Nebula Research Articles

Hydration and Dehydration in Earth's Interior

Hydrogen and deuterium isotopic evidence indicates that the source of terrestrial water was mostly meteorites, with additional influx from nebula gas during accretion. There are two Earth models, with large (7–12 ocean masses) and small (1–4 ocean masses) water budgets that can explain the geochemical, cosmochemical, and geological observations. Geophysical and mineral physics data indicate that the upper and lower mantles are generally dry, whereas the mantle transition zone is wetter, with heterogeneous water distribution. Subducting slabs are a source of water influx, and there are three major sites of deep dehydration: the base of the upper mantle, and the top and bottom of the lower mantle in addition to slabs in the shallow upper mantle. Hydrated regions surround these dehydration sites. The core may be a hidden reservoir of hydrogen under the large water budget model. ▪ Earth is a water planet. Where and when was water delivered, and how much? How does water circulate in Earth? This review looks at the current answers to these fundamental questions.

Trace Element Composition of Silicate Minerals in the Chondrules and Matrix of the Buschhof Meteorite

The paper presents results of SIMS and SEM-EDS studies of the silicate minerals from one radial and one granular chondrule of the Buschhof ordinary equilibrated L6 chondrite and discusses geochemical features of the olivine, pyroxene, and plagioclase from the chondrules and matrix of this meteorite. Results show that pyroxene and plagioclase from the radial chondrule did not preserve the chondritic Ca/Al and Y/Ho ratios and positive correlation between La and Yb. Olivine from the granular chondrule has no traces of cosmochemical fractionation. The fact that chondritic element ratios preserve in the silicates of the granular chondrule indicates chondrule formation by the melting of refractory chondrule precursors. Both chondrules show evidence of interaction with the nebular gas and thermal metamorphism. The differences in the concentrations of trace elements in minerals of the chondrules and matrix reflect the rapid cooling of the silicate phases from the central part of the chondrule toward the meteorite matrix.

The First Integral Field Unit Spectroscopic View of Shocked Cluster Galaxies

Abstract Galaxy clusters grow by merging with other clusters, giving rise to Mpc-wide shock waves that travel at 1000–2500 km s−1 through the intracluster medium. To study the effects of merger shocks on the properties of cluster galaxies, we present the first spatially resolved spectroscopic view of five Hα-emitting galaxies located in the wake of shock fronts in the low redshift (z ∼ 0.2), massive (∼2 × 1015 M ⊙), post-core passage merging cluster, CIZA J2242.8+5301 (nicknamed the “Sausage”). Our Gemini/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph-North integral field unit (IFU) observations, designed to capture Hα and [N ii] emission, reveal the nebular gas distribution, kinematics, and metallicities in the galaxies over >16 kpc scales. While the galaxies show evidence for rotational support, the flux and velocity maps have complex features like tails and gas outflows aligned with the merger axis of the cluster. With gradients that are incompatible with inside-out disk growth, the metallicity maps are consistent with sustained star formation (SF) throughout and outside of the galactic disks. In combination with previous results, these pilot observations provide further evidence of a likely connection between cluster mergers and SF triggering in cluster galaxies, a potentially fundamental discovery revealing the interaction of galaxies with their environment.

X-rays observations of a super-Chandrasekhar object reveal an ONe and a CO white dwarf merger product embedded in a putative SN Iax remnant

The merger of two white dwarfs (WDs) is a natural outcome of the evolution of many binary stars. Recently, a WD merger product, IRAS 00500+6713, was identified. IRAS 00500+6713 consists of a central star embedded in a circular nebula. The analysis of the optical spectrum of the central star revealed that it is hot, hydrogen, and helium free, and it drives an extremely fast wind with a record breaking speed. The nebula is visible in infrared and in the [O III] λ5007 Å line images. No nebula spectroscopy was obtained prior to our observations. Here we report the first deep X-ray imaging spectroscopic observations of IRAS 00500+6713. Both the central star and the nebula are detected in X-rays, heralding the WD merger products as a new distinct type of strong X-ray sources. Low-resolution X-ray spectra reveal large neon, magnesium, silicon, and sulfur enrichment of the central star and the nebula. We conclude that IRAS 00500+6713 resulted from a merger of an ONe and a CO WD, which supports earlier suggestion for a super-Chandrasekhar mass of this object. X-ray analysis indicates that the merger was associated with an episode of carbon burning and possibly accompanied by an SN Iax. In X-rays, we observe the point source associated with the merger product while the surrounding diffuse nebula is a supernova remnant. IRAS 00500+6713 will likely terminate its evolution with another peculiar Type I supernova, where the final core collapse to a neutron star might be induced by electron captures.

A condensation origin for the mass-dependent silicon isotopic variations in Allende components: implications for complementarity

Primitive chondrites have bulk compositions close to that of the solar photosphere, with however significant variations of elemental ratio relative to the solar composition, depending on the volatility of the elements considered. This is classically understood as indicating a primary geochemical signature due to the formation of the components of chondrites (refractory inclusions, chondrules and matrix), or of their precursors, through condensation of a gas of near solar composition, plus secondary variations due to processes such as (i) incomplete volatilization of presolar components, (ii) complex high-temperature exchanges between condensed phases and the nebular gas, and (iii) sorting and transport of grains in the accretion disk before accretion of chondrite parent bodies. Because most of the mass of chondrites is made by elements which condense at high temperatures, equilibrium condensation produces in general little isotopic fractionation for these elements. Silicon is however an exception with per mil level equilibrium isotopic fractionation at high temperature between the SiO gas and condensed silicates, allowing to use silicon isotopes in chondrites to constrain the origin of their components and to put at test scenarios of condensation.Individual components (chondrule fragments, isolated olivines in the matrix, and matrix fragments) of the carbonaceous chondrite Allende were separated and analysed at high-precision for their silicon isotopic composition. Large variations have been found among chondrules (δ30Si from -0.86 ± 0.16‰ 2 s.e. to +0.04 ± 0.03‰ for 11 chondrules), isolated olivines (δ30Si from -0.51 ± 0.12‰ 2 s.e. to +0.20 ± 0.10 ‰ for 12 olivines), and matrix (δ30Si from -0.95 ± 0.08‰ 2 s.e. to -0.41 ± 0.01 ‰ for 17 matrix fragments). These variations distribute on both sides of the bulk δ30Si value of Allende (-0.43 ± 0.03‰ 2 s.e., Armytage et al., 2011; Pringle et al., 2013, 2014; Savage and Moynier, 2013). There is a global positive trend between δ30Si values and Mg/Fe ratio for chondrules and isolated olivines. This systematics appears in agreement with what can be modeled for producing Allende components, or their precursors, from fractionated condensation of a single gaseous reservoir having initially the silicon isotopic composition of bulk Allende. Mass balance taking into account the mean abundances and δ30Si values of Allende components is consistent with their accretion in the Allende parent body in the proportions produced by the condensation of the parent parcel of nebular gas. This supports complementarity between chondrules, olivines and matrix as being a primary feature. However, this conclusion cannot be definitive because of the uncertainties in defining mean δ30Si values for Allende components.

Magnetised gas nebulae of evolved massive stars

AbstractMassive stars are amongst the rarest but also most intriguing stars. Their extreme, magnetised stellar winds induce, by wind-ISM interaction, famous multi-wavelengths circumstellar gas nebulae of various morphologies, spanning from large-scale wind bubbles to stellar wind bow shocks, rings and bipolar shapes. We present two- and three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the circumstellar medium of such massive stars at different phase of their evolution. Particularly, we investigate the stability properties of 3D MHD bow shock nebulae around the runaway red supergiant stars IRC-10414 and Betelgeuse. Our results show that their astrospheres are stabilised by an organised, non-parallel ambient magnetic field. These findings suggest that Betelgeuse’s bar is of interstellar origin. Last, we explore the circular aspect of the young nebula around the Wolf-Rayet stars. It is found that Wolf-Rayet nebulae are not affected by the ISM gas distribution in which the stellar objects lie, even in the case of fast stellar motion: as testifies the ring-like surroundings of the Milky Way’s fastest Wolf-Rayet star, WR124. The morphology of these nebulae is tightly related to their pre-Wolf-Rayet wind geometry and to their phase evolution transition properties, which can generate bipolar shapes. We will further discuss their diffuse projected emission by means of radiative transfer calculations and show that the projected diffuse emission can appear as bipolar structures as in NGC6888.

Born eccentric: Constraints on Jupiter and Saturn’s pre-instability orbits

An episode of dynamical instability is thought to have sculpted the orbital structure of the outer solar system. When modeling this instability, a key constraint comes from Jupiter’s fifth eccentric mode (quantified by its amplitude M55), which is an important driver of the solar system’s secular evolution. Starting from commonly-assumed near-circular orbits, the present-day giant planets’ architecture lies at the limit of numerically generated systems, and M55 is rarely excited to its true value. Here we perform a dynamical analysis of a large batch of artificially triggered instabilities, and test a variety of configurations for the giant planets’ primordial orbits. In addition to more standard setups, and motivated by the results of modern hydrodynamical simulations of the giant planets’ evolution within the primordial gaseous disk, we consider the possibility that Jupiter and Saturn emerged from the nebular gas locked in 2:1 resonance with non-zero eccentricities. We show that, in such a scenario, the modern Jupiter–Saturn system represents a typical simulation outcome, and M55 is commonly matched. Furthermore, we show that Uranus and Neptune’s final orbits are determined by a combination of the mass in the primordial Kuiper belt and that of an ejected ice giant.

Atomic Data Assessment with PyNeb

PyNeb is a Python package widely used to model emission lines in gaseous nebulae. We take advantage of its object-oriented architecture, class methods, and historical atomic database to structure a practical environment for atomic data assessment. Our aim is to reduce the uncertainties in the parameter space (line ratio diagnostics, electron density and temperature, and ionic abundances) arising from the underlying atomic data by critically selecting the PyNeb default datasets. We evaluate the questioned radiative-rate accuracy of the collisionally excited forbidden lines of the N- and P-like ions (O ii, Ne iv, S ii, Cl iii, and Ar iv), which are used as density diagnostics. With the aid of observed line ratios in the dense NGC 7027 planetary nebula and careful data analysis, we arrive at emissivity ratio uncertainties from the radiative rates within 10%, a considerable improvement over a previously predicted 50%. We also examine the accuracy of an extensive dataset of electron-impact effective collision strengths for the carbon isoelectronic sequence recently published. By estimating the impact of the new data on the pivotal [N ii] and [O iii] temperature diagnostics and by benchmarking the collision strength with a measured resonance position, we question their usefulness in nebular modeling. We confirm that the effective-collision-strength scatter of selected datasets for these two ions does not lead to uncertainties in the temperature diagnostics larger than 10%.

Origins and Early Evolution of the Atmosphere and the Oceans

My journey in science began with the study of volcanic gases, sparking an interest in the origin, and ultimate fate, of the volatile elements in the interior of our planet. How did these elements, so crucial to life and our surface environment, come to be sequestered within the deepest regions of the Earth, and what can they tell us about the processes occurring there? My approach has been to establish geochemical links between the noble gases, physical tracers par excellence, with major volatile elements of environmental importance, such as water, carbon and nitrogen, in mantle-derived rocks and gases. From these analyses we have learned that the Earth is relatively depleted in volatile elements when compared to its potential cosmochemical ancestors (e.g., ~2 ppm nitrogen compared to several hundreds of ppm in primitive meteorites) and that natural fluxes of carbon are two orders of magnitude lower than those emitted by current anthropogenic activity. Further insights into the origin of terrestrial volatiles have come from space missions that documented the composition of the proto-solar nebula and the outer solar system. The consensus behind the origin of the atmosphere and the oceans is evolving constantly, although recently a general picture has started to emerge. At the dawn of the solar system, the volatile-forming elements (H, C, N, noble gases) that form the majority of our atmosphere and oceans were trapped in solid dusty phases (mostly in ice beyond the snowline and organics everywhere). These phases condensed from the proto-solar nebula gas, and/or were inherited from the interstellar medium. These accreted together within the next few million years to form the first planetesimals, some of which underwent differentiation very early on. The isotopic signatures of volatiles were also fixed very early and may even have preceded the first episodes of condensation and accretion. Throughout the accretion of the Earth, volatile elements were delivered by material from both the inner (dry, volatile-poor) and outer (volatile-rich) solar system. This delivery was concomitant with the metals and silicates that form the bulk of the planet. The contribution of bodies that formed in the far outer solar system, a region now populated by comets, is likely to have been very limited. In that sense, volatile elements were contributed continuously throughout Earth’s accretion from inner solar system reservoirs, which also provided the silicates and metal building blocks of the inner planets. Following accretion, it likely took a few hundred million years for the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to stabilise. Luckily, we have been able to access a compositional record of the early atmosphere and oceans through the analysis of palaeo-atmospheric fluids trapped in Archean hydrothermal quartz. From these analyses, it appears that the surface reservoirs of the Earth evolved due to interactions between the early Sun and the top of the atmosphere, as well as the development of an early biosphere that progressively altered its chemistry.

Growth of Jupiter: Formation in disks of gas and solids and evolution to the present epoch

The formation of Jupiter is modeled via core-nucleated accretion, and the planet's evolution is simulated up to the present epoch. Throughout the phases when the planet acquires most of its heavy-element content, the calculation of solids' accretion accounts for interactions with an evolving disk of planetesimals. The phase of growth from an embryo of a few hundred kilometers in radius until the time when the accretion of gas overtakes solids' accretion was presented by D'Angelo et al. (2014), and the same numerical methods are applied here. Those calculations followed the formation for about 4 × 105 years, until the epoch when the heavy-element and hydrogen/helium masses wereMZ ≈ 7.3 andMXY ≈ 0.15 Earth's masses (M⊕), respectively, and ṀXY≈ṀZ. Herein, the calculation is continued through the phase when MXYgrows to equalMZ, at which age, about 2.4 × 106 years, the total mass of the planet isMp ≈ 20M⊕. About 9 × 105 years later,Mpis approximately 60M⊕and MZ ≈ 16M⊕, three-quarters of which are delivered by planetesimals larger than 10km in radius. Around this epoch, the contraction of the envelope dictates gas accretion rates a few times 10−3M⊕per year, initiating the regime of disk-limited accretion, whereby the planet can accrete all the gas provided by the disk, and its evolution is therefore tied to disk's evolution. Growth is continued by constructing simplified models of protosolar accretion disks that evolve through viscous diffusion, winds, and accretion on the planet. Jupiter's formation ends after ≈ 3.4–4.2Myr, depending on the applied disk viscosity parameter, when nebula gas disperses. The young Jupiter is 4.5–5.5 times as voluminous as it is presently and thousands of times as luminous, ~10−5L⊙. The heavy-element mass is ≈ 20M⊕. The evolution proceeds through the cooling and contraction phase, in isolation except for solar irradiation. After 4570Myr, the age of the solar system, radius and luminosity of the planet are within 10% of current values, accounting also for uncertainties in the power absorbed from the Sun. During formation, and soon thereafter, the planet exhibits features, e.g., luminosity and effective temperature, that may probe aspects of the latter stages of formation, if observable. These possibly distinctive features, however, seem to disappear within a few tens of Myr

Turbulence Sets the Length Scale for Planetesimal Formation: Local 2D Simulations of Streaming Instability and Planetesimal Formation

Abstract The trans-Neptunian object 2014 MU69, named Arrokoth, is the most recent evidence that planetesimals did not form by successive collisions of smaller objects, but by the direct gravitational collapse of a pebble cloud. But what process sets the physical scales on which this collapse may occur? Star formation has the Jeans mass, that is, when gravity is stronger than thermal pressure, helping us to understand the mass of our Sun. But what controls mass and size in the case of planetesimal formation? Both asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects show a kink in their size distribution at 100 km. Here we derive a gravitational collapse criterion for a pebble cloud to fragment to planetesimals, showing that a critical mass is needed for the clump to overcome turbulent diffusion. We successfully tested the validity of this criterion in direct numerical simulations of planetesimal formation triggered by the streaming instability. Our result can therefore explain the sizes for planetesimals found forming in streaming instability simulations in the literature, while not addressing the detailed size distribution. We find that the observed characteristic diameter of ∼100 km corresponds to the critical mass of a pebble cloud set by the strength of turbulent diffusion stemming from streaming instability for a wide region of a solar nebula model from 2 to 60 au, with a tendency to allow for smaller objects at distances beyond and at late times, when the nebula gas gets depleted.

Potential of Earth’s core as a reservoir for noble gases: Case for helium and neon

doi: 10.7185/geochemlet.2028 lower mantle upper mantle OIB MORB outer core Low 3 He/ 22 Ne High 3 He/ 4 He Co re C on tr ib ut io n This study investigates metal-silicate partitioning of neon (D Ne) under the likely conditions of early Earth's core formation: up to 16 GPa, ∼ 3000 K and an oxygen fugacity near IW-2 (2 log units below the Iron-Wustite buffer). We find that the D Ne coefficients range between 10 −2 and 10 −1. These partition coefficients are only one of the controlling factors of noble gas distributions within the early Earth: because, even if D He and D Ne are low (∼10 −4), there may have been sufficient noble gases present in the mantle to supply a significant quantity of He and Ne to the core. Assuming gas-melt equilibrium of the molten proto-Earth with a nebular gas composition and con-comitant metal-silicate differentiation, the core would have inherited and maintained throughout Earth's history high 3 He/ 4 He ratios and low 3 He/ 22 Ne ratios (<0.6), making the core a potential source of primordial light noble gases in mantle plumes.

Melilite condensed from an 16O-poor gaseous reservoir: Evidence from a fine-grained Ca-Al-rich inclusion of Northwest Africa 8613

Fine-grained Ca-Al-rich inclusions (FGIs) in CV chondrites are suggested to be condensates from the solar nebular gas and thus captured O-isotopes from the gas. We conducted a combined study of petrographic observations and in situ O-isotope analysis using secondary ion mass spectrometry for an FGI, named HKD01, from the reduced CV chondrite Northwest Africa 8613. HKD01 has an irregular shape and petrographically three-layered structures: a hibonite-rich core, a spinel-rich core, and a mantle. Each petrographic domain contains melilite, hibonite, and spinel with variable proportions of those minerals. The O-isotopic compositions of the constituent minerals plotted along the slope-1 line on an O three-isotope diagram ranged between Δ17O ∼ −23‰ and 1‰. Hibonite and spinel are uniformly 16O-rich (Δ17O = −23‰) irrespective of their occurrences, while melilite crystals exhibit wide O-isotope variations ranging between Δ17O ∼ −23‰ and 1‰. The O-isotopic composition in a melilite crystal changes abruptly within ∼2 µm, indicating that disturbances of O-isotopes in melilite after condensation are less than ∼2 µm. Because the melilite in the FGI typically has grain sizes of 5–10 µm, the abrupt change of O-isotopic composition demonstrates that melilite crystals in the FGI preserve the O-isotopic composition of the nebular gas from which they condensed. In the mantle, aggregates of melilite crystals, having relatively large grain sizes (10–25 µm) and oscillatory chemical zoning, exhibit 16O-poor compositions with small variations ranging between Δ17O ∼ −4 and 1‰. Among them, a large melilite crystal (∼20 µm) with homogeneously 16O-poor composition (Δ17O ∼ 0‰) across the single crystal was found. The coexistence of 16O-poor and 16O-rich melilite crystals without O-isotope disturbances in the FGI reveals that 16O-poor (Δ17O ∼ 0‰) nebular gas existed in the formation region of the FGI HKD01 in addition to 16O-rich (Δ17O ∼ –23‰) nebular gas.

Detailed Calculations of the Efficiency of Planetesimal Accretion in the Core-accretion Model

Abstract We present the results of a study of the accretion rate of planetesimals by a growing proto-Jupiter in the core-accretion model. The purpose of our study is to test the assumptions of Pollack et al. regarding the flux of planetesimals and their encounter velocities with the protoplanet. Using a newly developed code, we have accurately calculated planetesimals trajectories during their passage in the envelope by combining detailed three-body integrations with gas drag. To be consistent with Pollack et al., our calculations do not include the effect of nebular gas. The results point to several new findings. For instance, we find that only 4–5 M ⊕ is accreted in the first 1.5 Myr before the onset of rapid gas accretion and ∼10 M ⊕ is accreted simultaneously during this phase. We also find that mass accretion remains small (0.3–0.4 M ⊕) for ∼1 Myr after this time. This late accretion, together with a rapid infall of gas, could lead to a mixing of accreted material throughout the outer regions, which may explain the enhancement of high-Z material in Jupiter’s envelope. Results demonstrate that planetesimal encounters with the protoplanetary envelope become so fast that in most cases, ram pressure breaks them up. As a result, the accretion rate is largely independent of the planetesimals’ size and composition. We also carried out some calculations considering nebular gas drag. As expected, the accreted mass of planetesimals depended strongly on their size and composition. In general, nebular gas lowered the amount of accreted planetesimals, although the majority of planetesimals were still accreted during the rapid gas accretion phase.

Can the Kappa-distributed Electron Energies Account for the Intensity Ratios of O ii Lines in Photoionized Gaseous Nebulae?

Abstract A vexing puzzle in the study of planetary nebulae and H ii regions is that the plasma diagnostic results based on collisionally excited lines systematically differ from those based on recombination lines. A fairly speculative interpretation is the presence of nonthermal electrons with the so-called κ energy distributions, yet there is little observational evidence to verify or disprove this hypothesis. In this paper, we examine the influence of κ-distributed electrons on the emissivities of O ii recombination lines using an approximate method, where the rate coefficients for a κ distribution are computed by summing Maxwellian–Boltzmann rate coefficients with appropriate weights. The results show that if invoking κ-distributed electrons, the temperatures derived from the [O iii] (λ4959 + λ5007)/λ4363 ratios could coincide with those estimated from the O ii λ4649/λ4089 ratios. However, the estimated temperatures and κ values are not in agreement with those obtained through comparing the [O iii] (λ4959 + λ5007)/λ4363 ratios and the hydrogen recombination spectra, suggesting that the electron energy is unlikely to follow the κ-distributions over a global scale of the nebular regions. Nevertheless, based on this observation alone, we cannot definitely rule out the presence of κ-distributed electrons in some microstructures within nebulae.

IceCube Search for High-energy Neutrino Emission from TeV Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Abstract Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are the main gamma-ray emitters in the Galactic plane. They are diffuse nebulae that emit nonthermal radiation. Pulsar winds, relativistic magnetized outflows from the central star, shocked in the ambient medium produce a multiwavelength emission from the radio through gamma-rays. Although the leptonic scenario is able to explain most PWNe emission, a hadronic contribution cannot be excluded. A possible hadronic contribution to the high-energy gamma-ray emission inevitably leads to the production of neutrinos. Using 9.5 yr of all-sky IceCube data, we report results from a stacking analysis to search for neutrino emission from 35 PWNe that are high-energy gamma-ray emitters. In the absence of any significant correlation, we set upper limits on the total neutrino emission from those PWNe and constraints on hadronic spectral components.

How Flow Isolation May Set the Mass Scale for Super-Earth Planets

Abstract Much recent work on planet formation has focused on the growth of planets by accretion of grains whose aerodynamic properties make them marginally coupled to the nebular gas, a theory commonly referred to as “pebble accretion.” While the rapid growth rates of pebble accretion can ameliorate some problems in planet formation theory, they raise new concerns as well. A particular issue is the preponderance of observed planets that end their growth as “super-Earths” or “sub-Neptunes,” with masses in the range 2–10 M ⊕. Once planets reach this mass scale, growth by pebble accretion is so rapid that ubiquitously ending growth at super-Earth masses is difficult unless growth rates drop at this mass scale. In this work, we highlight this issue in detail using our previously published model of pebble accretion, and also propose a reason for this change in growth rate: feedback between the growing planet’s atmosphere and the gas disk inhibits accretion of smaller particle sizes by forcing them to flow around the growing planet instead of being accreted. For reasonable fiducial disk parameters, this “flow isolation” will inhibit accretion of all available particle sizes once the planet reaches super-Earth masses. We also demonstrate that the characteristics of this “flow isolation mass” agree with previously published trends identified in the Kepler planets.

Thermal inertias of pebble-pile comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

ABSTRACT The Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has provided new data to better understand what comets are made of. The weak tensile strength of the cometary surface materials suggests that the comet is a hierarchical dust aggregate formed through gravitational collapse of a bound clump of small dust aggregates so-called ‘pebbles’ in the gaseous solar nebula. Since pebbles are the building blocks of comets, which are the survivors of planetesimals in the solar nebula, estimating the size of pebbles using a combination of thermal observations and numerical calculations is of great importance to understand the planet formation in the outer Solar system. In this study, we calculated the thermal inertias and thermal skin depths of the hierarchical aggregates of pebbles, for both diurnal and orbital variations of the temperature. We found that the thermal inertias of the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko are consistent with the hierarchical aggregate of cm- to dm-sized pebbles. Our findings indicate that the icy planetesimals may have formed via accretion of cm- to dm-sized pebbles in the solar nebula.

Silica‐rich objects in the Acfer 182 CH chondrite: A new view

AbstractFive silica‐rich objects (SRO) from Acfer 182 were studied. They have cryptocrystalline textures characterized by micro‐emulsion and amoeboid patterns that point toward the coexistence of pyroxene‐ and silica‐normative liquids that were quenched. Both objects have variable contents of refractory lithophile elements. Their positive Yb versus La correlation around primordial values suggests a cosmochemical process (e.g., a gas/liquid condensation) as responsible for SRO formation. The bulk trace element abundances of amoeboid‐ and emulsion‐type SRO as well as their fractionation do not support an origin through high temperature processes. Conversely, their formation might have taken place while cooling of the nebular gas in two different chondrule‐forming regions characterized by having different evolution paths. Cooling of these dust‐enriched regions might lead to the condensation of pyroxene‐rich liquids first, followed by formation of Mg‐rich and SiO2‐rich liquids, provided irradiation and annealing were active in these regions. Irradiation could be the process involved both in the formation of cristobalite (with annealing ~1200 K) and in triggering a spinoidal decomposition causing unmixing of the enstatite liquid into two coexisting phases, such as Mg‐rich and SiO2‐rich liquids, the precursors of the SRO in Acfer 182. Formation of emulsion‐ and amoeboid‐type objects may be the result of exposing those chondrule‐forming regions to different degrees of radiation.

Exploring formation scenarios for the exomoon candidate Kepler 1625b I

ABSTRACT If confirmed, the Neptune-size exomoon candidate in the Kepler 1625 system will be the first natural satellite outside our Solar system. Its characteristics are nothing alike we know for a satellite. Kepler 1625b I is expected to be as massive as Neptune and to orbit at 40 planetary radii around a ten Jupiter mass planet. Because of its mass and wide orbit, this satellite was first thought to be captured instead of formed in situ. In this work, we investigated the possibility of an in situ formation of this exomoon candidate. To do so, we performed N-body simulations to reproduce the late phases of satellite formation and use a massive circumplanetary disc to explain the mass of this satellite. Our setups started soon after the gaseous nebula dissipation, when the satellite embryos are already formed. Also for selected exomoon systems, we take into account a post-formation tidal evolution. We found that in situ formation is viable to explain the origin of Kepler 1625b I, even when different values for the star–planet separation are considered. We show that for different star–planet separations the minimum amount of solids needed in the circumplanetary disc to form such a satellite varies, the wider is this separation more material is needed. In our simulations of satellite formation, many satellites were formed close to the planet, this scenario changed after the tidal evolution of the systems. We concluded that if the Kepler1625 b satellite system was formed in situ, tidal evolution was an important mechanism to sculpt its final architecture.