Path length distribution of cosmic rays from pulsar nebula complexes

Particles accelerated in the vicinity of pulsars have to traverse the nebular matter surrounding pulsars. Using the variation of pulsar luminosity and nebular expansion, the path length distribution for the particle radiation is deduced and compared with that obtained from experimental observation. It is found that a significant amount of matter traversed by cosmic rays can be in the source itself; but it is not possible to simultaneously account for the production of secondary electrons and secondary nuclei with the same set of parameters.     

Rossby Wave Propagation and Generation in the Protoplanetary Nebula

The protoplanetary nebular analog to the planetary Rossby wave is developed. Linear dispersion relations are derived. It is found that the nebular Rossby wave propagates freely in the nebular azimuthal direction and slowly grows in the radial direction. Possible ramifications for the nebula are raised for the reverse transition of turbulence into Rossby waves and zonal jets via the Rhines mechanism (P. B. Rhines 1975, J. Fluid Mech.69, 417–443), specifically, the formation of long-lived vortices and the accretion of solid bodies.     

Planetary accretion,oxygen isotopes,and the central limit theorem

Abstract— The accumulation of presolar dust into increasingly larger aggregates such as calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs) and chondrules, asteroids, and planets should result in a drastic reduction in the numerical spread in oxygen isotopic composition between bodies of similar size, in accord with the central limit theorem. Observed variations in oxygen isotopic composition are many orders of magnitude larger than would be predicted by a simple, random accumulation model that begins in a well‐mixed nebula, no matter what size objects are used as the beginning or end points of the calculation. This discrepancy implies either that some as yet unspecified but relatively long‐lived process acted on the solids in the solar nebula to increase the spread in oxygen isotopic composition during each and every stage of accumulation, or that the nebula was heterogeneous (at least in oxygen) and maintained this heterogeneity throughout most of its nebular history. Depending on its origin, large‐scale nebular heterogeneity could have significant consequences for many areas of cosmochemistry, including the application of well‐known isotopic systems to the dating of nebular events and the prediction of bulk compositions of planetary bodies on the basis of a uniform cosmic abundance. The evidence supports a scenario wherein the oxygen isotopic composition of nebular solids becomes progressively depleted in ¹⁶O with time due to chemical processing within the nebula, rather than a scenario where ¹⁶O‐rich dust and other materials are injected into the nebula, possibly causing its initial collapse.     

Formation of a filamentary structure in planetary nebulae

Intricate filamentary structure and multiple shell-like appearance are very common phenomena in Planetary Nebulae.In addition, recent observations also indicate that the individual filaments present in these objects can have larger velocities than the adjacent smooth background (Pascoli, 1992 PASP 104, 350 and paper quoted therein).We have hypothesized that non linear hydrodynamical processes existing within the nebular gas are, possibly, responsible for these structures. As a matter of fact, it is argued that such a characteristic morphology, reinterpreted as a intermingled network of solitary waves or solitons, can be spontaneously generated in Planetary Nebulae as soon as one assumes that the nebular gas is permeated by a weak magnetic field whose strength is about 10^–5 to 10^–4 gauss.Main results of this work and further comments will be subsequently published in Ap&SS.     

Planet formation process as a phase transition

We discuss an adiabatic phase transition between a nebular ring and a protoplanet, taking into account the gravitational corrections to the perfect gas entropy. We compare the results of this model with those found in a previous paper from different assumptions, and we try a qualitative comparison with the structure of the real solar system, using the data for the four giant planets. We discuss the relevance of some primordial phenomena in the formation process of these planets such as a mass depletion within the asteroidal belt, a mass loss from the external regions of the nebula and a decrease of Neptune's orbital radius due to ejection of cometary material. The first and the second process seem to be significantly supported by the results of the phase transition model.     

The distribution of aluminum-26 in the early Solar System—A reappraisal

Abstract— A compilation of over 1500 Mg-isotopic analyses of Al-rich material from primitive solar system matter (meteorites) shows clearly that ²⁶Al existed live in the early Solar System. Excesses of ²⁶Mg observed in refractory inclusions are not the result of mixing of “fossil” interstellar ²⁶Mg with normal solar system Mg. Some material was present that contained little or no ²⁶Al, but it was a minor component of solar system matter in the region where CV3 and CO3 carbonaceous chondrites accreted and probably was a minor component in the accretion regions of CM chondrites as well. Data for other chondrite groups are too scanty to make similar statements. The implied long individual nebular histories of CAIs and the apparent gap of one or more million years between the start of CAI formation and the start of chondrule formation require the action of some nebular mechanism that prevented the CAIs from drifting into the Sun. Deciding whether ²⁶Al was or was not the agent of heating that caused melting in the achondrite parent bodies hinges less on its widespread abundance in the nebula than it does on the timing of planetesimal accretion relative to the formation of the CAIs.     

Filter and interferometer observations of twoHii regions

The Rosette Nebula was photographed through filters isolating the H,OII andOIII nebular emission lines. Isophotes were constructed at these wavelengths. Measurements of the radial velocity differences across the Rosette were obtained from an interferogram. These were compared to some conflicting measurements made by previous authors. Some small regions in the Rosette and Barnard's Arc were shown to be emitting lines wider than the bulk of the matter.     

Evaporation of nebular fines during chondrule formation

Studies of matrix in primitive chondrites provide our only detailed information about the fine fraction (diameter <2 μm) of solids in the solar nebula. A minor fraction of the fines, the presolar grains, offers information about the kinds of materials present in the molecular cloud that spawned the Solar System. Although some researchers have argued that chondritic matrix is relatively unaltered presolar matter, meteoritic chondrules bear witness to multiple high-temperature events each of which would have evaporated those fines that were inside the high-temperature fluid. Because heat is mainly transferred into the interior of chondrules by conduction, the surface temperatures of chondrules were probably at or above 2000 K. In contrast, the evaporation of mafic silicates in a canonical solar nebula occurs at around 1300 K and FeO-rich, amorphous, fine matrix evaporates at still lower temperatures, perhaps near 1200 K. Thus, during chondrule formation, the temperature of the placental bath was probably >700 K higher than the evaporation temperatures of nebular fines. The scale of chondrule forming events is not known. The currently popular shock models have typical scales of about ¹⁰⁵ km. The scale of nebular lightning is less well defined, but is certainly much smaller, perhaps in the range 1 to 1000 m. In both cases the temperature pulses were long enough to evaporate submicrometer nebular fines. This interpretation disagrees with common views that meteoritic matrix is largely presolar in character and CI-chondrite-like in composition. It is inevitable that presolar grains (both those recognized by their anomalous isotopic compositions and those having solar-like compositions) that were within the hot fluid would also have evaporated. Chondrule formation appears to have continued down to the temperatures at which planetesimals formed, possibly around 250 K. At temperatures >600 K, the main form of C is gaseous CO. Although the conversion of CO to CH₄ at lower temperatures is kinetically inhibited, radiation associated with chondrule formation would have accelerated the conversion. There is now evidence that an appreciable fraction of the nanodiamonds previously held to be presolar were actually formed in the solar nebula. Industrial condensation of diamonds from mixtures of CH₄ and H₂ implies that high nebular CH₄/CO ratios favored nanodiamond formation. A large fraction of chondritic insoluble organic matter may have formed in related processes. At low nebular temperatures appreciable water should have been incorporated into the smoke that condensed following dust (and some chondrule) evaporation. If chondrule formation continued down to temperatures as low as 250 K this process could account for the water concentration observed in primitive chondrites such as LL3.0 and CO3.0 chondrites. Higher H₂O contents in CM and CI chondrites may reflect asteroidal redistribution. In some chondrite groups (e.g., CR) the Mg/Si ratio of matrix material is appreciably (30%) lower than that of chondrules but the bulk Mg/Si ratio is roughly similar to the CI or solar ratio. This has been interpreted as a kind of closed-system behavior sometimes called “complementarity.” This leads to the conclusion that nebular fines were efficiently agglomerated. Its importance, however is obscured by the observation that bulk Mg/Si ratios in ordinary and enstatite chondrites are much lower than those in carbonaceous chondrites, and thus that complementarity did not hold throughout the solar nebula.     

A study of the Young star V1331 Cyg in a compact star forming region

New results are presented from high resolution images of the peculiar T Tauri star V1331 Cyg and its nebular environment. A complex nebular fountain-like structure that appears to originate from the star was found. The morphology of the nebular structure is quantified and discussed. Evidence for secular outflows is found from the optical data.     

Petrology and mineralogy of the Yamato-86751 CV3 chondrite

Abstract— The Y-86751 chondrite (CV3) consists of fine-grained Ca- and Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), amoeboid olivine inclusions (AOIs), spinel-rich inclusions, chondrules with and without dark rims, dark inclusions, isolated minerals, metal-sulfide aggregates, and matrix. Olivines in chondrules without dark rims and AOIs coexist with magnetite and show strong zoning from a magnesian core to a ferroan rim. Spinels in spinel-rich inclusions show similar zoning. This zoning seems to be caused by exchange reaction of olivine and spinel with an oxidized nebular gas prior to the accretion onto the parent body, and the Mg/Fe diffusion in olivines and spinels took place at a temperature of about 830–860 K. At the same time, enstatite in chondrules without dark rims was replaced by ferroan olivine at the grain boundaries. This feature suggests that chondrules without dark rims, fine-grained CAIs, spinel-rich inclusions, and AOIs have experienced oxidation in an oxidizing nebular gas. The oxygen fugacity of the oxidized nebular gas was >10^?27.3 bars at about 830 K, being more than 10⁴x larger than that of the canonical nebular gas. Magnetite occurs in the Y-86751 matrix in close association with Ni-rich taenite and Co-rich metal, and it was produced under a condition with the oxygen fugacity of ～10^?38 bars at a temperature of about 620–650 K. On the other hand, olivines in chondrules with dark rims and dark inclusions are magnesian and rich in MnO. They do not show such strong zoning. Probably they were in equilibrium with a nebular gas under a redox condition different from the oxidized nebular gas that produced the zoned olivines in chondrules without dark rims.     

Can lightning produce significant levels of mass‐independent oxygen isotopic fractionation in nebular dust?

Based on recent evidence that oxide grains condensed from a plasma will contain oxygen that is mass‐independently fractionated compared to the initial composition of the vapor, we present a first attempt to evaluate the potential magnitude of this effect on dust in the primitive solar nebula. This assessment relies on previous studies of nebular lightning to provide reasonable ranges of physical parameters to form a very simple model to evaluate the plausibility that lightning could affect a significant fraction of nebular dust and that such effects could cause a significant change in the oxygen isotopic composition of solids in the solar nebula over time. If only a small fraction of the accretion energy is dissipated as lightning over the volume of the inner solar nebula, then a large fraction of nebular dust will be exposed to lightning. If the temperature of such bolts is a few percent of the temperatures measured in terrestrial discharges, then dust will vaporize and recondense in an ionized environment. Finally, if only a small average decrease is assumed in the ¹⁶O content of freshly condensed dust, then over the last 5 Myr of nebular accretion the average Δ¹⁷O of the dust could increase by more than 30 per mil. We conclude that it is possible that the measured “slope 1” oxygen isotope line measured in meteorites and their components represents a time‐evolution sequence of nebular dust over the last several million years of nebular evolution where ¹⁶O‐rich materials formed first, then escaped further processing as the average isotopic composition of the dust gradually became increasingly depleted in ¹⁶O.     

A comparison of the performances of an insect-eye Fabry-Perot spectrograph and a classical Fabry-Perot monochromator

The performance of an image-tube insect-eye Fabry-Perot spectrograph is compared to a classical Fabry-Perot monochromator when used on some topical nebular problems.     

FRACTIONATION OF MODERATELY VOLATILE ELEMENTS IN ORDINARY CHONDRITES

Observed differences in the abundance ratios of moderately volatile elements found in ordinary chondrites relative to CI chondrites may have resulted from a continuous loss of nebular gas from the ordinary-chondrite formation region during condensation. If this occurred, the nebular volatility of these elements should be inversely correlated with their abundance ratios. Such a nebular gas loss can occur as a result of momentum exchange between solids and gases, as a result of interactions between the nebular gas and solar photons or particles at the surface of the nebula, or as a result of the settling of previously condensed solids to the median plane of the nebula.     

Motion of iron sulfide inclusions inside a shock‐melted chondrule

Abstract— We calculated the trajectories of molten spheres of iron sulfide inclusions inside a melted chondrule during the nebular shock wave heating. Our calculations included the effects of high‐velocity internal flow in the melted chondrule and apparent gravitational force caused by the drag force of nebular gas flow. The calculated results show that large iron sulfide inclusions, which have radii 0.23 times larger than those of the parent chondrules, must reach the surface of the melted chondrule within a short period of time (<<1 s). This effect will provide us with very important information about chondrule formation by nebular shock wave heating.     

Photometric and spectroscopic study of nova Cassiopeiae 1995 (V723 Cas)

We report an 11-year long series of U BV RI observations and the results of our monitoring of the classical slow nova V723 Cas. We analyze the spectra of this star taken using the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences with a spectral resolution of 3.5–8.5 Å during the nebular stage and at the supersoft X-ray source phase (SSS). This systemhas a large orbital inclination and its orbital period is equal to 0.693265 days. The orbital period increases. We found low-amplitude light variations with the orbital period during the early stages of the outburst and even at the pre-maximum stage. The orbital light curve at the nebular stage is asymmetric and gradually increases its amplitude up to V=2 ^m in 2006. The asymmetry of the light curve of V723 Cas can be explained by the reflection effect, eclipse of the extended accretion disk, and high rate of mass transfer in the system. The light curve of V723 Cas has developed a plateau due to the SSS phase. In the spectrum of V723 Cas the transition to the SSS phase shows up in an order-of-magnitude increase of the flux of the [Fe X] λ 6374 Å emission, which forms in the expanding envelope. In addition, narrow emission lines λ 6466.4 Å (O V) and λ 6500.5 Å (Fe XVII) also emerged in the spectrum.     

S-asteroids 387 Aquitania and 980 Anacostia: Possible fragments of the breakup of a spinel-bearing parent body with C03/CV3 affinities

Abstract— Asteroids 387 Aquitania and 980 Anacostia are anomalous members of the S-class. Their reflectance spectra exhibit a strong broad absorption feature longwards of 1.5 μm and no significant feature near 1 μm. Their spectra indicate the presence of spinel, an aluminum-magnesium oxide mineral commonly present in inclusions in CV3 and CO3 meteorites. Spinel probably makes up only a small percentage of the surface assemblages of these asteroids, but its spectral effect may be enhanced by its presence in fine-grained white inclusions in immature asteroid regoliths. It is speculated that Aquitania and Anacostia represent material formed in the same nebular zone as the CV3 and CO3 chondrites but either: A) at an earlier time in the nebula when such inclusions might have been a relatively larger fraction of the nebular grain population, or B) in local regions where nebular processes (e.g., settling to the midplane) had concentrated such inclusions. The close similarity of two orbital elements (a, i) suggests that Aquitania and Anacostia may be members of a partially dispersed asteroid family produced by the early disruption of a spinel-bearing parent body.     

Frozen Hydrocarbon Particles as a Luminescent Dust Component of Nebular Matter

This paper is a continued examination of luminescence of cosmic dust, in particular the dust in reflecting nebulae. A model of frozen hydrocarbon particles in the form of a nucleus with a polycrystalline mantle is proposed. The basic properties of these particles, as well as the technique for obtaining spectra of the nebula CED 201 on the 2 meter TLS telescope with a Naismith focus spectrograph, are described. Part of the detected unknown emission in the spectrum of CED 201 is identified as photoluminescence of frozen hydrocarbon particles that form part of the dust component of the nebular matter.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 445–453 (August 2005).     

The evolution of enstatite and chondrules in unequilibrated enstatite chondrites: Evidence from iron-rich pyroxene

Abstract— FeO-rich (Fs^6–34) pyroxene lacking cathodoluminescence (CL), hereafter black pyroxene, is a major constituent of some of the chondrules and fragments in unequilibrated (type 3) enstatite chondrites (UECs). It contains structurally oriented zones of Cr-, Mn-, V-rich, FeO-poor enstatite with red CL, associated with mm-sized blebs of low-Ni, Fe-metal and, in some cases, silica. These occurrences represent clear evidence of pyroxene reduction. The black pyroxene is nearly always rimmed by minor element (Cr, Mn, V)-poor enstatite having a blue CL. More commonly, red and blue enstatites, unassociated with black pyroxene, occur as larger grains in chondrules and fragments, and these constitute the major silicate phases in UECs. The REE abundance patterns of the black pyroxene are LREE-depleted. The blue enstatite rims, however, have a near-flat to LREE-enriched pattern, ～0.5–4x chondritic. The petrologic and trace element data indicate that the black pyroxene is from an earlier generation of chondrules that formed in a nebular region that was more oxidizing than that of the enstatite chondrites. Following solidification, these chondrules experienced a more reducing nebular environment and underwent reduction. Some, perhaps most, of the red enstatite that is common throughout the UECs may be the product of solid-state reduction of black pyroxene. The blue enstatite rims grew onto the surfaces of the black pyroxene and red enstatite as a result of condensation from a nebular gas. The evolutionary history of some of the enstatite and chondrules in enstatite chondrites can be expressed in a four-stage model that includes: Stage 1. Formation of chondrules in an oxidizing nebular environment Stage 2. Solid-state reduction of the more oxidized chondrules and fragments to red enstatite in a more reducing nebular environment Stage 3. Formation of blue enstatite rims on the black pyroxene as well as on the red enstatite. Stage 4. Reprocessing, by various degrees of melting, of many of the earlier-formed materials.     

The magnetic effects of brecciation and shock in meteorites: II. The ureilites and evidence for strong nebular magnetic fields

We have examined the magnetic characteristics of representative ureilites, with a view to identify the magnetic effects of shock and to isolate a primary component of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM). As a group, the ureilites show remarkably uniform patterns of magnetic behavior, attesting to a common genesis and history. However, a clearly observed gradation in magnetic properties of the ureilites studied with shock level, parallels their classification based on petrologic and chemical fractionation shock-related trends.The ureilite meteorites possess a strong and directionally stable NRM. Laboratory thermal modelling of this presumably primordial NRM preserved in Goalpara and Kenna produced reliable paleointensity estimates of order 1 Oe, thus providing evidence for strong early, nebular magnetic fields. This paleofield strength is compatible with values obtained previously from carbonaceous chondrites and supports isotopic evidence for a contemporary origin of these two groups of meteorites in the same nebular region. The mechanism for recording nebular fields, manifestly different in carbonaceous chondrite vs. ureilite meteorites, is thus relatively unimportant: violent collisional shock in ureilites seems to have only partially altered an original magnetization, by preferential removal of its least stable portion.     

A multi‐step model for the origin of E3 (enstatite) chondrites

Abstract— It appears that the mineralogy and chemical properties of type 3 enstatite chondrites could have been established by fractionation processes (removal of a refractory component, and depletion of water) in the solar nebula, and by equilibration with nebular gas at low‐to‐intermediate temperatures (approximately 700–950 K). We describe a model for the origin of type 3 enstatite chondrites that for the first time can simultaneously account for the mineral abundances, bulk‐chemistry, and phase compositions of these chondrites by the operation of plausible processes in the solar nebula. This model, which assumes a representative nebular gas pressure of 10^?5 bar, entails three steps: (1) initial removal of 56% of the equilibrium condensed phases in a system of solar composition at 1270 K; (2) an average loss of 80–85% water vapor in the remaining gas; and (3) two different closure temperatures for the condensed phases. The first step involves a “refractory element fractionation” and is needed to account for the overall major element composition of enstatite chondrites, assuming an initial system with a solar composition. The second step, water‐vapor depletion, is needed to stabilize Si‐bearing metal, oldhamite, and niningerite, which are characteristic minerals of the enstatite chondrites. Variations in closure temperatures are suggested by the way in which the bulk chemistry and mineral assemblages of predicted condensates change with temperature, and how these parameters correlate with the observations of enstatite chondrites. In general, most phases in type 3 enstatite chondrites appear to have ceased equilibrating with nebular gas at approximately 900–950 K, except for Fe‐metal, which continued to partially react with nebular gas to temperatures as low as ～700 K.