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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

Hydrodynamic instability of the solar nebula in the presence of a planetary core

When a planetary core composed of condensed matter accumulates in the primitive solar nebula, the gas in the nebula becomes gravitationally concentrated as an envelope about the planetary core. An analysis of models of such gaseous envelopes indicates that giant planets (such as Jupiter and Saturn) formed in a massive primitive solar nebula of the type constructed by Cameron and Pine (1973). When the mass of the accumulating planetary core becomes sufficiently great, the surrounding gaseous envelope will become hydrodynamically unstable against collapse onto the planetary core. Much of the surrounding gas also may be compressed onto the core by the background pressure of the gas.

Perri, F.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Thermoelastic Anomaly of Iron Carbonitride Across the Spin Transition and Implications for Planetary Cores

Carbon and nitrogen are considered as candidate light elements present in planetary cores. However, there is limited understanding regarding the structure and physical properties of Fe-C-N alloys under extreme conditions. Here diamond anvil cell experiments were conducted, revealing the stability of hexagonal-structured Fe 7 (N 0.75 C 0.25 ) 3 up to 120 GPa and 2100 K, without undergoing any structural transformation or dissociation. Notably, the thermal expansion coefficient and Grüneisen parameter of the alloy exhibit a collapse at 55–70 GPa. First-principles calculations suggest that such anomaly is associated with the spin transition of iron within Fe 7 (N 0.75 C 0.25 ) 3 . Our modeling indicates that the presence of ∼1.0 wt% carbon and nitrogen in liquid iron contributes to 9–12% of the density deficit of the Earth's outer core. The thermoelastic anomaly of the Fe-C-N alloy across the spin transition is likely to affect the density and seismic velocity profiles of (C,N)-rich planetary cores, thereby influencing the dynamics of such cores.

Geology↗
DOE OSTI2024

Strength, plasticity, and spin transition of Fe-N compounds in planetary cores

Elastic and plastic properties of Fe-light element alloys and compounds are needed to determine the compositions and dynamics of planetary cores. Elastic strength and plastic deformation mechanisms and their relationship to electronic properties of ε-Fe 7 N 3 and γ’-Fe 4 N mixture were investigated by x-ray diffraction and x-ray emission spectroscopy in the diamond anvil cell from 1 bar up to 60 GPa. X-ray diffraction shows that ε-Fe 7 N 3 reaches a pressure of 15–20 GPa before undergoing bulk plasticity at a differential stress of 4.4–10.4 GPa. ε-Fe 7 N 3 is stronger than γ’-Fe 4 N and hcp-Fe which achieve a flow stress of 1.5–3.6 GPa at 10–15 GPa and 2–3 GPa at ~20 GPa, respectively. X-ray emission spectroscopy shows that a decrease in electronic spin moment begins before and completes after plastic flow onset for each nitride, suggesting that pressure-driven changes in electronic arrangement do not trigger a plastic response although they may modify the strength and plastic behavior of Fe-N compounds. Plastic deformation in ε-Fe 7 N 3 and hcp-Fe results in a preferred orientation of (0001) normal to maximum compression, while γ’-Fe 4 N develops a maximum in the (110). Furthermore, these observations may be combined with measurements of elasticity to model seismic properties of cores of small planetary bodies such as Mars, Mercury, and the Moon.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2020

A remnant planetary core in the hot-Neptune desert

The interiors of giant planets remain poorly understood. Even for the planets in the Solar System, difficulties in observation lead to large uncertainties in the properties of planetary cores. Exoplanets that have undergone rare evolutionary processes provide a route to understanding planetary interiors. Planets found in and near the typically barren hot-Neptune ‘desert’ (a region in mass–radius space that contains few planets) have proved to be particularly valuable in this regard. These planets include HD149026b, which is thought to have an unusually massive core, and recent discoveries such as LTT9779b and NGTS-4b, on which photoevaporation has removed a substantial part of their outer atmospheres. Here we report observations of the planet TOI-849b, which has a radius smaller than Neptune’s but an anomalously large mass of 39.1(+2.7−2.6) Earth masses and a density of 5.2(+0.7−0.8) grams per cubic centimetre, similar to Earth’s. Interior-structure models suggest that any gaseous envelope of pure hydrogen and helium consists of no more than 3.9(+0.8−0.9) per cent of the total planetary mass. The planet could have been a gas giant before undergoing extreme mass loss via thermal self-disruption or giant planet collisions, or it could have avoided substantial gas accretion, perhaps through gap opening or late formation. Although photoevaporation rates cannot account for the mass loss required to reduce a Jupiter-like gas giant, they can remove a small (a few Earth masses) hydrogen and helium envelope on timescales of several billion years, implying that any remaining atmosphere on TOI-849b is likely to be enriched by water or other volatiles from the planetary interior. We conclude that TOI-849b is the remnant core of a giant planet.

David J. Armstrong↗
NASA NTRS1986

Partitioning of K, U, and Th between sulfide and silicate liquids - Implications for radioactive heating of planetary cores

Experimental partitioning studies are reported of K, U, and Th between silicate and FeFeS liquids designed to test the proposal that actinide partitioning into sulfide liquids is more important then K partitioning in the radioactive heating of planetary cores. For a basaltic liquid at 1450 C and 1.5 GPa, U partitioning into FeFeS liquids is five times greater than K partitioning. A typical value for the liquid partition coefficient for U from a granitic silicate liquid at one atmosphere at 1150 C and low fO2 is about 0.02; the coefficient for Th is similar. At low fO2 and higher temperature, experiments with basaltic liquids produce strong Ca and U partitioning into the sulfide liquid with U coefficient greater than one. The Th coefficient is less strongly affected.

Murrell, M. T.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Iron Bonding with Light Elements: Implications for Planetary Cores Beyond the Binary System

Light element alloying in iron is required to explain density deficit and seismic wave velocities in Earth’s core. However, the light element composition of the Earth’s core seems hard to constrain as nearly all light element alloying would reduce the density and sound velocity (elastic moduli). The alloying light elements include oxidizing elements like oxygen and sulfur and reducing elements like hydrogen and carbon, yet their chemical effects in the alloy system are less discussed. Moreover, Fe-X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (Fe-XANES) fingerprints have been studied for silicate materials with ferrous and ferric ions, while not many X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies have focused on iron alloys, especially at high pressures. To investigate the bonding nature of iron alloys in planetary interiors, we presented X-ray absorption spectroscopy of iron–nitrogen and iron–carbon alloys at high pressures up to 50 GPa. Together with existing literature on iron–carbon, –hydrogen alloys, we analyzed their edge positions and found no significant difference in the degree of oxidation among these alloys. Pressure effects on edge positions were also found negligible. Our theoretical simulation of the valence state of iron, alloyed with S, C, O, N, and P also showed nearly unchanged behavior under pressures up to 300 GPa. This finding indicates that the high pressure bonding of iron alloyed with light elements closely resembles bonding at the ambient conditions. We suggest that the chemical properties of light elements constrain which ones can coexist within iron alloys.

Advanced Photon Source↗
NASA NTRS1987

Experiments pertaining to the formation and equilibration of planetary cores

The phase diagram of FeO was experimentally determined to pressures of 155 GPa and temperatures of 4000 K using shock wave and diamond-cell techniques. Researchers discovered a metallic phase of FeO at pressures greater than 70 GPa and temperatures exceeding 1000 K. The metallization of FeO at high pressures implies that oxygen can be present as the light alloying element of the Earth's outer core, in accord with the geochemical predictions of Ringwood. The high pressures necessry for this metallization suggest that the core has acquired its composition well after the initial stages of the Earth's accretion. The core forming alloy can react chemically with oxides such as those forming the mantle. The core and mantle may never have reached complete chemical equilibrium, however. If this is the case, the core-mantle boundary is likely to be a zone of active chemical reactions.

Jeanloz, Raymond↗
NASA NTRS1984

Condensed matter physics of planets - Puzzles, progress and predictions

Attention is given to some of the major unresolved issues concerned with the physics of planetary interiors. The important advances in observations, and experimental and theoretical investigations are briefly reviewed, and some areas for further study are identified, including: the characteristics of atomic and electronic degrees of freedom at the high pressures and temperatures typical of a condensed planetary core; the behavior of water at megabar pressures; and the nature of the core-alloy in the earth and in the core mantle phase boundary. Consideration is also given to the behavior of carbon at high pressures and temperatures in the presence of oxygen and hydrogen; the behavior of the volatile ice assemblage in Titan at pressures of 2-40 kbar; and the electrical conductivities of matter under planetary core conditions.

Stevenson, D. J.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Geostrophic to magnetically-damped turbulence in liquid metal rotating magnetoconvection

Understanding planetary core convection dynamics requires the study of convective flows in which the Coriolis and Lorentz forces attain a leading-order, so-called magnetostrophic balance. Experimental investigations of rotating magnetoconvection (RMC) in the magnetostrophic regime are therefore essential to broadly characterize the properties of local-scale planetary core flow. Toward this end, we present here the first thermovelocimetric measurements of magnetostrophic, liquid metal convection, which are made using liquid gallium as the working fluid, at moderate rotation rates (Ekman numbers 10 -4 ≤ Ek ≤ 10 -5 ) and in the presence of dynamically strong magnetic fields (Elsasser number Λ = 1). Complementary rotating convection (RC) experiments are performed at the same rotation rates to serve as reference cases. Our RMC velocity measurements adequately follow a geostrophic turbulent scaling for cases in which local-scale convective inertial forces exceed the Lorentz forces in the fluid bulk. In cases where Lorentz forces exceed local-scale inertia (local or convective interaction parameter N ℓ or N C ≳ 3), the root-mean-square RMC velocities are magnetically damped, yielding values below the geostrophic turbulent RC scaling prediction. An enhancement in heat transfer is observed, which we attribute to the increased coherence of vertically aligned magnetostrophic convective flow. Finally, our results and comparisons to dynamo simulations suggest that the system is in the strong-field regime, where convection-scale flows are magnetically damped with N C ≳ 3).

Convective turbulence↗
NASA NTRS1979

Compression of the Hermaean magnetosphere by the solar wind

The decrease of the volume of the dayside Hermaean magnetosphere with an increase in solar wind pressure is investigated, taking into account the effects of a conducting planetary core. A two-layer conductivity model is used to simulate the metallic core and outer silicate mantle of Mercury, and the magnetic field of the magnetosphere is modelled by a pure planet-centered axial dipole, the magnetopause current system by a pure axial dipole on the Mercury-sun line and the tail field by a semiinfinite current sheet. Results confirm the compression of the magnetic field and the increase in magnetic field pressures under most increased solar wind pressures in the presence of a planetary core, allowing a direct impact of the solar wind on the Hermaean surface to occur only 0.2% of the time.

Suess, S. T.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dynamic strength of iron under pressure-temperature conditions of Earth’s inner core

Iron (Fe) is a primary constituent of terrestrial planetary cores, yet its rheological properties under extreme conditions remain uncertain. Here we present direct measurements of Fe strength at 310-430 GPa pressures and 3700-5800 K temperatures, obtained using Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability experiments at the National Ignition Facility. Single-crystal α-Fe samples with [001] and [111] orientations are shock-ramp compressed past the α-ε transition along paths approaching Earth’s inner core conditions. We find that ε-Fe derived from [001] α-Fe is consistently stronger (11-20 GPa) than that from [111] α-Fe (8-18 GPa), contrary to the trend at ambient conditions. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations reproduce this atypical strength anisotropy and attribute it to microstructural evolution during the phase transition and subsequent ε-phase plasticity. Ripple growth analysis further constrains viscosities of 100-170 Pa·s under the driven conditions. Our results provide experimental benchmarks for Fe rheology at inner-core conditions, with implications for seismic anisotropy and the geodynamo.

Condensed-matter physics↗
NASA NTRS1979

Formation, history and energetics of cores in the terrestrial planets

The size, evolution and energetics of the earth's core and the probable central, metalic cores of Mercury, Venus, the moon and Mars are discussed. The cores of Mercury, Mars and the earth are considered likely to decrease in relative mass and volume with distance from the sun; the moon does not fit this sequence and data from Venus are insufficient. Core formation is concluded to have occurred early (prior to four billion years ago) on the earth and Mercury, while that on the moon would have occurred over a longer interval and the core of Mars would have formed much later. Of the possible energy sources in planetary cores able to maintain a molten state and drive magnetic dynamos, the energy of core formation was probably spent too early in planetary history to provide much present power, and the energy gained from freezing an inner core in the earth and Mercury are considered at best marginally able to match conductive heat loss. Future measurements proposed to improve the quantitative understanding of core properties include a better documentation of the magnetic fields of Venus and Mars and the seismometry of Mars.

Solomon, S. C.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Liquid Structure of Iron and Iron–Nitrogen–Carbon Alloys Within the Cores of Small Terrestrial Bodies

Abstract Nitrogen has been proposed to be stored within planetary cores, but its effects on the structure and density of molten Fe–alloys have not been explored experimentally. Using energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction, we determined the structure of Fe–N(–C) liquids at core conditions (1–7 GPa and 1700–1900°C) within a Paris‐Edinburgh press. Variation of N up to 7 wt.% and C up to 1.5 wt.% results in near‐linear changes in Fe–Fe atom distances and structure factor with increasing light element content. We did not observe a significant pressure‐driven structural transition in Fe–N(–C) liquids. We model the expansion of the Fe–Fe bonds using a modified Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state. With this model, we demonstrate that N or C contamination could lead to an overestimation of the Fe–Fe distances of pure Fe. We observe that the incorporation of 1 wt.% N or C into Fe results in a change in Fe–Fe distances that is twice as significant as the effect of 1 GPa. By approximating the change in volume, we infer that N and C incorporated in liquid iron could contribute to the density deficit observed in the cores of terrestrial bodies.

Pease, Allison [Department of Earth and Environmen↗
NASA NTRS1992

Core formation by giant impacts

The present model for the timing and mechanisms of planetary core formation argues that once a planet reaches a certain minimum mass, the large impacts that are typical of late accretion can trigger core formation. This model circumvents the difficulties posed by the large-scale segregation of molten iron into diapirs, and the displacement of the cold, elastic interior of the planet by the iron. The analytical melting model used is based on the Hugoniot equations, the empirical relationship for the decline of particle velocity with distance, and the linear shock-particle velocity relationship.

Tonks, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Core formation in the shergottite parent body and comparison with the earth

Abundances of elements in shergottite, nakhlite, and Chassigny meteorites which originated on a single planet, the shergottite parent body (SPB), were examined with the aim of elucidating the chemical conditions of metal separation and core formation in the SPB and of testing present models of planetary core formation. Using partition coefficients and the SPB mantle composition determined in earlier studies, the abundances of Ag, Au, Co, Ga, Mo, Ni, P, Re, S, and W were modeled, with free parameters being oxygen fugacity, proportion of solid metal formed, proportion of metallic liquid formed, and proportion of silicate that is molten. It is shown that the abundances of all elements (except Mo) could be reproduced using models with these four free parameters. In contrast to the SPB, an equivalent model used to predict element abundances in the earth's mantle was shown by Jones and Drake (1986) to be inadequate; there is at present no hypothesis capable of quantitatively reproducing the elemental abundances of the earth's mantle. The contrast suggests that these two terrestrial planets (assuming that the SPB is Mars) may have accreted or differentiated differently.

Treiman, Allan H.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sound velocities and thermal equation of state of fcc -iron-nickel alloys at high pressure and high temperature: Implications for the cores of Moon and several planets

Fcc-Fe-Ni alloy is believed to be the most dominant solid constitute of moderate-sized terrestrial planetary cores. Investigating the physical properties, especially the density and sound velocity of Fe-Ni alloys and comparing them with seismic observations is an indispensable approach to constructing compositional models for planetary interiors. In this study, we conducted sound velocity measurements on Fe-Ni alloys with 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% Ni up to ∼13.5 GPa and 1073 K, using the ultrasonic interferometry technique in a multi-anvil apparatus in conjunction with synchrotron radiation. By fitting the experimental data to finite strain equations, the bulk and shear moduli and their pressure and temperature derivatives are derived, yielding K S0 =145.8(14) GPa, G 0 = 73.2(7) GPa, K S0 ’ = 5.89(24), G 0 ’ = 2.89(8), (∂K S /∂T) P = -0.0181(12) GPa/K and (∂G/∂T) P = -0.0393(10) GPa/K for fcc-Fe 80 Ni 20 . An examination of the density-velocity relationship shows that compressional wave velocity is insensitive to temperature within the current pressure and temperature range, while shear wave velocity exhibits a large reduction with increasing temperature. Here, extrapolation of the sound velocities following the finite strain theories suggests that much slower Vs should be expected at pressure and temperature conditions corresponding to those of the lunar core. Possible core density and velocity profiles for other moderate planets and satellites, such as Mars, Mercury, and Ganymede are also calculated.

Equation of state↗
NASA NTRS2000

Planet Formation and the Characteristics of Extrasolar Planets

An overview of current theories of planetary growth, emphasizing the formation of extrasolar planets, is presented. Models of planet formation are based upon observations of the Solar System, extrasolar planets, and young stars and their environments. Terrestrial planets are believed to grow via pairwise accretion until the spacing of planetary orbits becomes large enough that the configuration is stable for the age of the system. Giant planets begin their growth like terrestrial planets, but if they become massive enough before the protoplanetary disk dissipates, then they are able to accumulate substantial amounts of gas. These models predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. A potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed.

Lissauer, Jack J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

On the Diversity of Planetary Systems

Models of planet formation and of the orbital stability of planetary systems are described and used to discuss possible characteristics of undiscovered planetary systems. Modern theories of star and planet formation, which are based upon observations of the Solar System and of young stars and their environments, predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. A potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed.

Lissauer, Jack J.↗