abundances can be explained by a). an early volatility controlled radial Mn/Cr fractionation in the nebula or b). an original heterogeneity of Mn-53. The first assumption, however, requires the Mn/Cr ratios of the bulk Earth and Mars to be considerably lower than the inferred model Mn/Cr ratios for these two planets. For this reason, we suggested that the observed gradient is due to an original radial Mn-53 heterogeneity in the late nebula.

Lugmair, Guenter W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Chondrules in the LEW85332 Ungrouped Carbonaceous Chondrite: Fractionation Processes in the Solar Nebula

We studied 14 chondrules separated from LEW85332, an ungrouped type-3 carbonaceous chondrite related to CR chondrites; 23 elements were determined by neutron activation and the chondrules were characterized petrographically. Oxygen isotopic compositions were determined by R. N. Clayton and T. K. Mayeda for seven chondrules. Chondrule abundance ratios tend to form one of two distinct patterns. In low FeO chondrules, refractory lithophile patterns are flat (i.e., unfractionated); siderophile abundances are high and show a small decrease with increasing volatility. Although high FeO chondrules also have flat refractory lithophile abundance patterns, siderophile abundances are highly fractionated; refractory Ir is very low and Fe is very high relative to other siderophiles. We suggest that the low FeO chondrules in LEW85332 formed early in nebular history when metal was intimately mixed with silicates in the chondrule precursors, and that the viscosity of the liquid-solid mix was too high to permit expulsion of the metal by centrifugal action; their porphyritic structures are consistent with incomplete melting, which would result in relatively high viscosities. When the high FeO chondrules formed somewhat later, much of the Fe was oxidized and the melting of precursors was more extensive, FeO and other oxidized siderophiles were retained in the silicate liquid, and metal was lost, possibly expelled from low viscosity chondrule melts. The O isotopic compositions of the chondrules form a linear array of slope 0.93 +/- 0.05 on a three-isotope diagram, parallel to the carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous minerals (CCAM) line and a CR chondrule array, but offset from the latter by -1% in (delta)O-18. Some or all of this offset may reflect incorporation of O from Antarctic water during weathering. Chondrule (Delta)O-17 values correlate positively with FeO, possibly indicating that the (Delta)O-17 of the nebular gas composition increased with time. The chemical and O isotopic data suggest a temporal sequence extending from early, low FeO to late high FeO chondrules.

Wasson, John T.↗