Hα and HeI emission in the jets of pre-main sequence stars – implications for the heating mechanisms

Jets and winds in pre-main sequence (PMS) stars are often heated and ionized, and understanding their heating mechanism is desired to compare UV-to-IR spectral signatures with models and thus investigate their driving mechanism. We review our results of long-slit spectroscopy and spectro-astrometry for He I 1.083 μm and Hα emission, and investigate the heating mechanisms in the jet in the outer (>10 AU) and inner (<10 AU) regions, respectively.     

Alkali (Rb/K) abundances in Allende barred-olivine chondrules: Implications for the melting conditions of chondrules

Abstract— In order to study abundances of alkali metals in chondrules, 25 petrographically characterized chondrules, including 18 barred olivine (BO) chondrules from the Allende (CV3) meteorite, were analyzed for alkalis (K and Rb) and alkaline earths (Sr, Ba, Ca and Mg) by mass spectrometric isotope dilution. Most BO chondrules with higher alkalis (>CI level) have nearly CI-chondritic Rb/K ratios, while those with lower alkalis clearly show higher Rb/K ratios than the CI-chondritic. In general, BO chondrules with higher Rb/K exhibit more depletion of alkalis relative to Ca. The mean olivine Fa for individual chondrules positively correlates with bulk alkali concentrations in BO type but not in porphyritic type chondrules. These observations suggest that some BO chondrules formed from more reducing assemblages of precursor minerals, which experienced more intensive vaporization losses of alkalis, accompanied by Rb/K fractionation, during the chondrule-formation melting.     

Maximal size of chondrules in shock wave heating model: Stripping of liquid surface in a hypersonic rarefied gas flow

Abstract— We examined partially molten dust particles that have a solid core and a surrounding liquid mantle, and estimated the maximal size of chondrules in a framework of the shock wave heating model for chondrule formation. First, we examined the dynamics of the liquid mantle by analytically solving the hydrodynamics equations for a core‐mantle structure via a linear approximation. We obtained the deformation, internal flow, pressure distribution in the liquid mantle, and the force acting on the solid core. Using these results, we estimated conditions in which liquid mantle is stripped off from the solid core. We found that when the particle radius is larger than about 1–2 mm, the stripping is expected to take place before the entire dust particle melts. So chondrules larger than about 1–2 mm are not likely to be formed by the shock wave heating mechanism. Also, we found that the stripping of the liquid mantle is more likely to occur than the fission of totally molten particles. Therefore, the maximal size of chondrules may be determined by the stripping of the liquid mantle from the partially molten dust particles in the shock waves. This maximal size is consistent with the sizes of natural chondrules.     

Petrogenesis of ultramafic rocks and olivine-rich troctolites from the East Taiwan Ophiolite in the Lichi mélange

Mineralogy and Petrology - We examine ultramafic and olivine-rich troctolite blocks of the East Taiwan Ophiolite (ETO) in the Lichi Mélange. Although ultramafic rocks are extensively...     

Coupled Simulation of Seismic Wave Propagation and Failure Phenomena by Use of an MPS Method

The failure of brittle materials, for example glasses and rock masses, is commonly observed to be discontinuous. It is, however, difficult to simulate these phenomena by use of conventional numerical simulation methods, for example the finite difference method or the finite element method, because of the presence of computational grids or elements artificially introduced before the simulation. It is, therefore, important for research on such discontinuous failures in science and engineering to analyze the phenomena seamlessly. This study deals with the coupled simulation of elastic wave propagation and failure phenomena by use of a moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method. It is simple to model the objects of analysis because no grid or lattice structure is necessary. In addition, lack of a grid or lattice structure makes it simple to simulate large deformations and failure phenomena at the same time. We first compare analytical and MPS solutions by use of Lamb’s problem with different offset distances, material properties, and source frequencies. Our results show that analytical and numerical seismograms are in good agreement with each other for 20 particles in a minimum wavelength. Finally, we focus our attention on the Hopkinson effect as an example of failure induced by elastic wave propagation. In the application of the MPS, the algorithm is basically the same as in the previous calculation except for the introduction of a failure criterion. The failure criterion applied in this study is that particle connectivity must be disconnected when the distance between the particles exceeds a failure threshold. We applied the developed algorithm to a suspended specimen that was modeled as a long bar consisting of thousands of particles. A compressional wave in the bar is generated by an abrupt pressure change on one edge. The compressional wave propagates along the interior of the specimen and is visualized clearly. At the other end of the bar, the spalling of the bar is reproduced numerically, and a broken piece of the bar is formed and falls away from the main body of the bar. Consequently, these results show that the MPS method effectively reproduces wave propagation and failure phenomena at the same time.     

SPICES: spectro-polarimetric imaging and characterization of exoplanetary systems

SPICES (Spectro-Polarimetric Imaging and Characterization of Exoplanetary Systems) is a five-year M-class mission proposed to ESA Cosmic Vision. Its purpose is to image and characterize long-period extrasolar planets and circumstellar disks in the visible (450?C900 nm) at a spectral resolution of about 40 using both spectroscopy and polarimetry. By 2020/2022, present and near-term instruments will have found several tens of planets that SPICES will be able to observe and study in detail. Equipped with a 1.5 m telescope, SPICES can preferentially access exoplanets located at several AUs (0.5?C10?AU) from nearby stars (<25 pc) with masses ranging from a few Jupiter masses to Super Earths (??2 Earth radii, ??10 M_??) as well as circumstellar disks as faint as a few times the zodiacal light in the Solar System.     

Origin of wehrlite cumulates in the Moho transition zone of the Neoproterozoic Ras Salatit ophiolite,Central Eastern Desert,Egypt: crustal wehrlites with typical mantle characteristics

Ultramafic cumulates, mainly crustal true wehrlites, were discovered and described in the mantle–crust transition zone (MTZ) and the extremely lower layered gabbro sequence of the Ras Salatit ophiolite, Central Eastern Desert, Egypt. They form either boudinaged lensoidal tabular bodies or interdigitated layers often concordant with the planolinear fabrics of the Ras Salatit ophiolite rocks. The contact between wehrlites and the host MTZ dunite or layered gabbro is razor sharp, lobate and/or sinuous, without chilled margins or any visible deformations. The Ras Salatit wehrlites are orthopyroxene-free and composed mainly of olivine and clinopyroxene. They are texturally equilibrated and show a characteristic poikilitic texture. Crystallization order of the Ras Salatit wehrlites is olivine/spinel followed by clinopyroxene with the absence of plagioclase. Olivine and clinopyroxene of the Ras Salatit wehrlites are compositionally uniform and conspicuously high in Mg#, mostly around 0.93 and 0.92, respectively. Moreover, the clinopyroxene shows low Ti and Al contents coupled with marked depletion in LILE. The calculated melt in equilibrium with clinopyroxene from the Ras Salatit wehrlites is largely similar to lavas from the Izu-Bonin forearc. Given the above characteristics, the Ras Salatit wehrlites were produced by crystal accumulation from a hydrous depleted basaltic/tholeiitic melt corresponding to temperatures between 1,000 and 1,100°C at the oceanic crustal pressure (~2 kbar). The involved hydrous tholeiitic melt has been probably formed by fluid-assisted partial melting of a refractory mantle source (similar to the underlying harzburgites) in a somewhat shallow sub-arc environment.     

Possible variation in methane flux caused by gas hydrate formation on the northeastern continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Russia

The Sakhalin Slope Gas Hydrate Project (SSGH) is an international collaborative effort by scientists from Japan, Korea, and Russia to investigate natural gas hydrates (GHs) that have accumulated on the continental slope off Sakhalin Island, Okhotsk Sea. From 2009 to 2011, field operations of the SSGH-09, -10, and -11 projects were conducted. GH-bearing and -free sediment cores were retrieved using steel hydro- and gravity corers. The concentrations of sulfate ions in sediment pore waters were measured to investigate sulfate concentration–depth profiles. Seventeen cores showed linear depth profiles of sulfate concentrations. In contrast, eight cores and two cores showed concave-up and -down profiles plausibly explained by sudden increase and decrease in methane flux from below, respectively, presumably caused by the formation of gas hydrate adjacent to the core sampling sites.