Observations of Magnetic Fields on T Tauri Stars

We present measurements of magnetic field strength and geometry on the surfaces of T Tauri stars (TTS) with and without circumstellar disks. We use these measurements to argue that magnetospheric accretion models should not assume that a fixed fraction of the stellar surface contains magnetic field lines that couple with the disk. We predict the fractional area of accretion footpoints, using magnetospheric accretion models and assuming field strength is roughly constant for all TTS. Analysis of Zeeman broadened infrared line profiles shows that individual TTS each have a distribution of surface magnetic field strengths extending up to 6 kG. Averaging over this distribution yields mean magnetic field strengths of 1-3 kG for all TTS, regardless of whether the star is surrounded by a disk. These strong magnetic fields suggest that magnetic pressure dominates gas pressure in TTS photospheres, indicating the need for new model atmospheres. The He I 5876 Å emission line in TTS can be strongly polarized, so that magnetic field lines at the footpoints of accretion have uniform polarity. The circular polarization signal appears to be rotationally modulated, implying that accretion and perhaps the magnetosphere are not axisymmetric. Time series spectropolarimetry is fitted reasonably well by a simple model with one magnetic spot on the surface of a rotating star. On the other hand, spectropolarimetry of photospheric absorption lines rules out a global dipolar field at the stellar surface for at least some TTS.     

Physical properties of near-Earth Asteroid (33342) 1998 WT24

During its close Earth approach in 2001, the E-class near-Earth Asteroid (33342) 1998 WT24 was the focus of extensive radar, optical, and thermal infrared observations. We present a physical model of this object, estimated from Arecibo and Goldstone radar images that cover multiple rotations and span over 100° of sky motion. The asteroid has an equivalent diameter of 415±40 m and a diffuse radar scattering law that is identical in both senses of circular polarization, implying a surface that is extremely rough on centimeter-to-decimeter scales. The shape is dominated by three large basins, which may be impact craters or a relic of past dynamical disruption of the object. Analysis of YORP perturbations on WT24's spin state predicts that the asteroid's spin rate is decreasing at a rate of . Simply extrapolating this rate suggests that the asteroid will despin over the next 150 kyr and was spinning at its surface disruption rate 75 kyr ago, but the rotational evolution of WT24 depends on the surface's thermal properties and probably is more complex than a simple spin-down.     

A bulk cloud parameterization in a Venus General Circulation Model

A condensing cloud parameterization is included in a super-rotating Venus General Circulation Model. A parameterization including condensation, evaporation and sedimentation of mono-modal sulfuric acid cloud particles is described. Saturation vapor pressure of sulfuric acid vapor is used to determine cloud formation through instantaneous condensation and destruction through evaporation, while pressure dependent viscosity of a carbon dioxide atmosphere is used to determine sedimentation rates assuming particles fall at their terminal Stokes velocity. Modifications are described to account for the large range of the Reynolds number seen in the Venus atmosphere.Two GCM experiments initialized with 10 ppm-equivalent of sulfuric acid are integrated for 30 Earth years and the results are discussed with reference to “Y” shaped cloud structures observed on Venus. The GCM is able to produce an analog of the “Y” shaped cloud structure through dynamical processes alone, with contributions from the mean westward wind, the equatorial Kelvin wave, and the mid-latitude/polar Mixed Rossby/Gravity waves. The cloud top height in the GCM decreases from equator to pole and latitudinal gradients of cloud top height are comparable to those observed by Pioneer Venus and Venus Express, and those produced in more complex microphysical models of the sulfur cycle on Venus. Differences between the modeled cloud structures and observations are described and dynamical explanations are suggested for the most prominent differences.     

The Ashima/MIT Mars GCM and argon in the martian atmosphere

We investigate the ability of modern general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate transport in the martian atmosphere using measurements of argon as a proxy for the transport processes. Argon provides the simplest measure of transport as it is a noble gas with no sinks or sources on seasonal timescales. Variations in argon result solely from ‘freeze distillation’, as the atmosphere condenses at the winter poles, and from atmospheric transport. Comparison of all previously published models when rescaled to a common definition of the argon enhancement factor (EF) suggest that models generally do a poor job in predicting the peak enhancement in southern winter over the winter pole – the time when the capability of the model transport approaches are most severely tested. Despite observed peak EF values of ～6, previously published model predictions peaked at EF values of only 2–3. We introduce a new GCM that provides a better treatment of mass conservation within the dynamical core, includes more sophisticated tracer transport approaches, and utilizes a cube–sphere grid structure thus avoiding the grid-point convergence problem at the pole that exists for most current Mars GCMs. We describe this model – the Ashima Research/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mars General Circulation Model (Ashima/MIT Mars GCM) and use it to demonstrate the significant sensitivity of peak EF to the choices of transport approach for both tracers and heat. We obtain a peak EF of 4.75 which, while over 50% higher than any prior model, remains well short of the observed value. We show that the polar EF value in winter is primarily determined by the competition between two processes: (1) mean meridional import of lower-latitude air not enriched in argon and (2) the leakage of enriched argon out of the polar column by eddies in the lowest atmospheric levels. We suggest possibilities for improving GCM representation of the CO₂ cycle and the general circulation that may further improve the simulation of the argon cycle. We conclude that current GCMs may be insufficient for detailed simulation of transport-sensitive problems like the water cycle and potentially also the dust cycle.     

Carbonaceous chondrites as analogs for the composition and alteration of Ceres

The mineralogy and geochemistry of Ceres, as constrained by Dawn's instruments, are broadly consistent with a carbonaceous chondrite (CM/CI) bulk composition. Differences explainable by Ceres’s more advanced alteration include the formation of Mg‐rich serpentine and ammoniated clay; a greater proportion of carbonate and lesser organic matter; amounts of magnetite, sulfide, and carbon that could act as spectral darkening agents; and partial fractionation of water ice and silicates in the interior and regolith. Ceres is not spectrally unique, but is similar to a few other C‐class asteroids, which may also have suffered extensive alteration. All these bodies are among the largest carbonaceous chondrite asteroids, and they orbit in the same part of the Main Belt. Thus, the degree of alteration is apparently related to the size of the body. Although the ammonia now incorporated into clay likely condensed in the outer nebula, we cannot presently determine whether Ceres itself formed in the outer solar system and migrated inward or was assembled within the Main Belt, along with other carbonaceous chondrite bodies.     

The ages of pre-main-sequence stars

The position of pre-main-sequence or protostars in the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram is often used to determine their mass and age by comparison with pre-main-sequence evolution tracks. On the assumption that the stellar models are accurate, we demonstrate that, if the metallicity is known, the mass obtained is a good estimate. However, the age determination can be very misleading, because it is significantly (generally different by a factor of 2 to 5) dependent on the accretion rate and, for ages less than about 10⁶ yr, the initial state of the star. We present a number of accreting protostellar tracks that can be used to determine age if the initial conditions can be determined and the underlying accretion rate has been constant in the past. Because of the balance established between the Kelvin–Helmholtz, contraction time-scale and the accretion time-scale, a pre-main-sequence star remembers its accretion history. Knowledge of the current accretion rate, together with an HR-diagram position, gives information about the rate of accretion in the past, but does not necessarily improve any age estimate. We do not claim that ages obtained by comparison with these particular accreting tracks are likely to be any more reliable than those from comparisons with non-accreting tracks. Instead, we stress the unreliability of any such comparisons, and use the disparities between various tracks to estimate the likely errors in age and mass estimates. We also show how a set of coeval accreting objects do not appear coeval when compared with non-accreting tracks. Instead, accreting pre-main-sequence stars of around a solar mass are likely to appear older than those of either smaller or larger mass.