Martin Pätzold

On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.

Where are the massive close-in extrasolar planets?

About 68 extrasolar planets around main-sequence stars of spectral types F, G, and K have been discovered up to now. The minimum masses (Mp sin i) of these planets are ranging from fractions of a Jupiter mass (MJ) to 15 MJ. The semimajor axes of the planetary orbits range from 0.04 out to 4 AU. At large semimajor axes, only massive planets have been discovered because of observational selection effects. For semimajor axes less than 0.1 AU, however, there seems to be an observational lack of very massive planets (>1 MJ). Here we explain the absence of massive planets at these distances by tidal interactions between planets and their central star that lead to a rapid decay of a planetary orbit toward the Roche zone of the star within a short timescale. A higher metallicity of planet-bearing stars and the recent discovery of a 6Li excess of a G0 star might further indicate that planets can indeed get lost in their host stars.

Dust devils on Mars observed by the High Resolution Stereo Camera

Fourteen active dust devils were observed by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on Mars Express, which enable the first analysis of the forward speed of dust devils on Mars determined from orbit. Results show speeds on the order of 20 m/s, which compares favorably with values of the wind profiles estimated from the Martian Climate Database for higher altitudes. Smaller dust devils of 1 km height and very small diameters were found moving only at 1.5 to 6.0 m/s in agreement with surface wind speeds.

Fine-Scale Filamentary Structure in Coronal Streamers

Doppler scintillation measurements of a coronal streamer lasting several solar rotations have been conducted by Ulysses in 1991 over a heliocentric distance range of 14-77 R0. By showing that the solar corona is filamentary, and that Doppler frequency is the radio counterpart of white-light eclipse pictures processed to enhance spatial gradients, it is demonstrated that Doppler scintillation measurements provide the high spatial resolution that has long eluded white-light coronagraph measurements. The region of enhanced scintillation, spanning an angular extent of 18 in heliographic longitude, coincides with the radially expanding streamer stalk and represents filamentary structure with scale sizes at least as small as 340 km (05) when extrapolated to the Sun. Within the stalk of the streamer, the fine-scale structure corresponding to scale sizes in the range of 20-340 km at the Sun and associated with closed magnetic fields amounts to a few percent of the mean density, while outside the stalk, the fine-scale structure associated with open fields is an order of magnitude lower. Clustering of filamentary structure that takes place within the stalk of the streamer is suggestive of multiple current sheets. Comparison with ISEE 3 in situ plasma measurements shows that significant evolution resulting from dynamic interaction with increasing heliocentric distance takes place by the time streamers reach Earth orbit.

Interplay of tidal evolution and stellar wind braking in the rotation of stars hosting massive close-in planets

This paper deals with the application of the creep tide theory (Ferraz-Mello, Cel. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 116, 109, 2013) to the study of the rotation of stars hosting massive close-in planets. The stars have nearly the same tidal relaxation factors as gaseous planets and the evolution of their rotation is similar to that of close-in hot Jupiters: they tidally evolve towards a stationary solution. However, stellar rotation may also be affected by stellar wind braking. Thus, while the rotation of a quiet host star evolves towards a stationary attractor with a frequency (1 + 6e 2 ) times the orbital mean-motion of the companion, the continuous loss of angular momentum in an active star displaces the stationary solution towards slower values: Active host stars with big close-in companions tend to have rotational periods larger than the orbital periods of their companions. The study of some hypothetical examples shows that because of tidal evolution, the rules of gyrochronology cannot be used to estimate the age of one system with a large close-in companion, no matter if the star is quiet or active, if the current semi-major axis of the companion is smaller than 0.03–0.04 AU. Details on the evolution of the systems: CoRoT LRc06E21637, CoRoT-27, Kepler-75, CoRoT-2, CoRoT-18, CoRoT-14 and on hypothetical systems with 1–4 MJup-planets in orbit around a star similar to the Sun are given.

OUTFLOW STRUCTURE OF THE QUIET SUN CORONA PROBED BY SPACECRAFT RADIO SCINTILLATIONS IN STRONG SCATTERING

Radio scintillation observations have been unable to probe flow speeds in the low corona where the scattering of radio waves is exceedingly strong. Here we estimate outflow speeds continuously from the vicinity of the Sun to the outer corona (heliocentric distances of 1.5-20.5 solar radii) by applying the strong scattering theory to radio scintillations for the first time, using the Akatsuki spacecraft as the radio source. Small, nonzero outflow speeds were observed over a wide latitudinal range in the quiet-Sun low corona, suggesting that the supply of plasma from closed loops to the solar wind occurs over an extended area. The existence of power-law density fluctuations down to the scale of 100 m was suggested, which is indicative of well-developed turbulence which can play a key role in heating the corona. At higher altitudes, a rapid acceleration typical of radial open fields is observed, and the temperatures derived from the speed profile show a distinct maximum in the outer corona. This study opened up a possibility of observing detailed flow structures near the Sun from a vast amount of existing interplanetary scintillation data.

K2-106, a system containing a metal-rich planet and a planet of lower density

Planets in the mass range from 2 to 15 M_Earth are very diverse. Some of them have low densities, while others are very dense. By measuring the masses and radii, the mean densities, structure, and composition of the planets are constrained. These parameters also give us important information about their formation and evolution, and about possible processes for atmospheric loss.We determined the masses, radii, and mean densities for the two transiting planets orbiting K2-106. The inner planet has an ultra-short period of 0.57 days. The period of the outer planet is 13.3 days. Although the two planets have similar masses, their densities are very different. For K2-106b we derive Mb=8.36-0.94+0.96 M_Earh, Rb=1.52+/-0.16 R_Earth, and a high density of 13.1-3.6+5.4 g/cm^3. For K2-106c, we find Mc=5.8-3.0+3.3 M_Earth, Rc=2.50-0.26+0.27 R_Earth and a relatively low density of 2.0-1.1+1.6 g/cm^3.Since the system contains two planets of almost the same mass, but different distances from the host star, it is an excellent laboratory to study atmospheric escape. In agreement with the theory of atmospheric-loss processes, it is likely that the outer planet has a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. The mass and radius of the inner planet is in agreement with theoretical models predicting an iron core containing 80+20-30% of its mass. Such a high metal content is surprising, particularly given that the star has an ordinary (solar) metal abundance. We discuss various possible formation scenarios for this unusual planet.

Measurement of the propagation speed of plasma inhomogeneities in the solar corona using an uplink/downlink cross‐correlation method

Radio sounding investigations were performed over a period of about 30 days during the 1991 solar occultation of the Ulysses spacecraft (August and September 1991). Dual-frequency Doppler and ranging measurements were obtained using the NASA Deep Space Network. For this experiment the radio ray path from Ulysses to Earth moved essentially parallel to the solar equator, sounding the circumsolar plasma on the east (ingress phase) and west (egress phase) solar limbs at solar offset distances from about 4 to 40 RS (solar radii). Dual-frequency, two-way Doppler data were used to determine the propagation speed of coronal plasma inhomogeneities by cross-correlation analysis between the uplink and downlink ray paths. The motion of Earth and spacecraft with respect to Sun results in a spatial separation (typically 20,000 km) between the uplink and downlink ray path during the round-trip travel time of the signal. The specific configuration of the Ulysses radio system (dual-frequency S/X band downlinks coherently locked to a S band uplink) provides the means for separating the uplink and downlink plasma contributions. The propagation speed of plasma inhomogeneities intersecting both ray paths can be determined by computing the cross-correlation of the Doppler data from both ray paths as a function of time lag. The time lag of maximum cross-correlation was used to calculate the propagation speed of plasma inhomogeneities. By evaluating the Ulysses data using this uplink and downlink cross-correlation method, significant cross-correlation peaks were obtained in the range of 7 to 34 RS. A high symmetry of the propagation speeds for both sides of the solar limb was found. An increase in propagation speed with increasing solar distance can be seen, starting from about 50 km/s at a distance of 7 RS up to 390 km/s at a distance of 29.7 RS (east) and from about 120 km/s at 9.8 RS up to 415 km/s at 33.8 RS (west). A significant enhancement (550–660 km/s) was observed at a distance of about 18 RS on both sides of the solar limb due to a solar event still being investigated.

An estimate of large-scale solar wind density and velocity profiles in a coronal hole and the coronal streamer belt

With the use of the total electron content data obtained by the Ulysses Solar Corona Experiment (SCE) during the first solar conjunction in summer 1991, two data sets were selected, one associated with a coronal hole and the other associated with coronal streamer belt crossings. To determine a large-scale coronal streamer belt density profile, the electron content of the tracking passes embedded in the coronal streamer belt were corrected for the contributions from coronal hole densities. The inferred large-scale streamer belt electron density profile has a radial falloff exponent of -2.4 for distances greater than 7 R s implying the acceleration of the slow solar wind according to v(r) ∼ r 0.4 , in qualitative agreement with SOHO results. The acceleration terminates beyond 60 R s in agreement with Helios in situ observations. All radial electron density profiles inferred from coronal radio sounding observations, particularly during times of high solar activity, are dominated by coronal streamer contributions. They are applicable to coronal streamers, confined to a limited latitude range about the heliospheric current sheet, and they are not representative of a large-scale mean coronal electron density profile. Because of a lack of data, similar analysis of the coronal hole electron content data was not unequivocally feasible. The coronal hole tracking passes corrected for contributions from coronal streamer areas display large electron content and density fluctuations inconsisting with the plume interpretation by Woo [1996]. Assuming that the lowest densities represent typical hole densities and comparing these with streamer densities at the same distance, we found the streamer-to-hole density ratio to be a factor of 10, which agrees with white light coronagraph results.

K2-98b: A 32 M Neptune-size Planet in a 10 Day Orbit Transiting an F8 Star

We report the discovery of K2-98b (EPIC 211391664b), a transiting Neptune-size planet monitored by the K2 mission during its Campaign 5. We combine the K2 time-series data with ground-based photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations to confirm the planetary nature of the object and derive its mass, radius, and orbital parameters. K2-98b is a warm Neptune-like planet in a 10 day orbit around a V = 12.2 mag F-type star with M ? = 1.074 ±0.042 M o, R ? = R o, and age of . We derive a planetary mass and radius of M p = 32.2 ±8.1 M ? and R p = R ?. K2-98b joins the relatively small group of Neptune-size planets whose mass and radius have been derived with a precision better than 25%. We estimate that the planet will be engulfed by its host star in ?3 Gyr, due to the evolution of the latter toward the red giant branch.