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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Formation of mesosiderites by low-velocity impacts as a natural consequence of planet formation

It is argued here that, during the period of planet formation, mesosiderites originated by the low-velocity collisions of large metallic core fragments with the surface of a differentiated asteroid-size body. Relative velocities of the asteroids native to this region were low because it was distant from massive protoplanets. However, a few differentiated asteroids were destroyed by high-velocity collisions with interlopers perturbed by protoplanets into high eccentric orbits. These collisions reduced mantles and crusts to small silicate fragments, but left cores in the form of large, durable metal fragments. Mesosiderite-like pyroxenite-basalt-metal mixtures were formed when large core fragments accreted at low velocities to the regolith of an intact asteroid. Most of the olivine in mesosiderite and howardite breccias are attributed here to the mantles of the disrupted parent bodies. The low olivine contents indicate that the amount of debris accreted from disrupted asteroids was small relative to the volumes of the regoliths.

Wasson, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The partial volatilization of Mercury

During recent years research on the primitive solar nebula has followed two main themes: (1) Very early in the development of the nebula conditions probably favored the occurrence of major gaseous instabilities leading to the formation of giant gaseous protoplanets, but the rapid rise of the external temperature soon evaporated the envelopes of these protoplanets, possibly leaving behind precipitated solids which formed the cores and mantles of the terrestrial planets. (2) Models of the nebula indicate a later stage when conditions in the inner Solar System became very hot; at the position of Mercury the temperature was probably in the range 2500-3500 K. This leads to the hypothesis that the original protomercury was a body substantially more massive than the present planet and of normal composition, but that when it was immersed in the high-temperature field of the dissipating solar nebula, most of the rocky mantle was vaporized and mixed into the solar nebula gases and carried away by them. This hypothesis is investigated in the present paper. For simplicity the vaporization of a mantle composed of enstatite, MgSiO3, was computed for a planet with 2.25 the mass of Mercury at a temperature of 3000 K. It is argued that the mantle could probably be largely removed in the available time of 30,000 yrs. Subsequent accretion would restore some magnesium silicates to the mantle of the planet.

Cameron, A. G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

A scaling law for accretion zone sizes

Current theories of runaway planetary accretion require small random velocities of the accreted particles. Two body gravitational accretion cross sections which ignore tidal perturbations of the Sun are not valid for the slow encounters which occur at low relative velocities. Wetherill and Cox have studied accretion cross sections for rocky protoplanets orbiting at 1 AU. Using analytic methods based on Hill's lunar theory, one can scale these results for protoplanets that occupy the same fraction of their Hill sphere as does a rocky body at 1 AU. Generalization to bodies of different sizes is achieved here by numerical integrations of the three-body problem. Starting at initial positions far from the accreting body, test particles are allowed to encounter the body once, and the cross section is computed. A power law is found relating the cross section to the radius of the accreting body (of fixed mass).

Greenzweig, Yuval↗
NASA NTRS1991

Growth of planets from planetesimals

The formation of terrestrial planets and the cores of Jovian planets is reviewed in the framework of the planetesimal hypothesis, wherein planets are assumed to grow via the pairwise accumulation of small solid bodies. The rate of (proto)planetary growth is determined by the size and mass of the protoplanet, the surface density of planetesimals, and the distribution of planetesimal velocities relative to the protoplanet. Planetesimal velocities are modified by mutual gravitational interactions and collisions, which convert energy present in the ordered relative motions of orbiting particles (Keplerian shear) into random motions and tend to reduce the velocities of the largest bodies in the swarm relative to those of smaller bodies, as well as by gas drag, which damps eccentricities and inclinations.

Lissauer, Jack J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Growth of planets from planetesimals

The paper reviews the formation of terrestrial planets and the cores of Jovian planets within the framework of the planetesimal hypothesis, wherein planets are assumed to grow via the pairwise accumulation of small solid bodies. The rate of (proto)planetary growth is determined by the size and mass of the protoplanet, the surface density of planetesimals, and the distribution of planetesimal velocities relative to the protoplanet. Planetesimal velocities are modified by mutual gravitational interactions and collisions, which convert energy present in the ordered relative motions of orbiting particles into random motions and tend to reduce the velocities of the largest bodies in the swarm relative to those of smaller bodies, as well as by gas drag, which damps eccentricities and inclinations. The evolution of planetesimal size distribution is determined by the gravitationally enhanced collision cross section, which favors collisions between planetesimals with smaller velocities.

Lissauer, Jack J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Implementation of Parallel Computing Technology to Vortex Flow

Mainframe supercomputers such as the Cray C90 was invaluable in obtaining large scale computations using several millions of grid points to resolve salient features of a tip vortex flow over a lifting wing. However, real flight configurations require tracking not only of the flow over several lifting wings but its growth and decay in the near- and intermediate- wake regions, not to mention the interaction of these vortices with each other. Resolving and tracking the evolution and interaction of these vortices shed from complex bodies is computationally intensive. Parallel computing technology is an attractive option in solving these flows. In planetary science vortical flows are also important in studying how planets and protoplanets form when cosmic dust and gases become gravitationally unstable and eventually form planets or protoplanets. The current paradigm for the formation of planetary systems maintains that the planets accreted from the nebula of gas and dust left over from the formation of the Sun. Traditional theory also indicate that such a preplanetary nebula took the form of flattened disk. The coagulation of dust led to the settling of aggregates toward the midplane of the disk, where they grew further into asteroid-like planetesimals. Some of the issues still remaining in this process are the onset of gravitational instability, the role of turbulence in the damping of particles and radial effects. In this study the focus will be with the role of turbulence and the radial effects.

Dacles-Mariani, Jennifer↗
NASA NTRS2000

Formation of Large Regular Satellites of Giant Planets in an Extended Gaseous Nebula: Subnebula Model and Accretion of Satellites

We model the subnebulae of Jupiter and Saturn wherein satellite accretion took place. We expect a giant planet subnebula to be composed of an optically thick (given gaseous opacity) inner region inside of the planet's centrifugal radius (located at r(sub c, sup J) = l5R(sub J) for Jupiter and r(sub c, sup S) = 22R(sub S) for Saturn), and an optically thin, extended outer disk out to a fraction of the planet's Roche lobe, which we choose to be R(sub roche)/5 (located at approximately 150R(sub J) near the inner irregular satellites for Jupiter, and approximately 200R(sub S) near Phoebe for Saturn). This places Titan and Ganymede in the inner disk, Callisto and Iapetus in the outer disk, and Hyperion in the transition region. The inner disk is the leftover of the gas accreted by the protoplanet. The outer disk results from the solar torque on nebula gas flowing into the protoplanet during the time of giant planet gap opening. For the sake of specificity, we use a cosmic mixture 'minimum mass' model to constrain the gas densities of the inner disks of Jupiter and Saturn (and also Uranus). For the total mass of the outer disk we use the simple scaling M(sub disk) = M(sub P)tau(sub gap)/tau(sub acc), where M(sub P) is the mass of the giant planet, tau(sub gap) is the gap opening timescale, and tau(sub acc) is the giant planet accretion time. This gives a total outer disk mass of approximately 100M(sub Callisto) for Jupiter and possibly approximately 200M(sub Iapetus) for Saturn (which contain enough condensables to form Callisto and Iapetus respectively). Our model has Ganymede at a subnebula temperature of approximately 250 K and Titan at approximately 100 K. The outer disks of Jupiter and Saturn have constant temperatures of 130 K and 90 K respectively.

Mosqueira, I.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Mixing and Transport in the Solar Nebula

Boss & Vanhala (2000, 2001) prepared reviews of triggered collapse and injection models, using Prudence Foster's finite differences code at very high spatial resolution (440 x 1440 cells) to demonstrate the convergence of the R-T fingers in triggered injection models. A two dimensional hydrodynamical calculation with unprecedentedly high spatial resolution (960 x 2880 zones, or almost 3 million grid points) demonstrated that it suitable shock front can both trigger the collapse of an otherwise stable presolar cloud, and inject shock front particles into the collapsing cloud through the formation of what become Rayleigh-Taylor fingers of compressed fluid layers falling into the gravitational potential well of the growing protostar. These calculations suggest that heterogeneity derived from these R-T fingers will persist down to the scale of their injection onto the surface of the solar nebula. Haghighipour developed a numerical code capable of calculating the orbital evolution of dust grains of varied sizes in a gaseous nebula, subject to Epstein and Stokes drag as well as the self-gravity of the disk. In collaboration with the PI and George W. Wetherill, Haghighipour has been involved in development of a new idea on the possibility of rapid formation of ice giant planets via the disk instability mechanism. Haghighipour studied the stability of a five-body system consisting of the Sun and four protoplanets by numerically integrating their equations of motions. Using Levison and Duncan s SWIFT integrator, Haghighipour showed that, depending on the orbital parameters of the bodies, such a system can be stable for 0.1-10 Myr. Time periods of 1 Myr or more are long enough to be consistent with the time scale proposed for the formation of giant planets by the disk instability mechanism and the photoevaporation of the gaseous envelopes of the outermost protoplanets by a nearby OB star, resulting in the formation of ice giant planets. The PI has used his three dimensional models of marginally gravitationally unstable disks to study the preservation of isotopic heterogeneity in evolving protoplanetary disks. Such heterogeneity might arise from the infall onto the disk s surface of solids processed in the X-wind region of the disk, or derived from stellar nucleosynthesis and injected by R-T fingers. The technique used consists of solving a color equation, identical to the gas continuity equation, which follows the time evolution in three space dimensions of an arbitrarily placed initial color field, i.e., a dye inserted the disk. The models show that significant concentrations of color could persist for time periods of about a thousand years or more, even in the most dynamically active region of such a disk. Such a time period might be long enough for solids to coagulate and grow to significant sizes while retaining the isotopic signature of their birth region in the nebula.

Boss, Alan P.↗
NASA NTRS2017

BAOBAB (Big And Outrageously Bold Asteroid Belt) Project

One of the intriguing results of NASA's Dawn mission is the composition and structure of the Main Asteroid Belt's only known dwarf planet, Ceres [1]. It has a top layer of dehydrated clays and salts [2] and an icy-rocky mantle [3,4]. It is widely known that the asteroid belt failed to accrete as a planet by resonances between the Sun and Jupiter. About 20-30 asteroids >100 km diameter are probably differentiated protoplanets [5]. 1) how many more and which ones are fragments of protoplanets? 2) How many and which ones are primordial rubble piles left over from condensation of the solar nebula? 3) How would we go about gaining better and more complete characterization of the mass, interior structure and composition of the Main Belt asteroid population? 4) What is the relationship between asteroids and ocean worlds? Bulk parameters such as the mass, density, and porosity, are important to characterize the structure of any celestial body, and for asteroids in particular, they can shed light on the conditions in the early solar system. Asteroid density estimates exist but currently they are often based on assumed properties of taxonomic classes, or through astronomical survey data where interactions with asteroids are weak at best resulting in large measurement uncertainty. We only have direct density estimates from spacecraft encounters for a few asteroids at this time. Knowledge of the asteroids is significant not only to understand their role in solar system workings, but also to assess their potential as space resources, as impact hazards on Earth, or even as harboring life forms. And for the distant future, we want to know if the idea put forth in a contest sponsored by Physics Today, to surface the asteroids into highly reflecting, polished surfaces and use them as a massively segmented mirror for astrophysical exploration [6], is feasible.

Asteroid Belt↗
NASA NTRS2016

Planet Formation Imager (PFI): Science Vision and Key Requirements

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) project aims to provide a strong scientific vision for ground-based opticalastronomy beyond the upcoming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. We make the case that a break-through in angular resolution imaging capabilities is required in order tounravel the processes involved in planetformation. PFI will be optimised to provide a complete census of the protoplanet population at all stellocentricradii and over the age range from 0.1 to∼100 Myr. Within this age period, planetary systems undergo dra-matic changes and the final architecture of planetary systems is determined. Our goal is to study the planetarybirth on the natural spatial scale where the material is assembled,which is the “Hill Sphere” of the formingplanet, and to characterise the protoplanetary cores by measuring their masses and physical properties. Ourscience working group has investigated the observational characteristics of these young protoplanets as well asthe migration mechanisms that might alter the system architecture. We simulated the imprints that the planetsleave in the disk and study how PFI could revolutionise areas ranging from exoplanet to extragalactic science.In this contribution we outline the key science drivers of PFI and discuss the requirements that will guide thetechnology choices, the site selection, and potential science/technology tradeoffs.

Stefan Kraus↗
NASA NTRS2016

Planet Formation Imager (PFI): Science Vision and Key Requirements

The Planet Formation Imager (PFI) project aims to provide a strong scientific vision for ground-based optical astronomy beyond the upcoming generation of Extremely Large Telescopes. We make the case that a breakthrough in angular resolution imaging capabilities is required in order to unravel the processes involved in planet formation. PFI will be optimised to provide a complete census of the protoplanet population at all stellocentric radii and over the age range from 0.1 to ~ 100 Myr. Within this age period, planetary systems undergo dramatic changes and the final architecture of planetary systems is determined. Our goal is to study the planetary birth on the natural spatial scale where the material is assembled, which is the “Hill Sphere” of the forming planet, and to characterise the protoplanetary cores by measuring their masses and physical properties. Our science working group has investigated the observational characteristics of these young protoplanets as well as the migration mechanisms that might alter the system architecture. We simulated the imprints that the planets leave in the disk and study how PFI could revolutionise areas ranging from exoplanet to extragalactic science. In this contribution we outline the key science drivers of PFI and discuss the requirements that will guide the technology choices, the site selection, and potential science/technology tradeoffs.

Planet formation↗
NASA NTRS1997

On Planet Formation and Migration

Some consequences of protoplanet migration for the planetary formatin process are discussed. Migration of planet-sized objects can be caused by disk tidal torques.

Protoplanet Migration Planetary Formation↗
NASA NTRS1974

Calculations of the early evolution of Jupiter

The evolution of the protoplanet Jupiter is followed, using a hydrodynamic computer code with radiative energy transport. Jupiter is assumed to have formed as a subcondensation in the primitive solar nebula at a density just high enough for gravitational collapse to occur. The initial state has a density of 0.0015 nanograms per cu cm and a temperature of 43 K; the calculations are carried to an equilibrium state where the central density reaches 0.5 g per cu cm and the central temperature reaches 25,000 K. During the early part of the evolution the object contracts in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium; later on hydrodynamic collapse occurs, induced by the dissociation of hydrogen molecules. After dissociation is complete, the planet regains hydrostatic equilibrium with a radius of a few times the present value. Further evolution beyond this point is not treated here; however the results are consistent with the existence of a high-luminosity phase shortly after the planet settles into its final quasi-static contraction.-

Bodenheimer, P.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Formation of the outer planets and satellites

A mechanism for the formation of the outer planets is proposed, the basis of which is the idea that the giant planets contain an excess of chemically condensable materials over solar composition. Planetary cores were formed by the clumping together of chemically condensed bodies forming a thin disk in the solar nebula. Gas surrounding a core becomes unstable against collapse onto the core. In the case of Jupiter and Saturn, much of the collapsing gas goes into orbit about the formed planet, forming a relatively thin circumplanetary disks with differential rotation in the prograde sense. For Uranus and Neptune, the dynamical collapse mechanism is unlikely. A disk of gas around Uranus may have been formed during a collision of the protoplanet with a large body. The circumplanetary disks then form the basis for formation of satellite systems, in which the Goldreich-Ward instability mechanism plays a role.

Cameron, A. G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Physics of the primitive solar accretion disk

The theory of viscous accretion disks developed by Lynden-Bell and Pringle (1974) has been applied to the evolution of the primitive solar nebula. The additional physical input needed to determine the structure of the disk is described. A series of calculations was carried out using a steady flow approximation to explore the effects on the disk properties of variations in such parameters as the angular momentum and accretion rate of the infalling material from a collapsing interstellar cloud fragment. The more detailed evolutionary calculations involved five cases with various combinations of parameters. It was concluded that the late stages of evolution of the disks would be dominated by the effects of mass loss from the expansion of a hot disk corona into space, and the effects of this were included in the evolutionary calculations. A new theory of comet formation is formulated upon these results. The most important result is the conclusion that the primitive solar accretion disk was repeatedly unstable against axisymmetric perturbations, in which rings would form and collapse upon themselves, with the subsequent formation of giant gaseous protoplanets.

Cameron, A. G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Numerical modelling of the formation process of planets from protoplanetary cloud

Evolution of the plane protoplanetary cloud, consisting of a great number of gravitationally interacting and uniting under collision bodies (protoplanets) moving in the central field of a large mass (the Sun or a planet), is considered. It is shown that in the course of protoplanetary cloud evolution the ring zones of matter expansion and compression occur with the subsequent development leading to formation of planets, rotating about their axes mainly directly. The principal numerical results were obtained through digital simulation of planetary accumulation.

Kozlov, N. N.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Protoplanetary core formation by rain-out of iron drops

Using the stochastic collection equation we find that the time scale for rain out of liquid iron in a Saturn mass protoplanet is rapid compared with other evolutionary time scales and hence iron protoplanetary core formation is inevitable. The survival of this core during subsequent protoplanetary evolution and the consequences of the rain-out on the evolution are also discussed.

Slattery, W. L.↗
NASA NTRS1980

The origin of the 'FUN' anomalies and the high temperature inclusions in the Allende meteorite

The discovery of isotopic anomalies in white inclusions of the meteorite Allende has led to fundamental questions concerning the origin of these anomalies and of the white inclusions themselves. An analysis of the 'FUN' anomalies in the inclusions C1 and EK1-4-1 demonstrates that these isotopic anomalies may be decomposed into individual nucleosynthetic components, which have been subjected to separate mass and component fractionations. There is no evidence that any freshly-synthesized material injected into the primitive solar nebula was of abnormal isotopic composition, or that the FUN anomalies were due to an injection of unusual material. Rather, they show the effects of large mass fractionations and an unusual mixture of normal nucleosynthetic material, likely to be in the form of interstellar grains whose size or chemistry served as a memory for the nucleosynthetic origins of their constituent atoms. Giant gaseous protoplanets, as described for the early solar nebula by Cameron (1978), are a potential site for achieving both mass and component fractionations, and for producing white inclusions in general.

Consolmagno, G. J.↗