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NASA NTRS1992

Thermal history of chondrites - Hot accretion vs. metamorphic reheating

The thermal evolution of chondrules is investigated for the stages including primary heating through accretion to parent-body processing to determine whether the chondrules could be hot during accretion. Theoretical attention is given to whether chondrites of different petrologic types could have originated by means of hot accretion or metamorphic reheating. Data are presented from cooling-rate experiments and from calculations of heat retention required for the hot-accretion scenario. The accretion of chondrules hotter than 800 C is shown to be inconsistent with constraints on chondrule thermal evolution, in particular the slow cooling environment of chondrules vs the apparent cooling of chondrites in cold environments. It is argued that petrologic chondrites are formed by cold accretion and subsequently by metamorphic heating.

Haack, Henning↗

NASA NTRS1973

Internal constitution and evolution of the moon.

The composition, structure and evolution of the moon's interior are narrowly constrained by a large assortment of physical and chemical data. Models of the thermal evolution of the moon that fit the chronology of igneous activity on the lunar surface, the stress history of the lunar lithosphere implied by the presence of mascons, and the surface concentrations of radioactive elements, involve extensive differentiation early in lunar history. This differentiation may be the result of rapid accretion and large-scale melting or of primary chemical layering during accretion; differences in present-day temperatures for these two possibilities are significant only in the inner 1000 km of the moon and may not be resolvable.

Solomon, S. C.↗

NASA NTRS1973

Thermal history and evolution of the moon.

In this work, theoretical lunar temperature models are computed taking into account different initial conditions to represent possible accretion models and various abundances of heat sources to correspond to different compositions. Differentiation and convection are simulated in the numerical computational scheme. Models of the thermal evolution of the moon that fit the chronology of igneous activity on the lunar surface, the stress history of the lunar lithosphere implied by the presence of mascons, and the surface concentrations of radioactive elements, involve extensive differentiation early in lunar history. This differentiation may be the result of rapid accretion and large-scale melting or of primary chemical layering during accretion. Differences in present-day temperatures for these two possibilities are significant only in the inner 1000 km of the moon and are not resolvable with presently available data.

Toksoz, M. N.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Effects of Ice Accretion on Aircraft Aerodynamics

The primary objective of this research was to support the development of a new ice accretion model by improving our physical understanding of the ice accretion process through experimental measurements. The focus was on the effect of the initial ice roughness (smooth/rough boundary) on the accretion process. This includes understanding the boundary-layer development over the roughness and especially its effect on the heat transfer which is fundamental to the ice accretion process. The research focused on acquiring the experimental data needed to formulate a new ice accretion physical model. Research was conducted to analyze boundary-layer data taken on a NACA 0012 airfoil with roughness to simulate the smooth/rough boundary. The effect of isolated roughness on boundary-layer transition was studied experimentally to determine if the classical critical roughness Reynolds number criteria could be applied to transition in the airfoil leading-edge area. The effect of simulated smooth/rough boundary roughness on convective heat transfer was studied to complete the study. During the course of this research the effect of free-stream wind tunnel turbulence on the boundary layer was measured. Since this quantity was not well known, research to accurately measure the wind tunnel turbulence in an icing cloud was undertaken. Preliminary results were attained and the final data were acquired, reduced and presented under a subsequent grant.

Bragg, Michael B.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Can a variable alpha induce limit cycle behavior and exponential luminosity decay in transient soft x ray sources?

There has been, recently, a revival of the stability problem of accretion disks. Much of this renewed interest is due to recent observational data on transient soft X-ray novae, which are low-mass X-ray binaries. It is widely believed that nonsteady mass transfer from the secondary onto the compact primary, through an accretion disk, is the reason for the observed spectacular events in the form of often repetitive outbursts, with recurrence times ranging from 1 to 60 yr and duration time on the scale of months. Though not having reached yet a consensus about the nature of the mechanism that regulates the mass transfer, the disk thermal instability model seems to be favored by the fact that the rise in the hard X-ray luminosity is prior to the rise in the soft X-ray luminosity, while the mass transfer instability model seems to be hindered by the fact that the luminosity during quiescence is unable to trigger the thermal instability. However, it should be stressed that, remarkably, the X-ray light curves of these X-ray novae all show overall exponential decays, a feature quite difficult to reproduce in the framework of the viscous disk model, which yields powerlike luminosity decay. Taking into account this observational constraint, we have studied the temporal evolution of perturbations in the accretion rate, under the assumption that alpha is radial and parameter dependent. The chosen dependence is such that the model can reproduce limit cycle behavior (the system is locally unstable but globally stable). However, the kind of dependence we are looking for in alpha does not allow us to use the usual Shakura and Sunyaev procedure in the sense that we no longer can obtain a linearized continuity equation without explicit dependence on the accretion rate. This is so because now we cannot eliminate the accretion rate by using the angular momentum conservation equation.

Meirellesfilho, C.↗

NASA NTRS2011

X-Ray Production by V1647 Ori During Optical Outbursts

The pre-main-sequence (PMS) star V1647 Ori has recently undergone two optical/near-infrared (OIR) outbursts that are associated with dramatic enhancements in the stellar accretion rate. Our intensive X-ray monitoring of this object affords the opportunity to investigate whether and how the intense X-ray emission is related to PMS accretion activity. Our analysis of all 14 Chandra X-Ray Observatory observations of V1647 Ori demonstrates that variations in the X-ray luminosity of V1647 Ori are correlated with similar changes in the OIR brightness of this source during both (2003-2005 and 2008) eruptions, strongly supporting the hypothesis that accretion is the primary generation mechanism for the X-ray outbursts. Furthermore, the Chandra monitoring demonstrates that the X-ray spectral properties of the second eruption were strikingly similar to those of the 2003 eruption. We find that X-ray spectra obtained immediately following the second outburstduring which V1647 Ori exhibited high X-ray luminosities, high hardness ratios, and strong X-ray variabilityare well modeled as a heavily absorbed (N H 4 1022cm2), single-component plasma with characteristic temperatures (kT X 2-6keV) that are consistently too high to be generated via accretion shocks but are in the range expected for plasma heated by magnetic reconnection events. We also find that the X-ray absorbing column has not changed significantly throughout the observing campaign. Since the OIR and X-ray changes are correlated, we hypothesize that these reconnection events either occur in the accretion stream connecting the circumstellar disk to the star or in accretion-enhanced protostellar coronal activity.

Teets, William↗

NASA NTRS2012

He II lambda-4686 in Eta Carinae: Collapse of the Wind-Wind Collision Region During Periastron Passage

The periodic spectroscopic events in Eta Carinae are now well established and occur near the periastron passage of two massive stars in a very eccentric orbit. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the variations of different spectral features, such as an eclipse by the wind-wind collision boundary, a shell ejection from the primary star or accretion of its wind onto the secondary. All of them have problems explaining all the observed phenomena. To better understand the nature of the cyclic events we performed a dense monitoring of Eta Carinae with 5 Southern telescopes during the 2009 low excitation event, resulting in a set of data of unprecedented quality and sampling. The intrinsic luminosity of the He II lambda-4686 emission line (L approx 310 solar L) just before periastron reveals the presence of a very luminous transient source of extreme UV radiation emitted in the wind-wind collision (WWC) region. Clumps in the primary's wind probably explain the flare-like behavior of both the X-ray and He II lambda-4686 light-curves. After a short-lived minimum, He II lambda-4686 emission rises again to a new maximum, when X-rays are still absent or very weak. We interpret this as a collapse of the WWC onto the "surface" of the secondary star, switching off the hard X-ray source and diminishing the WWC shock cone. The recovery from this state is controlled by the momentum balance between the secondary's wind and the clumps in the primary's wind.

Teodoro, M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

High energy X-ray spectra of cygnus XR-1 observed from OSO-8

X-ray spectra of Cygnus XR-1 were measured with the scintillation spectrometer on board the OSO-8 satellite during a period of one and one-half to three weeks in each of the years from 1975 to 1977. Observations were made when the source was both in a high state and in a low state. Typical spectra of the source between 15 and 250 keV are presented. The observed pivoting effect is consistent with two temperature accretion disk models of the X-ray emitting region. No significant break in the spectrum occurred at energies up to 150 keV. The high state as defined in the 3 to 6 keV bandwidth was found to be the higher luminosity state of the X-ray source. One transition from a low to a high state occurred during observations. The time of occurrence of this and other transitions is consistent with the hypothesis that all intensity transitions occur near periastron of the binary system, and that such transitions are caused by changes in the mass transfer rate between the primary and the accretion disk around the secondary.

Dolan, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1992

H0538 + 608 (= BY Camelopardalis) - An asynchronously rotating AM Herculis binary?

Evidence from a concurrent X-ray/optical observing program is presented which indicates that the orbital period of the anomalous AM Her-type cataclysmic variable H0538 + 608 (BY Cam) differs from the rotational period by 1.3 +/- 0.1 percent. This finding would explain much of the unusual behavior previously exhibited in optical photometry and polarimetry. The model proposed by Ishida et al. (1991) is developed further using observations of accretion and the primary characteristics of optical and X-ray light curves and radial velocity measures of H-alpha. An optical QPO with a period of about 30 min was seen on two nights and possible causes of it are discussed.

Silber, A.↗

NASA NTRS2023

The H Content of Aubrites: An Evaluation of Bulk Versus in Situ Methods for Quantifying Water in Meteorites

Aubrites and enstatite chondrites (ECs) are isotopically similar to the Earth and therefore may resemble the primary materials that accreted to form our planet. Recent bulk H elemental and isotopic analyses of ECs and the Norton County aubrite suggest that enstatite-rich materials are H-rich and may represent a significant source of terrestrial water, with measured values of 3000±2000 μg/g H2O and 5300±900 μg/g H2O in the bulk and enstatite fractions of Norton County (Piani et al., Science, 2020). Here, we present a detailed investigation of in situ H2O concentrations in enstatite, diopside, forsterite, and plagioclase from a suite of main group aubrites, including Norton County, and Shallowater. We find that enstatite (4±2 μg/g H2O), diopside (4.8±0.5 μg/g H2O), and forsterite (5±3 μg/g H2O) have similar H2O concentrations, and all are significantly lower than plagioclase (24±3 μg/g H2O). We combine our in situ analyses of H2O contents with equilibrium partition coefficients and bulk mineralogies to estimate the bulk H2O content of our samples. We compare these first order estimates with bulk volatile analyses conducted using sample pyrolysis and find that the previous bulk H2O analyses of aubrites predominantly reflect terrestrial contamination and alteration. If our conclusion that the reported bulk H2O analyses of Norton County primarily reflect terrestrial contamination and alteration extends to bulk analyses of ECs, then EC-like material may not be a significant source of terrestrial water. Our results support the hypothesis that thermal metamorphism, melting, and differentiation leads to efficient desiccation of planetesimals relative to chondrites, and that differentiated planetesimals contributed, at most, trace amounts to Earth's water budget.

Achondrite↗

NASA NTRS1992

The accretion halo in AM Herculis systems

Previous phase-resolved spectropolarimetric observations of the AM Herculis systems V834 Centauri (E1405-451) and EF Eridani have shown broad, Zeeman-shifted absorption features during the bright phases. These features are thought to be nonphotospheric in origin, and to arise from a cool 'halo' of unshocked gas surrounding the accretion shock on the surface of the white dwarf primary. Preliminary models for the accretion halo region are presented and these models are used to perform a more detailed analysis of the relevant data for these two systems than has previously been done. To explain the observed halo Zeeman features, geometries which are consistent with the presence of linearly extended cyclotron emission regions are required. Such regions have previously been deduced from different considerations by other investigators. The estimated masses for the accretion halo are comparable to the mass of the cyclotron emission region.

Achilleos, N.↗

DOE OSTI2021

The Role of Strong Gravity and the Nuclear Equation of State on Neutron-star Common-envelope Accretion

Common-envelope evolution is important in the formation of neutron star binaries within the isolated binary formation channel. As a neutron star inspirals within the envelope of a primary massive star, it accretes and spins up. Because neutron stars are in the strong-gravity regime, they have a substantial relativistic mass deficit, i.e., their gravitational mass is less than their baryonic mass. This effect causes some fraction of the accreted baryonic mass to convert into neutron star binding energy. The relativistic mass deficit also depends on the nuclear equation of state, since more compact neutron stars will have larger binding energies. We model the mass growth and spin-up of neutron stars inspiraling within common-envelope environments and quantify how different initial binary conditions and hadronic equations of state affect the post-common-envelope neutron star's mass and spin. From these models, we find that neutron star mass growth is suppressed by ≈15%–30%. We also find that for a given amount of accreted baryonic mass, more compact neutron stars will spin-up faster while gaining less gravitational mass, and vice versa. Here, this work demonstrates that a neutron star's strong gravity and nuclear microphysics plays a role in neutron-star-common-envelope evolution, in addition to the macroscopic astrophysics of the envelope. Strong gravity and the nuclear equation of state may thus affect both the population properties of neutron star binaries and the cosmic double neutron star merger rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS2022

The H2o Content of the Ureilite Parent Body

The fate of highly volatile elements (H, C, F, Cl and S) during planetary accretion and differentiation is debated. Recent analyses of water in non-carbonaceous chondrites (RC, OC, EC) and achondrites (angrites, eucrites) have been used to argue that inner solar system parent bodies accreted and retained their highly volatile element budgets from their primary feedstock without substantial loss during accretion, metamorphism and differentiation. An alternative model posits that differentiated inner solar system parent bodies (e.g., the angrite parent body, 4 Vesta, Earth) derived the majority of their water from a carbonaceous chondrite-like source, delivered during the final stages of accretion. In order to add new constraints to this debate, we have measured water in nominally anhydrous minerals, melt inclusions, and interstitial glass in ureilites, the largest group of primitive achondrites in the terrestrial meteorite collection. Primitive achondrites did not experience global melting and homogenization. Therefore, these meteorites capture part of the transition from chondritic to achondritic parent bodies, allowing us to constrain the fate of water during the earliest stages of differentiation. Our nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) analyses allow us to assess the viability of ureilite-like material as a potential source of terrestrial water. Analyses of pigeonite in main group ureilites yield a range of 2.0 – 6.0 µg/g H2O, and analyses of high-Ca pyroxene and glass (glassy melt inclusions and interstitial glass) in the Almahata Sitta ureilitic trachyandesite yield ranges of 13 – 19 µg/g H2O and 44 – 216 µg/g H2O, respectively. Mass balance, incremental melting, and batch melting calculations yield a preferred ureilite parent body H2O content of 2 – 20 µg/g, similar to previous estimates of water in the eucrite parent body (4 Vesta), but lower than estimates of Earth’s water budget. With these data, we demonstrate that 1) the ureilite parent body is H2O-depleted relative to the Earth; 2) ureilite-like material is unlikely to be a primary source of H2O to the Earth; 3) C and H are not necessarily coupled elements during planetary accretion and thermal processing; and 4) accretion, heating, partial melting, and degassing of rocky planetesimals likely results in significant depletion of H2O.

Primitive achondrites↗

NASA NTRS2021

Low total abundances and a predominance of n-ω-amino acids in enstatite chondrites: Implications for thermal stability of amino acids in the inner solar system

Investigating the organic contents of enstatite chondrite meteorites may offer insights into both early inner solar system and early Earth chemistry. Enstatite chondrite meteorites have highly reduced and anhydrous compositions, and their bulk isotopic compositions closely resemble terrestrial values, suggesting that their parent body asteroids accreted within the inner protoplanetary disk and were a primary contributor during Earth’s late accretion (Javoy, 1995; Piani et al., 2020). Here, we present the first report of amino acids in enstatite chondrite meteorite samples. Three EH3 meteorites were analyzed (Dominion Range [DOM] 14021, Larkman Nunatak [LAR] 12001, and Larkman Nunatak 06252). The acid-hydrolyzed water extracts of the meteorites contained low abundances (1.5–215.9 pmol per g) of n-ω-amino acids (glycine, β-alanine, γ-amino-n-butyric acid [γ- ABA], δ-amino-n-valeric acid [δ-AVA], and ϵ-amino-n-caproic acid [ϵ-ACA]), but amino acids were not present above detection limits in the nonhydrolyzed samples. The low amino acid abundances and the predominance of n-ω-amino acids resemble amino acid distributions previously observed for thermally altered chondrites. These results suggest that the parent body asteroid was not conducive to the synthesis and/or preservation of α-amino acids, or free amino acids in general, and that EH3 chondrite-like material may not have been a primary contributor of diverse or abundant free amino acids to the early Earth.

Danielle N. Simkus↗

NASA NTRS2021

Low Total Abundances and a Predominance of n-ω-Amino Acids in Enstatite Chondrites: Implications for Thermal Stability of Amino Acids in the Inner Solar System

Investigating the organic contents of enstatite chondrite meteorites may offer insights into both early inner solar system and early Earth chemistry. Enstatite chondrite meteorites have highly reduced and anhydrous compositions, and their bulk isotopic compositions closely resemble terrestrial values, suggesting that their parent body asteroids accreted within the inner protoplanetary disk and were a primary contributor during Earth’s late accretion (Javoy et al., 1995; Piani et al., 2020). Here, we present the first report of amino acids in enstatite chondrite meteorite samples. Three EH3 meteorites were analyzed (Dominion Range 14021, Larkman Nunatak 12001, and Larkman Nunatak 06252). The acid-hydrolyzed water extracts of the meteorites contained low abundances (1.5 – 215.9 pmol/g) of n-ω-amino acids (glycine, β-alanine, γ-amino-n-butyric acid (γ-ABA), δ-amino-n-valeric acid (δ-AVA), and ε-amino-n-caproic acid (ε-ACA)), but amino acids were not present above detection limits in the non-hydrolyzed samples. The low amino acid abundances and the predominance of n-ω-amino acids resembles amino acid distributions previously observed for thermally altered chondrites. These results suggest that the parent body asteroid was not conducive to the synthesis and/or preservation of α-amino acids, or free amino acids in general, and that EH3 chondrite-like material may not have been a primary contributor of diverse or abundant free amino acids to the early Earth.

Danielle N Simkus↗

NASA NTRS2004

Kronos: A Satellite for Astrotomography

Kronos, a Medium Explorer concept, is designed to initiate a new era in astrophysics, fully opening the domain of time by enabling extended simultaneous multiwavelength (X-ray, UV, and optical) spectroscopic monitoring of variable accretion-driven sources. The primary design goal of the mission is to obtain high-fidelity velocity-delay maps of the broad-line region in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and thus determine the geometry and structure of AGNs on microarcsecond scales. Doppler tomography and eclipse mapping techniques will be used to characterize and map Galactic binary systems, revealing the details of the physics of accretion processes in black hole, neutron star, and white dwarf binary systems. The high-Earth orbit of Kronos enables well-sampled, high time-resolution observations, critical for the innovative and sophisticated methods that are used to understand the accretion flows, mass outflows, jets, and other phenomena found in accreting sources.

Peterson, B. M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

K2 Optical Emission from OJ 287 and Other γ-Ray Blazars on Hours-to-weeks Timescales from 2014 to 2018

We present second observations by K2 of OJ 287 and seven other γ-ray active galactic nuclei (AGNs) obtained in 2017–2018, second and third observations of the lobe-dominated, steep-spectrum quasar 3C 207, and observations of nine additional blazars not previously observed with K2. The AGNs were observed simultaneously with K2 and the Fermi Large Area Telescope for 51–81 days. Our full sample, observed in 2014–2018, contained 16 BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs), nine flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), and four other γ-ray AGNs. Twelve BL Lacs and seven FSRQs exhibited fast, jagged light curves, while four BL Lacs and two FSRQs had slow, smooth light curves. Some objects changed their red-noise character significantly between repeated K2 observations. The optical characteristics of OJ 287 derived from the short-cadence K2 light curves changed between observations made before and after the predicted passage of the suspected secondary supermassive black hole through the accretion disk of the primary supermassive black hole. The average slopes of the periodogram power spectral densities of the BL Lacs' and FSRQs' light curves differed significantly, by ≈12%, with the BL Lac slopes being steeper, and a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test with a p-value of 0.039 indicates that these samples probably come from different populations; however, this result is not as strongly supported by power spectral response (PSRESP) analyses. Differences in the origin of the jets from the ergosphere or accretion disk in these two classes could produce such a disparity, as could different sizes or locations of emission regions within the jets.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1985

Crustal development in the terrestrial planets

The development of planetary crusts may be divided into primary, resulting from melting during accretion, and secondary crusts developed by partial melting from planetary mantles. The Mercurian crust is probably primary with no compelling evidence of later basaltic extrusions. Reflectance spectral evidence for the existence Fe2(+) is equivocal. The Viking Lander XRF data on Mars indicate basaltic material at both sites 4,000 km apart. Surface aeolian processes would be expected to provide a homogeneous average of the crust, but no evidence of more siliceous material is present. This conclusion is weakly supported by the Russian gamma ray data. No evidence for granite appears from the Russian Venera XRF data which indicates MORB-type and alkali basalt (4% K2O) surface compositions. The highlands of Ishtar Terra and Aphrodite probably owe their elevation to tectonic processes rather than compositional effects. Venus may thus resemble the early Archean Earth. The terrestrial granitic continental crust is a product of episodic multiple partial melting events, probably a consequence of the presence of surface water.

Taylor, S. R.↗