Impact erosion of planetary atmospheres

The impact of a large extraterrestrial body onto a planet deposits considerable energy in the atmosphere. If the radius of the impactor is much larger than an atmospheric scale height and its velocity much larger than the planetary escape velocity, some of the planetary atmosphere may be driven off into space. The process is analyzed theoretically in this paper. The amount of gas that escapes is equal to the amount of gas intercepted by the impacting body multiplied by a factor not very different from unity. Escape occurs only if the velocity of the impacting body exceeds the planetary escape velocity. At large impact velocities the enhancement factor, which is the factor multiplying the amount of atmosphere intercepted by the impacting body, approaches a constant value approximately equal to 10¹²/V_e², where V_e is the escape velocity (in cm/sec). The enhancement factor is independent of atmospheric mass or surface pressure. Ablation of the impacting body and the planetary surface adds to the mass of gas that must be accelerated into space if escape is to occur. As a result, impact erosion of the atmosphere does not occur from a planet with an escape velocity in excess of 10 km/sec.     

Dynamics and circulation regimes of terrestrial planets

By the study of simple analogues, either in the form of simplified numerical models or laboratory experiments, considerable insights may be gained as to the likely roles of planetary size, rotation, thermal stratification and other factors in determining the principal length scales, styles of global circulation and dominant waves and instability processes active in the respective climate systems of Earth, Mars, Venus and Titan. In this review, we explore aspects of these analogues and demonstrate the importance of a number of key dimensionless parameters, most notably thermal Rossby and Rhines numbers and a measure of the dominant frictional or radiative timescale, in defining the type of circulation regime to be expected in a prototype planetary atmosphere subject to axisymmetric driving. These considerations help to place Mars, Venus, Titan and Earth into an appropriate context, and may also lay the foundations for predicting and understanding the climate and circulation regimes of (as yet undiscovered) Earth-like extra-solar planets. However, as recent discoveries of ‘super-Earth’ planets around some nearby stars are beginning to reveal, the parameter space determined from axisymmetrically forced prototype atmospheres may be incomplete and other factors, such as the possibility of tidally locked rotation and tidal forcing, may also need to be taken into account for some classes of extra-solar planet.     

The extreme physical properties of the CoRoT-7b super-Earth

The search for rocky exoplanets plays an important role in our quest for extra-terrestrial life. Here, we discuss the extreme physical properties possible for the first characterised rocky super-Earth, CoRoT-7b (R_pl = 1.58 ± 0.10 R_Earth, M_pl = 6.9 ± 1.2 M_Earth). It is extremely close to its star (a = 0.0171 AU = 4.48 R_st), with its spin and orbital rotation likely synchronised. The comparison of its location in the (M_pl, R_pl) plane with the predictions of planetary models for different compositions points to an Earth-like composition, even if the error bars of the measured quantities and the partial degeneracy of the models prevent a definitive conclusion. The proximity to its star provides an additional constraint on the model. It implies a high extreme-UV flux and particle wind, and the corresponding efficient erosion of the planetary atmosphere especially for volatile species including water. Consequently, we make the working hypothesis that the planet is rocky with no volatiles in its atmosphere, and derive the physical properties that result. As a consequence, the atmosphere is made of rocky vapours with a very low pressure (P ? 1.5 Pa), no cloud can be sustained, and no thermalisation of the planet is expected. The dayside is very hot (2474 ± 71 K at the sub-stellar point) while the nightside is very cold (50-75 K). The sub-stellar point is as hot as the tungsten filament of an incandescent bulb, resulting in the melting and distillation of silicate rocks and the formation of a lava ocean. These possible features of CoRoT-7b could be common to many small and hot planets, including the recently discovered Kepler-10b. They define a new class of objects that we propose to name “Lava-ocean planets”.     

Natural superrotation of a rarefied planetary atmosphere

We consider the kinetics of a rarefied rotating planetary atmosphere. The spatial distributions of the atmospheric-gas density and mean angular velocity were determined by analyzing the exact solution of the two-dimensional kinetic equation. We show that the angular velocity of the gas at some distance from the planet could be higher than that in the initial layer starting from which the atmosphere is rarefied. Our model calculations elucidate the superrotation mechanism under consideration.     

On the low-mass planethood criterion

We propose a quantitative concept for the lower planetary boundary, requiring that a planet must keep its atmosphere in vacuum. The solution-set framework of Pec˘nik and Wuchterl [2005. Giant planet formation. A first classification of isothermal protoplanetary equilibria. Astron. Astrophys. 440, 1183–1194] enabled a clear and quantitative criterion for the discrimination of a planet and a minor body. Using a simple isothermal core-envelope model, we apply the proposed planetary criterion to the large bodies in the Solar System.     

Relativistic Precession of Elliptical Orbits of a Circumbinary Planet can be Cancelled

In publications presenting analytical results on the non-coplanar motion of a circumbinary planet it was shown that the unperturbed elliptical orbit of the planet undergoes simultaneously two kinds of the precession: the precession of the orbital plane and the precession of the orbit in its own plane. It is also well-known that there is also the relativistic precession of the planetary orbit in its own plane. In the present paper we study a combined effect of the all of the above precessions. For the general case, where the planetary orbit is not coplanar with the stars orbits, we analyzed the dependence of the critical inclination angle i_c, at which the precession of the planetary orbit in its own plane vanishes, on the angular momentum L of the planet. We showed that the larger the angular momentum, the smaller the critical inclination angle becomes. We presented the analytical result for i_c(L) and calculated the value of L, for which the critical inclination value becomes zero. For the particular case, where the planetary orbit is not coplanar with the stars orbits, we demonstrated analytically that at a certain value of the angular momentum of the planet, the elliptical orbit of the planet would become stationary: no precession. In other words, at this value of the angular momentum, the relativistic precession of the planetary orbit and its precession, caused by the fact that the planet revolves around a binary (rather than single) star, cancel each other out. This is a counterintuitive result.     

Obliquity variations of terrestrial planets in habitable zones

We have investigated obliquity variations of possible terrestrial planets in habitable zones (HZs) perturbed by a giant planet(s) in extrasolar planetary systems. All the extrasolar planets so far discovered are inferred to be jovian-type gas giants. However, terrestrial planets could also exist in extrasolar planetary systems. In order for life, in particular for land-based life, to evolve and survive on a possible terrestrial planet in an HZ, small obliquity variations of the planet may be required in addition to its orbital stability, because large obliquity variations would cause significant climate change. It is known that large obliquity variations are caused by spin-orbit resonances where the precession frequency of the planet's spin nearly coincides with one of the precession frequencies of the ascending node of the planet's orbit. Using analytical expressions, we evaluated the obliquity variations of terrestrial planets with prograde spins in HZs. We found that the obliquity of terrestrial planets suffers large variations when the giant planet's orbit is separated by several Hill radii from an edge of the HZ, in which the orbits of the terrestrial planets in the HZ are marginally stable. Applying these results to the known extrasolar planetary systems, we found that about half of these systems can have terrestrial planets with small obliquity variations (smaller than 10°) over their entire HZs. However, the systems with both small obliquity variations and stable orbits in their HZs are only 1/5 of known systems. Most such systems are comprised of short-period giant planets. If additional planets are found in the known planetary systems, they generally tend to enhance the obliquity variations. On the other hand, if a large/close satellite exists, it significantly enhances the precession rate of the spin axis of a terrestrial planet and is likely to reduce the obliquity variations of the planet. Moreover, if a terrestrial planet is in a retrograde spin state, the spin-orbit resonance does not occur. Retrograde spin, or a large/close satellite might be essential for land-based life to survive on a terrestrial planet in an HZ.     

Electric fields within the martian magnetosphere and ion extraction: ASPERA-3 observations

Observations made by the ASPERA-3 experiment onboard the Mars Express spacecraft found within the martian magnetosphere beams of planetary ions. In the energy (E/q)-time spectrograms these beams are often displayed as dispersive-like, ascending or descending (whether the spacecraft moves away or approach the planet) structures. A linear dependence between energy gained by the beam ions and the altitude from the planet suggests their acceleration in the electric field. The values of the electric field evaluated from ion energization occur close to the typical values of the interplanetary motional electric field. This suggests an effective penetration of the solar wind electric field deep into the martian magnetosphere or generation of large fields within the magnetosphere. Two different classes of events are found. At the nominal solar wind conditions, a ‘penetration’ occurs near the terminator. At the extreme solar wind conditions, the boundary of the induced magnetosphere moves to a more dense upper atmosphere that leads to a strong scavenging of planetary ions from the dayside regions.     

Four climate regimes on a land planet with wet surface: Effects of obliquity change and implications for ancient Mars

Series of numerical experiments are performed using a general circulation model to gain insights on the hydrologic cycle on ancient Mars. Since the state of the ancient Mars atmosphere is not well constrained, we did not try to simulate an ancient Mars climate under warm and wet condition. In stead, we used an idealized model and tried to extract general features of the hydrologic cycle by modeling an ideal land planet that has no ocean on its surface. Four different climate regimes, “warm-upright,” “warm-oblique,” “frozen-upright,” and “frozen-oblique” regimes, are recognized depending on the inclination of the spin axis (obliquity) and average surface temperature. The period of active hydrologic cycle suggested from the geomorphology on Mars seems to be consistent with that at the “warm-oblique” regime, which appears at warm (above-freezing) environment with high-obliquity (higher than about 30°) condition.     

Atmospheric erosion and replenishment induced by impacts of cosmic bodies upon the Earth and Mars

The atmospheric erosion induced by impacts of cosmic bodies with sizes from ～100 m to 10 km is calculated for the Earth with its present atmosphere and for Mars with a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere that could be at the early stages of planetary evolution. Numerical results are compared to simple analytic models and calculations performed by other authors; approximate formulas are suggested. The evolutions of early atmospheres, which could exist at the late stage of the planetary accumulation, are numerically simulated using an integral model of impact-induced atmospheric erosion and replenishment in the approximation of a one-component atmosphere with a composition determined by the basic atmosphile component of the bodies falling onto the planet.     

Models for planetary eclipses of the uranian satellites

A model for computing the brightness of a satellite in the shadow of a planet is described, which takes into account the Sun–planet–satellite–sensor geometry, the satellite bi-directional reflectance function, and the refraction of sunlight in the planetary atmosphere. Synthetic light curves for eclipse ingress or egress of the five large satellites of Uranus are generated. The model luminosities can be fitted to photometric observations in order to calculate a precise distance between the centers of the satellite and the planet. Alternately, when the satellite ephemeris is accurately known the atmospheric state of the planet can be studied.     

A cold and wet Mars

Water on Mars has been explained by invoking controversial and mutually exclusive solutions based on warming the atmosphere with greenhouse gases (the “warm and wet” Mars) or on local thermal energy sources acting in a global freezing climate (the “cold and dry” Mars). Both have critical limitations and none has been definitively accepted as a compelling explanation for the presence of liquid water on Mars. Here is considered the hypothesis that cold, saline and acidic liquid solutions have been stable on the sub-zero surface of Mars for relatively extended periods of time, completing a hydrogeological cycle in a water-enriched but cold planet. Computer simulations have been developed to analyze the evaporation processes of a hypothetical martian fluid with a composition resulting from the acid weathering of basalt. This model is based on orbiter- and lander-observed surface mineralogy of Mars, and is consistent with the sequence and time of deposition of the different mineralogical units. The hydrological cycle would have been active only in periods of dense atmosphere, as having a minimum atmospheric pressure is essential for water to flow, and relatively high temperatures (over ∼245 K) are required to trigger evaporation and snowfall; minor episodes of limited liquid water on the surface could have occurred at lower temperatures (over ∼225 K). During times with a thin atmosphere and even lesser temperatures (under ∼225 K), only transient liquid water can potentially exist on most of the martian surface. Assuming that surface temperatures have always been maintained below 273 K, Mars can be considered a “cold and wet” planet for a substantial part of its geological history.     

Averaging on the motion of a fast revolving body. Application to the stability study of a planetary system

Exploring the global dynamics of a planetary system involves computing integrations for an entire subset of its parameter space. This becomes time-consuming in presence of a planet close to the central star, and in practice this planet will be very often omitted. We derive for this problem an averaged Hamiltonian and the associated equations of motion that allow us to include the average interaction of the fast planet. We demonstrate the application of these equations in the case of the μ Arae system where the ratio of the two fastest periods exceeds 30. In this case, the effect of the inner planet is limited because the planet’s mass is one order of magnitude below the other planetary masses. When the inner planet is massive, considering its averaged interaction with the rest of the system becomes even more crucial.     

Satellite formation,II

The satellite formation model of Harris and Kaula (Icarus24, 516–524, 1975) is extended to include evolution of planetary ring material and elliptic orbital motion. This model is more satisfactory than the previous one in that the formation of the moon begins at a later time in the growth of the earth, and that a significant fraction of the lunar material is processed through a circumterrestrial debris cloud where volatiles might have been lost. Thus the chemical differences between the earth and moon are more plausibly accounted for. Satellites of the outer planets probably formed in large numbers throughout the growth of those planets. Because of rapid inward evolution of the orbits of small satellites, the present satellite systems represent only satellites formed in the last few percent of the growths of their primaries. The rings of Saturn and Uranus are most plausibly explained as the debris of satellites disrupted within the Roche limit. Because such a ring would collapse onto the planet in the course of any significant further accretion by the planet, the rings must have formed very near or even after the conclusion of accretion.     

The effect of shock loading on the survival of plant seeds

Meteorite and asteroid impacts into planet Earth seem rare but over the lifetime of our planet have been relatively frequent. Such collisions (involving very large impactors) have been blamed for mass extinctions during Earth’s history. It has also been postulated that impactors could carry life with them throughout the universe and seed our planet. This is the basis of the theory of panspermia (‘life everywhere’) and suggests that life could be spread throughout the universe by ‘piggy-backing’ on inter-planetary bodies, e.g. asteroids, which then collide with other planets, thus seeding them with life. The shock behaviour of organic matter has an important role to play in helping to inform the feasibility of such theories. An example of a model carrier for life in seeding mechanisms is the plant seed. Here we present the development of an experimental technique in which plant seed samples are shock-loaded and their viability subsequently assessed post-shock. This technique was tested on Lepidium sativum (cress) seed samples. Experimentally, shocked seeds showed positive viability in all tests performed until shocked with a maximum peak shock pressure of ca. 0.8 GPa. These results suggest it is unlikely that the plant seeds tested would be able to survive the extreme conditions on an asteroid during impact, but may be able to survive shock waves that would be generated from such collisions when existing on a planetary body.     

MHD simulation scenarios of the stellar wind interaction with Hot Jupiter magnetospheres

We present three-dimensional numerical simulations of the interaction between a Hot Jupiter and the stellar wind plasma of its host star in the framework of resistive magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). In a first step, we investigate the numerical realization of the plasma flow around the planet and the planetary magnetic field using a simplified model, before we simulate more realistic scenarios on the basis of the stellar wind model by Weber and Davis. A main goal is to understand the magnetic interaction between star and planet. In analogy to the well-known Jupiter Io scenario, we study the development of a magnetic field-aligned current system in different parameter regimes.     

On the protection of extrasolar Earth-like planets around K/M stars against galactic cosmic rays

Previous studies have shown that extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones around M-stars are weakly protected against galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), leading to a strongly increased particle flux to the top of the planetary atmosphere. Two main effects were held responsible for the weak shielding of such an exoplanet: (a) For a close-in planet, the planetary magnetic moment is strongly reduced by tidal locking. Therefore, such a close-in extrasolar planet is not protected by an extended magnetosphere. (b) The small orbital distance of the planet exposes it to a much denser stellar wind than that prevailing at larger orbital distances. This dense stellar wind leads to additional compression of the magnetosphere, which can further reduce the shielding efficiency against GCRs. In this work, we analyse and compare the effect of (a) and (b), showing that the stellar wind variation with orbital distance has little influence on the cosmic ray shielding. Instead, the weak shielding of M star planets can be attributed to their small magnetic moment. We further analyse how the planetary mass and composition influence the planetary magnetic moment, and thus modify the cosmic ray shielding efficiency. We show that more massive planets are not necessarily better protected against galactic cosmic rays, but that the planetary bulk composition can play an important role.     

Oxygenic photosynthesis and the oxidation state of Mars

The oxidation state of the Earth's surface is one of the most obvious indications of the effect of life on this planet. The surface of Mars is highly oxidized, as evidenced by its red color, but the connection to life is less apparent. Two possibilities can be considered. First, the oxidant may be photochemically produced in the atmosphere. In this case the fundamental source of O2 is the loss of H2 to space and the oxidant produced is H2O2. This oxidant would accumulate on the surface and thereby destroy any organic material and other reductants to some depth. Recent models suggest that diffusion limits this depth to a few meters. An alternative source of oxygen is biological oxygen production followed by sequestration of organic material in sediments--as on the Earth. In this case, the net oxidation of the surface was determined billions of years ago when Mars was a more habitable planet and oxidative conditions could persist to great depths, over 100 m. Below this must be a compensating layer of biogenic organic material. Insight into the nature of past sources of oxidation on Mars will require searching for organics in the Martian subsurface and sediments.     

Solar wind origin of 36Ar on Venus

A hypothesis is considered in which the ³⁶Ar found on Venus is of solar origin. This possibility is quantitatively discussed within the framework of present theories of planetary accumulation by sweep up of planetesimals under gas-free conditions. Solar wind implantation of ³⁶Ar would take place by irradiation of accumulating material during the first ≈10⁵ years of planetary growth, provided that the flux of solar wind was enhanced by a factor of ≈100 at that time. Enrichment of Venus in implanted gas would be a consequence of the irradiated material being initially confined to the innermost edge of the radially opaque circusolar planetesimal disk predicted by these theories. The observed atmospheric data require a Ne/Ar fractionation by a factor of ≈100 during the planetesimal stage. It is also necessary that there be very little mixing of irradiated planetesimals from the inner edge of disk to the distance (≈1 AU) at which the Earth formed. The hypothesis can be tested by measurement of the abundance of Kr and Xe in the Venus atmosphere. Venera data indicate a terrestrial ³⁶Ar/Kr ratio, in disagreement with the solar wind hypothesis. In contrast, the Pioneer experiments find a lower limit to this ratio, well above the terrestrial value, that is compatible with the hypothesis. These experiments also show that Venus' ³⁶Ar/Xe ratio does not correspond to the so-called “planetary” trapped inert gas composition. The inert of Venus could be related to result of admixture of gas with solar composition. The inert gas on Venus could be related to that found in enstatite chondrites.     

The 1/1 resonance in extrasolar planetary systems

We study orbits of planetary systems with two planets, for planar motion, at the 1/1 resonance. This means that the semimajor axes of the two planets are almost equal, but the eccentricities and the position of each planet on its orbit, at a certain epoch, take different values. We consider the general case of different planetary masses and, as a special case, we consider equal planetary masses. We start with the exact resonance, which we define as the 1/1 resonant periodic motion, in a rotating frame, and study the topology of the phase space and the long term evolution of the system in the vicinity of the exact resonance, by rotating the orbit of the outer planet, which implies that the resonance and the eccentricities are not affected, but the symmetry is destroyed. There exist, for each mass ratio of the planets, two families of symmetric periodic orbits, which differ in phase only. One is stable and the other is unstable. In the stable family the planetary orbits are in antialignment and in the unstable family the planetary orbits are in alignment. Along the stable resonant family there is a smooth transition from planetary orbits of the two planets, revolving around the Sun in eccentric orbits, to a close binary of the two planets, whose center of mass revolves around the Sun. Along the unstable family we start with a collinear Euler–Moulton central configuration solution and end to a planetary system where one planet has a circular orbit and the other a Keplerian rectilinear orbit, with unit eccentricity. It is conjectured that due to a migration process it could be possible to start with a 1/1 resonant periodic orbit of the planetary type and end up to a satellite-type orbit, or vice versa, moving along the stable family of periodic orbits.