Hyperaccretion

I briefly review the physics of accretion at rates well above the Eddington value. In stellar-mass systems, the result is generally an ultraluminous X-ray binary, and I show how SS433 fits into this picture. Conditions are relatively less extreme in active galactic nuclei, as the greatest likely accretion rates are not far above the electron-scattering Eddington value. However, even quite modest mass inflow rates exceed the corresponding value for dust opacity. I show that the obscuring torus invoked in unified AGN schemes is the probable result, and note that the matter in the torus probably does not supply the matter accreting on to the central black hole and thus powering the AGN.     

Time-varying transformations for Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire solutions in elliptic orbits

The relative motion of chief and deputy satellites in close proximity with orbits of arbitrary eccentricity can be approximated by linearized time-periodic equations of motion. The linear time-invariant Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations are typically derived from these equations by assuming the chief satellite is in a circular orbit. Two Lyapunov–Floquet transformations and an integral-preserving transformation are here presented which relate the linearized time-varying equations of relative motion to the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations in a one-to-one manner through time-varying coordinate transformations. These transformations allow the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations to describe the linearized relative motion for elliptic chief satellites.     

Orbital stability of systems of closely-spaced planets

An investigation of the stability of systems of 1 M_⊕ (Earth-mass) bodies orbiting a Sun-like star has been conducted for virtual times reaching 10 billion years. For the majority of the tests, a symplectic integrator with a fixed timestep of between 1 and 10 days was employed; however, smaller timesteps and a Bulirsch-Stoer integrator were also selectively utilized to increase confidence in the results. In most cases, the planets were started on initially coplanar, circular orbits, and the longitudinal initial positions of neighboring planets were widely separated. The ratio of the semimajor axes of consecutive planets in each system was approximately uniform (so the spacing between consecutive planets increased slowly in terms of distance from the star). The stability time for a system was taken to be the time at which the orbits of two or more planets crossed. Our results show that, for a given class of system (e.g., three 1 M_⊕ planets), orbit crossing times vary with planetary spacing approximately as a power law over a wide range of separation in semimajor axis. Chaos tests indicate that deviations from this power law persist for changed initial longitudes and also for small but non-trivial changes in orbital spacing. We find that the stability time increases more rapidly at large initial orbital separations than the power-law dependence predicted from moderate initial orbital separations. Systems of five planets are less stable than systems of three planets for a specified semimajor axis spacing. Furthermore, systems of less massive planets can be packed more closely, being about as stable as 1 M_⊕ planets when the radial separation between planets is scaled using the mutual Hill radius. Finally, systems with retrograde planets can be packed substantially more closely than prograde systems with equal numbers of planets.     

Watson: A new link in the HE iron chain

Abstract— Watson, which was found in 1972 in South Australia, contains the largest single silicate rock mass seen in any known iron meteorite. A comprehensive study has been completed on this unusual meteorite: petrography, metallography, analyses of the silicate inclusion (whole rock chemical analysis, INAA, RNAA, noble gases, and oxygen isotope analysis) and mineral compositions (by electron microprobe and ion microprobe). The whole rock has a composition of an H-chondrite minus the normal H-group metal and troilite content. The oxygen isotope composition is that of the silicates in the HE iron meteorites and lies along an oxygen isotope fractionation line with the H-group chondrites. Trace elements in the metal confirm Watson is a new HE iron. Whole rock Watson silicate shows an enrichment in K and P (each ～2X H-chondrites). The silicate inclusion has a highly equilibrated igneous (peridotite-like) texture with olivine largely poikilitic within low-Ca pyroxene: olivine (Fa₂₀), opx (Fs₁₇Wo₃), capx (Fs₉Wo₄₁) (with very fine exsolution lamellae), antiperthite feldspar (An_1–Or₅) with <1 μm exsolution lamellae (An_1–3Or_>40), shocked feldspar with altered stoichiometry, minor whitlockite (also a poorly characterized interstitial phosphate-rich phase) and chromite, and only traces of metal and troilite. The individual silicate minerals have normal chondritic REE patterns, but whitlockite has a remarkable REE pattern. It is very enriched in light REE (La is 720X C1, and Lu is 90X C1, as opposed to usual chonditic values of ～300X and 100–150X, respectively) with a negative Eu anomaly. The enrichment of whole rock K is expressed both in an unusually high mean modal Or content of the feldspar, Or₁₃, and in the presence of antiperthite. Whole rock trace element data for the silicate mass support the petrography. Watson silicate was an H-chondrite engulfed by metal and melted at > 1550 °C. A flat refractory lithophile and flat REE pattern (at ～1x average H-chondrites) indicate that melting took place in a relatively closed system. Immiscible metal and sulfide were occluded into the surrounding metal host. Below 1100 °C, the average cooling rate is estimated to have been ～1000 °C/Ma; Widmanstätten structure formed, any igneous zoning in the silicates was equilibrated, and feldspar and pyroxene exsolution took place. Cooling to below 300 °C was completed by 3.5 Ga B. P. At 8 Ma, a shock event took place causing some severe metal deformation and forming local melt pockets of schreibersite/metal. This event likely caused the release of Watson into interplanetary space. The time of this event, 8Ma, corresponds to the peak frequency of exposure ages of the H-chondrites. This further confirms the link between HE irons and the H-chondrites, a relationship already indicated by their common oxygen isotope source. Watson metal structures are very similar to those in Kodaikanal. Watson, Kodaikanal and Netschaëvo form the young group of HE meteorites (ages 3.7 ± 0.2 Ga). They appear to represent steps in a chain of events that must have taken place repeatedly on the HE parent body or bodies from which they came: chondrite engulfed in metal (Netschaëvo); chondrite melted within metal (Watson); and finally melted silicate undergoing strong fractionation with the fractionated material emplaced as globules within metal (Kodaikanal). Watson fills an important gap in understanding the sequence of events that took place in the evolution of the IIE-H parent body(ies). This association of H-chondrite with HE metal suggests a surface, or near surface process-a suggestion made by several other researchers.     

Mars: Subsurface properties from observed longitudinal variation of the 3.5-mm brightness temperature

Measurements at 3.5 mm of the disk-average brightness temperature of Mars during the 1978 opposition can be represented by

$\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{B}}\text{(Mars, 3 5 mm, Jan/Feb 1978)}\text{=}\textcolor{red}{}$

(The errors cited are from the internal scatter; the estimated absolute calibration uncertainty is 3%.) This longitudinal variation must be taken into account if Mars is to be used as a calibration source at millimeter wavelengths. The total range of the 3.5-mm variation is three to four times larger than both the 2.8-cm and 20-μm variations. This unexpected result can possibly be explained by subsurface scattering from rocks ?1.5-cm radius.     

Inflation and the Cosmic Microwave Background

I give a status report and outlook concerning the use of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies to constrain the inflationary cosmology, and stress its crucial role as an underlying paradigm for the estimation of cosmological parameters. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurements of Faraday Rotation Through the Solar Corona During the 2009 Solar Minimum with the MESSENGER Spacecraft

Measurements of Faraday rotation through the solar corona were collected using the radio beacon aboard the MESSENGER spacecraft during the longest solar minimum in a century. As MESSENGER entered superior conjunction, the plane of polarization of its radio signal was observed to rotate as it traversed the circularly birefringent plasma of the Sun’s atmosphere. On time scales of less than three hours, these uncalibrated plane of polarization observations of Faraday rotation can be used to investigate the dynamic processes in the solar plasma, such as magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Here we describe the MESSENGER Faraday rotation experiment, the data processing conducted to obtain the plane of polarization, and the estimation of error.     

An experimental test of Henry's Law in solid metal‐liquid metal systems with implications for iron meteorites

Abstract— Experimental solid metal‐liquid metal partition coefficients have been used to model the crystallization of magmatic iron meteorites and understand the evolution of asteroid cores. However, the majority of the partitioning experiments have been conducted with trace elements doped at levels that are orders of magnitude higher than measured in iron meteorites. Concern about Henry's Law and the unnatural doping levels have been cited as one reason that two recent iron meteorite studies have dismissed the experimental partition coefficients in their modeling. Using laser ablation ICP‐MS analysis, this study reports experimentally determined solid metal‐liquid metal trace element partition coefficients from runs doped down to the levels occurring in iron meteorites. The analyses for 12 trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Ge, Ir, Os, Pd, Pt, Re, and W) show no deviations from Henry's Law, and these results support decades of experimental work in which the partition coefficients were assumed to be independent of trace element concentration. Further, since our experiments are doped with natural levels of trace elements, the partitioning results are directly applicable to iron meteorites and should be used when modeling their crystallization. In contrast, our new Ag data are inconsistent with previous studies, suggesting the high Ag‐content in previous studies may have influenced the measured Ag partitioning behavior.     

Investigations into an unknown organism on the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001

Abstract— Examination of fracture surfaces near the fusion crust of the martian meteorite Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 have been conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and has revealed structures strongly resembling mycelium. These structures were compared with similar structures found in Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities. On morphology alone, we conclude that these features are not only terrestrial in origin but probably belong to a member of the Actinomycetales, which we consider was introduced during the Antarctic residency of this meteorite. If true, this is the first documented account of terrestrial microbial activity within a meteorite from the Antarctic blue ice fields. These structures, however, do not bear any resemblance to those postulated to be martian biota, although they are a probable source of the organic contaminants previously reported in this meteorite.     

Origin of a late Eocene to pre‐Miocene buried crater and breccia lens at Fohn‐1, North Bonaparte Basin,Timor Sea: A probable extraterrestrial connection

Abstract— Seismic reflection data and an at least 350 m thick, PGE‐rich carbonate breccia lens intersected by the Fohn‐1 exploration well in the Timor Sea off northern Australia, are interpreted in terms of a buried 4.8 km‐diameter impact crater of late Eocene to pre‐Miocene age. The crater displays the classic elements of impact structures, including a central uplift, ring syncline, and upraised rims. The presence in the breccia of redeposited Campanian and Maastrichtian microfossils suggests rebound of strata from levels deeper than 1250 m below the pre‐Miocene unconformity. Morphometric modelling suggests an original crater at least 1400 m deep, which is consistent with the excavation of Cretaceous strata. Stratigraphic and palaeontological evidence suggests that the impact occurred between 36 and 24.6 Ma. The breccia contains a pseudotachylite component enriched in the inert Pt group elements (PGE) (Ir, Ru) by factors of 5–12 above the values of common sediments. The more mobile PGE (Os, Pt, Pd) show a wide scatter and terrestrial‐type values. Opposite geochemical/stratigraphic trends pertain to different PGE species—the relatively inert Ir‐Ru group shows an overall concentration at the base of the section, whereas the more mobile Os shows peaks at median levels of the section—suggesting upward diagenetic leaching. The near‐chondritic PGE patterns at the base of the breccia pile are accompanied by near‐chondritic Ni/Cr, Co/Cr, Ni/Ir, Ni/Pt, and Cu/Pd ratios. Departure from these values related to alteration at higher levels in the breccia pile is accompanied with high S levels (～1%).