Delay of planet formation at large radius and the outward decrease in mass and gas content of Jovian planets

A prominent observation of the solar system is that the mass and gas content of Jovian planets decrease outward with orbital radius, except that, in terms of these properties, Neptune is almost the same as Uranus. In previous studies, the solar nebula was assumed to preexist and the formation process of the solar nebula was not considered. It was therefore assumed that planet formation at different radii started at the same time in the solar nebula. We show that planet formation at different radii does not start at the same time and is delayed at large radii. We suggest that this delay might be one of the factors that causes the outward decrease in the masses of Jovian planets. The nebula starts to form from its inner part because of the inside-out collapse of its progenitorial molecular cloud core. The nebula then expands outward due to viscosity. Material first reaches a small radius and then reaches a larger radius, so planet formation is delayed at the large radius. The later the material reaches a planet＇s location, the less time it has to gain mass and gas content. Hence, the delay tends to cause the outward decrease in mass and gas content of Jovian planets. Our nebula model shows that the material reaches Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune at t = 0.40, 0.57, 1.50 and 6.29 × 10^6 yr, respectively. We discuss the effects of time delay on the masses of Jovian planets in the framework of the core accretion model of planet formation. Saturn＇s formation is not delayed by much time relative to Jupiter so that they both reach the rapid gas accretion phase and become gas giants. However, the delay in formation of Uranus and Neptune is long and might be one of the factors that cause them not to reach the rapid gas accretion phase before the gas nebula is dispersed. Saturn has less time to go through the rapid gas accretion, so Saturn＇s mass and gas content are significantly less than those of Jupiter.

Volatile Depletion in Planet-Forming Disks

Newly born stars are surrounded by gas and dust with a attened axisymmetric distribution termed protoplanetary disk,in which planets are formed.Observations of these objects are necessary for understanding the formation and early evolution of stars and planets,and for revealing the composition of the raw material from which planets are made.Numerical models can extract important parameters from the observational data,including the gas and dust mass of the disk.These parameters are used as input for further modeling,e.g.,to calculate the chemical composition of the disk.A consistent thermochemical model should be able to reproduce the abundances of di erent species in the disk.However,this good wish has been challenged for many disks:models over-predict the emission line intensity of some species;namely,they are depleted(with respect to expectations from canonical models).In this review we show how this disparity indicates that dust evolution has signi cant e ects on gas chemistry,and may indicate the earliest stages of planet formation.

The effects of viscosity on circumplanetary disks

The effects of viscosity on the circumplanetary disks residing in the vicinity of protoplanets are investigated through two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with the shearing sheet model. We find that viscosity can considerably affect properties of the circumplanetary disk when the mass of the protoplanet Mp ~ 33 Me, where Me is the Earth＇s mass. However, effects of viscosity on the circumplanetary disk are negligibly small when the mass of the protoplanet Mp 〉 33 Me. We find that when Mp ~ 33 Me, viscosity can markedly disrupt the spiral structure of the gas around the planet and smoothly distribute the gas, which weakens the torques exerted on the protoplanet. Thus, viscosity can slow the migration speed of a protoplanet. After including viscosity, the size of the circumplanetary disk can be decreased by a factor of 〉~ 20%. Viscosity helps to transport gas into the circumplanetary disk from the differentially rotating circumstellar disk. The mass of the circumplanetary disk can be increased by a factor of 50% after viscosity is taken into account when Mp ~ 33 Me. Effects of viscosity on the formation of planets and satellites are briefly discussed.

Precession effects on a liquid planetary core

Motivated by the desire to understand the rich dynamics of precessionally driven flow in a liquid planetary core, we investigate, through numerical simulations, the precessing fluid motion in a ro- taring cylindrical annulus, which simultaneously possesses slow precession. The same problem has been studied extensively in cylinders, where the precessing flow is characterized by three key parameters： the Ekman number E, the Poincar6 number Po and the radius-height aspect ratio F. While in an annulus, there is another parameter, the inner-radius-height aspect ratio T, which also plays an important role in controlling the structure and evolution of the flow. By decomposing the nonlinear solution into a set of inertial modes, we demonstrate the properties of both weakly and moderately precessing flows. It is found that, when the precessional force is weak, the flow is stable with a constant amplitude of kinetic energy. As the precessional force increases, our simulation suggests that the nonlinear interaction be- tween the boundary effects and the inertial modes can trigger more turbulence, introducing a transitional regime of rich dynamics to disordered flow. The inertial mode u111, followed by u113 or u112, always dominates the precessing flow when 0.001 ≤Po ≤ 0.05, ranging from weak to moderate precession. Moreover, the precessing flow in an annulus shows more stability than in a cylinder which is likely to be caused by the effect of the inner boundary that restricts the growth of resonant and non-resonant inertial modes. Furthermore, the mechanism of triadic resonance is not found in the transitional regime from a laminar to disordered flow.

Gap formation in a self-gravitating disk and the associated migration of the embedded giant planet

We present the results of our recent study on the interactions between a giant planet and a self-gravitating gas disk. We investigate how the disk＇s self-gravity affects the gap formation process and the migration of the giant planet. Two series of 1-D and 2-D hydrodynamic simulations are performed. We select several surface densities and focus on the gravitationally stable region. To obtain more reliable gravity torques exerted on the planet, a refined treatment of the disk＇s gravity is adopted in the vicinity of the planet. Our results indicate that the net effect of the disk＇s self- gravity on the gap formation process depends on the surface density of the disk. We notice that there are two critical values, ∑I and ∑n. When the surface density of the disk is lower than the first one,∑0 〈 ∑I, the effect of self-gravity suppresses the formation of a gap. When ∑0 〉 ∑I, the self-gravity of the gas tends to benefit the gap formation process and enlarges the width/depth of the gap. According to our 1-D and 2-D simulations, we estimate the first critical surface density to be ∑I ≈ 0.8 MMSN. This effect increases until the surface density reaches the second critical value ∑n- When ∑0 〉 ∑n, the gravitational turbulence in the disk becomes dominant and the gap formation process is suppressed again. Our 2-D simulations show that this critical surface density is around 3.5 MMSN. We also study the associated orbital evolution of a giant planet. Under the effect of the disk＇s self-gravity, the migration rate of the giant planet increases when the disk is dominated by gravitational turbulence. We show that the migration timescale correlates with the effective viscosity and can be up to 104 yr.

Estimation of lunar FeO abundance based on imaging by LRO Diviner

Understanding the abundance and distribution characteristics of FeO on the surface of the Moon is important for investigating its evolution. The current high resolution maps of the global FeO abundance are mostly produced with visible and near infrared reflectance spectra. The Christiansen Feature （CF） in mid-infrared has strong sensitivity to lunar minerals and correlates to major elements composing minerals. This paper investigates the possibility of mapping global FeO abundance using the CF values from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter （LRO） mission. A high correlation between the CF values and FeO abundances from the Apollo samples was found. Based on this high correlation, a new global map （±60°） of FeO was produced using the CF map. The results show that the global FeO average is 8.2 wt.%, the highland average is 4.7 wt.%, the global modal abundance is 5.4 wt.% and the lunar mare mode is 15.7 wt.%. These results are close to those derived from data provided by Clementine, the Lunar Prospector Gamma Ray Spectrometer （LP-GRS） and the Chang＇e-1 Interference Imaging Spectrometer （IIM）, demonstrating the feasibility of estimating FeO abundance based on the Diviner CF data. The near global FeO abundance map shows an enrichment of lunar major elements.

利用修正高斯模型分析Q型近地小行星表面矿物光谱特征

利用Sunshine等人基于实验室标准矿物光谱提出的修正高斯模型(Modified Gaussian Model,MGM),对8颗Q型近地小行星的反射光谱进行分析,得到了所研究的Q型小行星表面主要矿物是斜方辉石和单斜辉石的结论,估算了单斜辉石的丰度,对3753号小行星呈现出的表面单斜辉石丰度很低的现象进行了分析.

Mars geodesy,rotation and gravity

This review provides explanations of how geodesy, rotation and gravity can be addressed using radioscience data of an orbiter around a planet or of the lander on its surface. The planet Mars is the center of the discussion. The information one can get from orbitography and radioscience in general concerns the global static gravitational field, the time variation of the gravitational field induced by mass exchange between the atmosphere and the ice caps, the time variation of the gravitational field induced by the tides, the secular changes in the spacecraft＇s orbit induced by the little moons of Mars named Phobos and Deimos, the gravity induced by particular targets, the Martian ephemerides, and Mars＇ rotation and orientation. The paper addresses as well the determination of the geophysical parameters of Mars and, in particular, the state of Mars＇ core and its size, which is important for understanding the planet＇s evolution. Indeed, the state and dimension of the core determined from the moment of inertia and nutation depend in turn on the percentage of light elements in the core as well as on the core temperature, which is related to heat transport in the mantle. For example, the radius of the core has implications for possible mantle convection scenarios and, in particular, for the presence of a perovskite phase transition at the bottom of the mantle. This is also important for our understanding of the large volcanic province Tharsis on the surface of Mars.

Geology of Mars after the first 40 years of exploration

The knowledge of Martian geology has increased enormously in the last 40 yr. Several missions orbiting or roving Mars have revolutionized our understanding of its evolution and geological features, which in several ways are similar to Earth, but are extremely different in many respects. The impressive dichotomy between the two Martian hemispheres is most likely linked to its impact cratering history, rather than internal dynamics such as on Earth. Mars＇ volcanism has been extensive, very longlived and rather constant in its setting. Water was available in large quantities in the distant past of Mars, when a magnetic field and more vigorous tectonics were active. Exogenic forces have been shaping Martian landscapes and have led to a plethora of landscapes shaped by wind, water and ice. Mars＇ dynamical behavior continues, with its climatic variation affecting climate and geology until very recent times. This paper tries to summarize major highlights in Mars＇ Geology, and points to deeper and more extensive sources of important scientific contributions and future exploration.

Mutual eclipses of J2 Europa by J1 Io observed at Yunnan Observatory in 2009

Mutual events between natural satellites include mutual occultation and mutual eclipse. Mutual eclipse is another kind of mutual occultation as viewed from the center of the Sun instead of the Earth. Two mutual eclipses of J2 Europa by J1 Io （2009 Aug. 28 and Sept. 12） were observed at Yunnan Observatory during the PHEMU09 international campaign. We will calculate the astrometric data of these Galilean satellites by analyzing and fitting the light curves we obtained. The limb-darkening was considered during modeling the light intensity of eclipsed satellites in the penumbra zone, by taking the Lommel-Seeliger scattering law into account. Several dynamical quantifies, such as the relative coordinates of the eclipsing satellite from the eclipsed one △α cos δ and △δ, impact parameter and mid-time corresponding to the impact parameter and the deviations O - C of observed △α cos d and △δ relative to ephemerides, were obtained for each event respectively.

Periodic orbits around areostationary points in the Martian gravity field

This study investigates the problem of areostationary orbits around Mars in three-dimensional space. Areostationary orbits are expected to be used to establish a future telecommunication network for the exploration of Mars. However, no artificial satellites have been placed in these orbits thus far. The characteristics of the Martian gravity field are presented, and areostationary points and their linear stability are cal- culated. By taking linearized solutions in the planar case as the initial guesses and utilizing the Levenberg-Marquardt method, families of periodic orbits around areo- stationary points are shown to exist. Short-period orbits and long-period orbits are found around linearly stable areostationary points, but only short-period orbits are found around unstable areostationary points. Vertical periodic orbits around both lin- early stable and unstable areostationary points are also examined. Satellites in these periodic orbits could depart from areostationary points by a few degrees in longitude, which would facilitate observation of the Martian topography. Based on the eigenval- ues of the monodromy matrix, the evolution of the stability index of periodic orbits is determined. Finally, heteroclinic orbits connecting the two unstable areostationary points are found, providing the possibility for orbital transfer with minimal energy consumption.

Research career of an astronomer who has studied celestial mechanics

Celestial mechanics has been a classical field of astronomy. Only a few astronomers were in this field and not so many papers on this subject had been published during the first half of the 20th century. However, as the beauty of classical dynamics and celestial mechanics attracted me very much, I decided to take celestial mechanics as my research subject and entered university, where a very famous professor of celestial mechanics was a member of the faculty. Then as artificial satellites were launched starting from October 1958, new topics were investigated in the field of celestial mechanics. Moreover, planetary rings, asteroids with moderate values of eccentricity, inclination and so on have become new fields of celestial mechanics. In fact I have tried to solve such problems in an analytical way. Finally, to understand what gravitation is I joined the TAMA300 gravitational wave detector group.

Determining proportions of lunar crater populations by fitting crater size distribution

We determine the proportions of two mixed crater populations distinguishable by size distributions on the Moon. A ＂multiple power-law＂ model is built to formulate crater size distribution N（D） ∝ D-αwhose slope α varies with crater diameter D. This model is then used to fit size distributions of lunar highland craters and Class 1 craters. The former is characterized by α = 1.17 ± 0.04, 1.88 ± 0.07,3.17 ± 0.10 and 1.40 ± 0.15 for D ranges ~ 10- 49, 49- 120, 120- 251 and ~ 251- 2500 km, while the latter has a single slope α = 1.96 ± 0.14 for about 10- 100 km. They are considered as Population 1 and2 crater size distributions, whose sum is then fitted to the global size distribution of lunar craters with D between 10 and 100 km. Estimated crater densities of Population 1 and 2 are 44 × 10-5and 5 × 10-5km-2respectively, leading to the proportion of the latter being 10%. This result underlines the need for more thoroughly investigating Population 1 craters and their related impactors, the primordial main-belt asteroids, which dominated the late heavy bombardment.

The silicate and carbon-rich models of CoRoT-7b,Kepler-9d and Kepler-10b

Possible bulk compositions of the super-Earth exoplanets CoRoT-7b, Kepler-9d, and Kepler-10b are investigated by applying a commonly used silicate model and a non-standard carbon model. Their internal structures are deduced using a suitable equation of state for the materials. The degeneracy problems of their compo- sitions can be partly overcome, based on the fact that all three planets are extremely close to their host stars. By analyzing the numerical results, we conclude： 1） the iron core of CoRoT-7b is not more than 27% of its total mass within lc~ mass-radius error bars, so an Earth-like composition is less likely, but its carbon rich model can be com- patible with an Earth-like core/mantle mass fraction; 2） Kepler-10b is more likely to have a Mercury-like composition, with its old age implying that its high iron content may be a result of strong solar wind or giant impact; 3） the transiting-only super-Earth Kepler-9d is also discussed. Combining its possible composition with the formation theory, we can place some constraints on its mass and bulk composition.

Electron content near the lunar surface using dual-frequency VLBI tracking data in a single lunar orbiter mission

In VLBI observations of Vstar, a subsatellite of the Japanese lunar mission SELENE, there were opportunities for lunar grazing occultation when Vstar was very close to the limb of the Moon. This kind of chance made it possible to probe the thin plasma layer above the Moon＇s surface as a meaningful by-product of VLBI, by using the radio occultation method with coherent radio waves from the S/X bands. The dual-frequency measurements were carried out at Earth-based VLBI stations. In the line-of-sight direction between the satellite and the ground-based tracking station where VLBI measurements were made, the effects of the terrestrial ionosphere, interplanetary plasma and the thin lunar ionosphere mixed together in the combined observables of dual-frequency Doppler shift and phase shift. To separate the variation of the ionospheric total electron content （TEC） near the surface of the Moon from the mixed signal, the influences of the terrestrial ionosphere and interplanetary plasma have been removed by using an extrapolation method based on a short-term trend. The lunar TEC is estimated from the dual-frequency observation for Vstar from UT 22：18 to UT 22：20 on 2008 June 28 at several tracking stations. The TEC results obtained from VLBI sites are identical, however, they are not as remarkable as the result obtained at the Usuda deep space tracking station.

Ionospheric inversion of the Venus Express radio occultation data observed by Shanghai 25m and New Norcia 35m antennas

Electron density profiles of Venus＇ ionosphere are inverted from the Venus Express （VEX） one-way open-loop radio occultation experiments carried out by the Shanghai 25 m antenna from November 2011 to January 2012 at solar maximum conditions and by the New Norcia 35 m antenna from August 2006 to June 2008 at solar intermediate conditions. The electron density profile （from 110 km to 400 km）, retrieved from the X-band egress observation at the Shanghai station, shows a single peak near 147 km with a peak density of about 2 × 10^4 cm-3 at a solar zenith angle of 94° As a comparison, the VEX radio science （VeRa） observations at the New Norcia station were also examined, including S- and X-band and dual-frequency data in the ingress mode. The results show that the electron density profiles retrieved from the S-band data are more analogous to the dual-frequency data in terms of the profile shape, compared with the X-band data. Generally, the S-band results slightly underestimate the magnitude of the peak density, while the X-band results overestimate it. The discrepancy in the X-band profile is probably due to the relatively larger unmod- eled orbital errors. It is also expected that the ionopause height is sensitive to the solar wind dynamical pressure in high and intermediate solar activities, usually in the range of 200-1000 km on the dayside and much higher on the nightside. Structural variations （＂bulges＂ and fluctuations） can be found in the electron density profiles during intermediate solar activity, which may be caused by the interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere. Considerable ionizations can be observed in Venus＇ nightside ionosphere, which are unexpected for the Martian nightside ionosphere in most cases.

An improved solution to geometric distortion using an orthogonal method

The geometric distortion of a CCD field of view has a direct influence on the positional measurements of CCD observations. In order to obtain high precision astrometric results, the geometric distortion should be derived and corrected precisely. As presented in our previous work, a convenient solution has been carried out and has also been applied to observations of Phoebe. In order to fur- ther improve the solution, an orthogonal method based on Zernike polynomials is used in this work. Four nights of CCD observations including Himalia, the sixth satellite of Jupiter, and open clusters （NGC 1664 or NGC 2324） on each night have been processed as an application. The observations were obtained from the 2.4 m telescope administered by Yunnan Observatories. The catalog UCAC4 was used to match reference stars in all of the CCD frames. The ephemeris of Himalia is retrieved from the Institut de M6canique C61este et de Calcul des Ephemerides （IMCCE）. Our results show that the means of observed minus calculated （O - C） positional residuals are -0.034 and -0.026 arcsec in right ascension and declination, respectively. The corresponding standard deviations are 0.031＂ and 0.028＂. The measurement dispersion is significantly improved compared to that by using our previous solution.

Preliminary results of CCD observations targeting Himalia acquired at Yunnan Observatories in 2015

In order to study the potential associated with high precision CCD astrometry of irregular satel- lites, we have acquired experimental observations of Himalia, the sixth and irregular satellite of Jupiter. A total of 185 CCD observations were obtained by using the 2.4m and 1 m telescopes administered by Yunnan Observatories over ten nights. Preliminary analysis of the observations were made, including geo- metric distortion, atmospheric refraction, and also the phase effect. All positions of Himalia are measured relative to the reference stars from the catalog UCAC4 in each CCD field of view. The theoretical positions of Himalia were retrieved from the Institute de M6chanique C61este et de Calcul des t^ph6m6rides, while the positions of Jupiter were obtained based on the planetary ephemeris INPOP13c. The results show that the means of observed minus computed （O - C） residuals are -0.004＂ and -0.002＂ in right ascension and declination, respectively. The standard deviations of （O - C） residuals are estimated to be about 0.04＂ in each direction.

Global Mg/Si and Al/Si Distributions on the Lunar Surface Derived from Chang'E-2 X-ray Spectrometer

The technique of X-ray fluorescence remote sensing plays a significant role in research related to the chemical compositions of the Moon. Here we describe the data analysis method for China＇s Chang＇E-2 X-ray spectrometer in detail and present the preliminary results about the first global Mg/Si and Al/Si maps of the lunar surface. Our results show that the distributions of Mg/Si and Al/Si correlate well with terrains on the Moon. The higher Mg/Si ratio corresponds to the mare regions while the lower value corresponds to the highland terrains. The map of the Al/Si ratio shows a reversed distribution compared with the map of the Mg/Si ratio.