Number Of Dust Grains Research Articles

The Effect of Ultraviolet Photon Pumping of H2 in Dust-deficient Protoplanetary Disks

We perform radiation hydrodynamics simulations to study the structure and evolution of a photoevaporating protoplanetary disk. Ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the host star heats the disk surface, where H2 pumping also operates efficiently. We run a set of simulations in which we varied the number of dust grains or the dust-to-gas mass ratio, which determines the relative importance between photoelectric heating and H2 pumping. We show that H2 pumping and X-ray heating contribute more strongly to the mass loss of the disk when the dust-to-gas mass ratio is D≤10−3 . The disk mass-loss rate decreases with a lower dust amount, but remains around 10−10−11 M ⊙yr−1. In these dust-deficient disks, H2 pumping enhances photoevaporation from the inner disk region and shapes the disk mass-loss profile. We thus argue that the late-stage disk evolution is affected by the ultraviolet H2 pumping effect. The mass-loss rates derived from our simulations can be used in the study of long-term disk evolution.

Underestimation of the dust mass in protoplanetary disks: Effects of disk structure and dust properties

The total number of dust grains in protoplanetary disks is one of the key properties that characterizes the potential for planet formation. With (sub-)millimeter flux measurements, literature studies usually derive the dust mass using an analytic formula under the assumption of optically thin emission, which may lead to a substantial underestimation. In this work, we conduct a parameter study with the goal of investigating the effects of disk structure and dust properties on the underestimation through self-consistent radiative transfer models. Different dust models, scattering modes, and approaches for dust settling are considered and compared. The influences of disk substructures, such as rings and crescents, on the mass derivation are investigated as well. The results indicate that the traditional analytic method can underestimate the mass by a factor of a few to several hundreds, depending on the optical depth along the line of sight set mainly by the true dust mass, disk size, and inclination. As an application, we performed a detailed radiative transfer modeling of the spectral energy distribution of DoAr 33, one of the disks observed by the Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). When the DSHARP dust opacities are adopted, the most probable dust mass returned from the Bayesian analysis is roughly seven times higher than the value given by the analytic calculation. Our study demonstrates that estimating disk dust masses from radiative transfer modeling is one solution to alleviate the problem of insufficient mass for planet formation that was raised in the era of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

Lunar Dust Fountain Observed Near Twilight Craters

AbstractLunar horizon glows observed by the Apollo missions suggested a dense dust exosphere near the lunar terminator. But later missions failed to see such a high‐density dust exosphere. Why the Apollo missions could observe so large number of dust grains remains a mystery. For the first time, we report five dust enhancement events observed by the Lunar Dust Experiment on board Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission, which happen near a twilight crater with dust densities comparable to the Apollo measurements. Moreover, the dust densities are larger on the downstream side of the crater and favor a higher solar wind temperature, consistent with an electrostatic dust lofting from the negatively charged crater floor. We also check the Apollo observations and find similar twilight craters, suggesting that the so‐called dust exosphere is not a global phenomenon but just a local electrified dust fountain near twilight craters.

Millimeter-wave Polarization Due to Grain Alignment by the Gas Flow in Protoplanetary Disks

Abstract Dust grains emit intrinsic polarized emission if they are elongated and aligned in the same direction. The direction of the grain alignment is determined by external forces, such as magnetic fields, radiation, and gas flow against the dust grains. In this Letter, we apply the concept of the grain alignment by gas flow, which is called mechanical alignment, to the situation of a protoplanetary disk. We assume that grains have a certain helicity, which results in the alignment with the minor axis parallel to the grain velocity against the ambient disk gas and discuss the morphology of polarization vectors in a protoplanetary disk. We find that the direction of the polarization vectors depends on the Stokes number, which denotes how well grains are coupled to the gas. If the Stokes number is less than unity, the orientation of polarization is in the azimuthal direction because the dust velocity against the gas is in the radial direction. If the Stokes number is as large as unity, the polarization vectors show a leading spiral pattern because the radial and azimuthal components of the gas velocity against the dust grains are comparable. This suggests that if the observed polarization vectors show a leading spiral pattern, it would indicate that the Stokes number of dust grains is around unity, which is presumably radially drifting.

Analysis of R-band observations of an outburst of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 to place constraints on the nucleus’ rotation state

We present analysis of five nights of R-band observations of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1) taken on September 2008 which show the comet undergoing an outburst. Coma morphology shows a projected asymmetric shell of material expanding radially and four linear features on the northern side of the coma at position angles 37°, 78°, 300°, and 353°. Using the measured projected radial outflow velocity of 0.11 ±0.02 km/s for the shell material, we calculate an outburst time of UT 2008-09-21.03 ±0.95 days. By tracking the inner and outer extent of the northern linear features, we found that the features are fully contained within the expanding shell of material. This suggested both shell and linear features originated during the same event and activity originating from different regions on the nuclear surface are not necessary to generate both types of morphological structure observed. A 3-D Monte Carlo coma model was used to model the outburst. Morphological features present in the observations were modeled allowing constraints to be placed on the spin state of SW1’s nucleus. The evolution of morphological features allows constraints on the rotation period P assuming an outburst duration Δt and the spin period constraints are expressed in terms of their ratio P/Δt. Since the spin-pole orientation could not be constrained, four spin-pole orientations were chosen for modeling the coma. Spin-period constraints for each assumed pole orientation are discussed. Overall, modeling suggested either a spin period on the order of days, a spin-pole orientation nearly along the sub-Earth direction, or a combination of both. To place an independent constraint on the outburst duration, radial surface-brightness profiles of the observations were compared with profiles from synthetic models, giving an upper-limit of Δt ≤ 1.5 days. Longer outbursts resulted in a higher number of dust grains in close proximity to the nucleus during the observations and a profile slope too steep to model observations. Lastly, from photometry of the five nights of observation, a lower limit of (1.8 ± 0.07) × 109 kg was estimated for the total amount of dust emitted during the outburst. Assuming the outburst was triggered by either the sublimation of pure CO or CO2 ice and a dust to gas ratio of ∼4 (Rosetta results for Comet 67P, Rotundi et al. 2015), a lower limit for the outburst duration on the order of hours was obtained.

Dust trap formation in a non-self-sustained discharge with external gas ionization

Results from numerical studies of a non-self-sustained gas discharge containing micrometer dust grains are presented. The non-self-sustained discharge (NSSD) was controlled by a stationary fast electron beam. The numerical model of an NSSD is based on the diffusion drift approximation for electrons and ions and self-consistently takes into account the influence of the dust component on the electron and ion densities. The dust component is described by the balance equation for the number of dust grains and the equation of motion for dust grains with allowance for the Stokes force, gravity force, and electric force in the cathode sheath. The interaction between dust grains is described in the self-consistent field approximation. The height of dust grain levitation over the cathode is determined and compared with experimental results. It is established that, at a given gas ionization rate and given applied voltage, there is a critical dust grain size above which the levitation condition in the cathode sheath cannot be satisfied. Simulations performed for the dust component consisting of dust grains of two different sizes shows that such grains levitate at different heights, i.e., size separation of dust drains levitating in the cathode sheath of an NSSD takes place.

WILLNEW HORIZONSSEE DUST CLUMPS IN THE EDGEWORTH-KUIPER BELT?

Debris disks are thought to be sculptured by neighboring planets. The same is true for the Edgeworth-Kuiper debris disk, yet no direct observational evidence for signatures of giant planets in the Kuiper belt dust distribution has been found so far. Here we model the dust distribution in the outer solar system to reproduce the dust impact rates onto the dust detector onboard the New Horizons spacecraft measured so far and to predict the rates during the Neptune orbit traverse. To this end, we take a realistic distribution of transneptunian objects to launch a sufficient number of dust grains of different sizes and follow their orbits by including radiation pressure, Poynting-Robertson and stellar wind drag, as well as the perturbations of four giant planets. In a subsequent statistical analysis, we calculate number densities and lifetimes of the dust grains in order to simulate a collisional cascade. In contrast to the previous work, our model not only considers collisional elimination of particles, but also includes production of finer debris. We find that particles captured in the 3:2 resonance with Neptune build clumps that are not removed by collisions, because the depleting effect of collisions is counteracted by production of smaller fragments. Our model successfully reproduces the dust impact rates measured by New Horizons out to ~23AU and predicts an increase of the impact rate of about a factor of two or three around the Neptune orbit crossing. This result is robust with respect to the variation of the vaguely known number of dust-producing scattered disk objects, collisional outcomes, and the dust properties.

COMPUTING THE DUST DISTRIBUTION IN THE BOW SHOCK OF A FAST-MOVING, EVOLVED STAR

We study the hydrodynamical behavior occurring in the turbulent interaction zone of a fast moving red supergiant star, where the circumstellar and interstellar material collide. In this wind-interstellar medium collision, the familiar bow shock, contact discontinuity, and wind termination shock morphology forms, with localized instability development. Our model includes a detailed treatment of dust grains in the stellar wind, and takes into account the drag forces between dust and gas. The dust is treated as pressureless gas components binned per grainsize, for which we use ten representative grainsize bins. Our simulations allow to deduce how dust grains of varying sizes become distributed throughout the circumstellar medium. We show that smaller dust grains (radius <0.045 micro-meters) tend to be strongly bound to the gas and therefore follow the gas density distribution closely, with intricate finestructure due to essentially hydrodynamical instabilities at the wind-related contact discontinuity. Larger grains which are more resistant to drag forces are shown to have their own unique dust distribution, with progressive deviations from the gas morphology. Specifically, small dust grains stay entirely within the zone bound by shocked wind material. The large grains are capable of leaving the shocked wind layer, and can penetrate into the shocked or even unshocked interstellar medium. Depending on how the number of dust grains varies with grainsize, this should leave a clear imprint in infrared observations of bowshocks of red supergiants and other evolved stars.

Dust as a versatile matter for high-temperature plasma diagnostic

Dust varies from a few nanometers to a fraction of a millimeter in size. Dust also offers essentially unlimited choices in material composition and structure. The potential of dust for high-temperature plasma diagnostic is largely unfulfilled yet. The principles of dust spectroscopy to measure internal magnetic field, microparticle tracer velocimetry to measure plasma flow, and dust photometry to measure heat flux are described. Two main components of the different dust diagnostics are a dust injector and a dust imaging system. The dust injector delivers a certain number of dust grains into a plasma. The imaging system collects and selectively detects certain photons resulted from dust-plasma interaction. One piece of dust gives the local plasma quantity, a collection of dust grains together reveals either two-dimensional (using only one or two imaging cameras) or three-dimensional (using two or more imaging cameras) structures of the measured quantity. A generic conceptual design suitable for all three types of dust diagnostics is presented.

Formation of quasi-two-dimensional dust structures in an external electric field

Conditions are considered under which quasi-two-dimensional extended structures are formed consisting of charged dust grains that are suspended in a gravitational field by an external electric field. Formulas are derived that describe the relationships between the parameters of the intergrain interaction potential, the number of dust grains, and the gradients of the linear electric field of the device. A criterion is proposed that determines the onset of a new dust layer in a quasi-two-dimensional dust system.

Self-consistent quasineutral dust structures

Distributions of the dusty plasma parameters (electron, ion, and dust densities; dust grain charge; and ion drift velocity) in quasineutral dust structures whose dimensions are much greater than the mean free path of the ions in their interactions with neutral particles are calculated numerically under conditions such that ionization sources are located outside the structures. Planar, cylindrical, and spherical structures are investigated. It is shown that static equilibrium structures are governed by a single (basic) parameter: the electrostatic potential drop between the center of the structure and its boundary. It is found that the maximum value of the basic parameter (in energy units) does not exceed the electron temperature. The basic parameter also determines the total number of dust grains in the structure and the power of external ionization sources that are necessary to sustain this structure. The fact that the basic parameter varies within a limited range allows one to consider all the possible structures with a given dimensionality (planar, cylindrical, and spherical).

Blue and infrared light curves of the mysterious pre-main-sequence star V582 Mon (KH 15D) from 1955 to 1970

In recent years, an increasing number of publications have been devoted to the peculiar and mysterious pre-main-sequence star V582 Mon, also known as KH 15D. This extraordinary T Tauri star, located in the young star cluster NGC 2264, appears to be an eclipsing variable. In the present paper, we report a unique and self-consistent set of light curves in the blue and near-infrared (IR) bands, spanning a 15-yr interval (epoch 1955–1970). Our photometric data show clearly that the beginning of the eclipse stage occurred in early 1958 in the blue, and perhaps around 4 yr later in the IR. The light-curve period turns out to be the same reported by recent observations (about 48.3 d), so that no evidence for a period change Results. On the other hand, in our data the light-curve shape appears to be sinusoidal and is therefore different from the one displayed today. The photometric behaviour, determined with time-series and colour-index analysis, suggests that V582 Mon (KH 15D) could initially be surrounded by an accretion disc/torus seen edge-on, with subsequent thin dust formation at the beginning of the blue radiation absorption. The dust could then aggregate into larger particles providing the transition between selective and total absorption, accompanied with eclipsing variability in the IR. The minima of the periodic light curve become deeper owing to the increasing dimension and number of dust grains, and then flatten owing to a contraction in the disc.

Complex plasmas: III. Experiments on strong coupling and long-range correlations

This paper continues a series of review papers devoted to the physics of complex plasmas, in which one of the components (dust) is in a crystalline or liquid state, while the others (electron, ions, and neutral atoms) are in a gaseous state. This review is devoted to the experimental investigations of new phenomena incomplex plasmas. The experiments are explained using estimates based on the theory of elementary processes in complex plasmas, including the new phenomena considered in the previous parts of the review. The paper describes (i) the experiments on multilayer plasma crystals, including the study of their structure and phase transitions; (ii) the experiments on dust monolayer crystals; (iii) the experiments on plasma clusters formed by small number of dust grains; (iv) the experiments on dust ion-sound waves, dust acoustic waves, dust lattice waves, and dust shear waves; (v) the experiments on shock waves; (vi) the experiments on the ionization instabilities and the creation of dust voids and dust clumps; and (vii) the experiments on Mach cones excited either by fast grains or laser radiation.

String effects on elastic collisions of ions with strings of dust grains in dusty plasmas

The elastic collision of ions with strings of strongly coupled dust grains in dusty plasmas is investigated using the eikonal analysis. The dust string has been considered as the one-dimensional model for strongly coupled dusty plasmas. The impact parameter method is applied to investigate the variation of the eikonal phase and elastic cross section as functions of the Debye length, number of dust grains, spacing of dust grains, and collision energy. The result shows that the eikonal phase and the total scattering cross section are increased with increasing Debye length. It is also found that the eikonal phase increases with increasing dust spacing, i.e., the length of dust string, and with the increasing number of dust grains due to the collective effects.

The velocity distribution of periodic comets and the meteor shower on Mars

Abstract. ThecollisionvelocitieswithMarsof theknown periodic cometswithperiheliondistances lessthantheorbital radiusof Mars 1.52 au are calculated and statisticallyanalyzed. The velocity distribution shows that short-period comets usually havesmaller collision velocities than the long-period comets whether they are numbered or unnumbered. For comets with period P ≤270 y, most collision velocities with Mars are less than 30 km s −1 . These velocities are smaller than the correspondingcollisionvelocities withEarth.Basedonthesimilarityofthevelocitydistributionsof thecomets andmeteoroidstreams, meteorshowers on Mars are discussed briefly. Key words. celestial mechanics – comets: general – meteors, meteoroids 1. Introduction It is well known that comets, as they near the perihelion oftheir orbits, release large numbers of dust grains (Kirkwood1861) due to the normal process of gas ejection. These parti-cles, namely meteoroids, leave the cometary nucleus at speedswhich are significantly less than the orbital velocity of thecomet(Whipple1951).Inconsequence,thesemeteoroidsmoveon almost the same orbitsas the parentcomets,graduallydrift-ingaheadandbehindthecometbecauseof smalldifferencesinorbital period. After a time interval of a few tens of cometaryperiods, the meteoroids will have spread all the way aroundthe cometary orbit (Steel 1994; Williams 1996). At this stage,meteors(whichareproducedbytheimpactofthestreammete-oroidswiththeatmosphereoftheEarth)canbeobservedwhen-ever the Earthpasses throughthe cometarynodes.In principle,there could also be meteor showers on Mars or any other plan-ets with an atmosphere whenever the planet encounters a me-teoroid streams.MeteoroidsstriketheEarthwitha velocitythatis similar tothe orbital velocity, that is, several tens of kilometers per sec-ond. At such velocities, dust impacts can affect all phases ofspacecraft operation (Beech et al. 1995, 1997; McBride 1997;McBride & McDonnell 1999). For example, the

Chondrules as products of dust collisions with totally molten droplets within a dust-rich nebular environment: An experimental investigation

Chondrules are usually interpreted as the products of incomplete melting of mineral aggregates in the solar nebula and have textures controlled by the number of residual nuclei present after melting. If barred olivine (BO) chondrules formed by nearly total melting at their respective liquidi, i.e., over a wide temperature range, it is surprising that there are so few totally glassy chondrules. The occurrence of fine-grained, accretionary rims on chondrules suggests mineral dust in the chondrule-forming environment which might have collided with totally molten droplets to produce chondrule textures. We have, therefore, conducted experiments in which mineral dusts encounter molten droplets during their cooling at 500°C/h and cause nucleation. Our experiments reproduce the majority of common chondrule textures. The production of textures in our experiments is a function of the temperature at which dust is encountered, the number of dust grains encountered and, to a lesser extent, the mineralogy of the encountered mineral grains. Crystal growth rates increase with lower dust encounter temperatures giving a textural range with increasingly skeletal or elongated crystals for lower temperature encounters. We have produced some less commonly discussed types of chondrule textures, e.g., barred-olivine-porphyritic-olivine pyroxene (BO/POP) by dust seeding that have not been reproduced by the incomplete melting of starting materials. The reproduction of BO/POP and excentroradial textures by dust collisions, and the scarcity of natural totally glassy chondrules, suggest that formation by seeding of total melts was common for chondrules with the lowest liquidus temperatures, e.g., FeO-rich chondrules. From these seeding experiments we suggest that the maximum melting temperature chondrules experienced is limited only to the temperature at which evaporation of chondrule liquid occurs. However, we have reproduced the very fine-grained microporphyritic textures characteristic of Type IA chondrules only by incomplete melting. Such chondrules could not have reached average internal temperatures above their liquidus temperatures. The conclusion, that at least some chondrules formed from total melts that collided with mineral dust during cooling, indicates that chondrule formation occurred within a region of the nebula rich in mineral dust.

Electrostatic interactions of two dielectric dust particles in the presence of plasma

The dynamics of dusty plasmas control the creation and destruction of dust particles throughout the solar system. Dusty plasmas are found in the ring systems of the larger planets, in cometary nuclei and in the interstellar medium. To understand the collective phenomena of a dusty plasma it is important to understand the basics of the dynamics of a small number of dust grains embedded in a plasma. We build on previous work completed by Young et al. /1/ in modeling the charging characteristics of dust grains. We consider the case of two dust grains in a particle-in-cell (PIC) model with a variable separation and investigate the force relationship between the charged grains after equilibrium is reached. We demonstrate that the intergrain force is reduced by the shielding associated with the plasma.