arXiv subjects

Franck Hersant

Publications and source records attributed to Franck Hersant.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

First Detection of the Simplest Organic Acid in a Protoplanetary Disk

The formation of asteroids, comets and planets occurs in the interior of protoplanetary disks during the early phase of star formation. Consequently, the chemical composition of the disk might shape the properties of the emerging planetary system. In this context, it is crucial to understand whether and what organic molecules are synthesized in the disk. In this Letter, we report the first detection of formic acid (HCOOH) towards the TW Hydrae protoplanetary disk. The observations of the trans-HCOOH 6$_{(1,6)-5(1,5)}$ transition were carried out at 129~GHz with ALMA. We measured a disk-averaged gas-phase t-HCOOH column density of $\sim$ (2-4)$\times$10$^{12}$~cm$^{-2}$, namely as large as that of methanol. HCOOH is the first organic molecules containing two oxygen atoms detected in a protoplanetary disk, a proof that organic chemistry is very active even though difficult to observe in these objects. Specifically, this simplest acid stands as the basis for synthesis of more complex carboxylic acids used by life on Earth.

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arXiv2018

Photochemistry, mixing and transport in Jupiter's stratosphere constrained by Cassini

We aim at constraining the diffusive and advective transport processes in Jupiter's stratosphere. The IR spectrum recorded by Cassini/CIRS during the Jupiter flyby contains the fingerprints of several atmospheric compounds and allows probing its atmospheric composition. C2H2 and C2H6, the main compounds produced by methane photochemistry, were retrieved as a function of latitude at certain pressure levels. CIRS observations suggest a different meridional distribution for these two species, difficult to reconcile with their photochemical histories, which are thought to be coupled to the methane photolysis. While the C2H2 abundance decreases with latitude, C2H6 becomes more abundant at high latitudes. A new 2D (latitude-altitude) seasonal photochemical model is developed to study whether the addition of stratospheric transport processes, such as meridional diffusion and advection, can explain the latitudinal behavior of C2H2 and C2H6. C2H2 observations are fairly well reproduced without meridional diffusion. Adding meridional diffusion to the model provides an improved agreement with the C2H6 observations by flattening its meridional distribution, but degrades the fit to the C2H2 distribution. Meridional diffusion alone cannot produce the observed increase with latitude of C2H6. When adding advective transport between 30 mbar and 0.01 mbar, with upwelling winds at the equator and downwelling winds at high latitudes, we can reproduce the C2H6 abundance increase with latitude. However, the fit to the C2H2 distribution is degraded. The strength of the advective winds needed to reproduce the C2H6 abundances is very sensitive to the value of the meridional eddy diffusion coefficient. The coupled fate of C2H2 and C2H6 suggests that an additional process is missing in the model. Ion-neutral chemistry was not accounted for in this work and might be a good candidate to solve this issue.

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arXiv2017

Breaking the Chains: Hot Super-Earth systems from migration and disruption of compact resonant chains

"Hot super-Earths" (or "Mini-Neptunes") between 1 and 4 times Earth's size with period shorter than 100 days orbit 30-50\% of Sun-like type stars. Their orbital configuration -- measured as the period ratio distribution of adjacent planets in multi-planet systems -- is a strong constraint for formation models. Here we use N-body simulations with synthetic forces from an underlying evolving gaseous disk to model the formation and long-term dynamical evolution of super-Earth systems. While the gas disk is present, planetary embryos grow and migrate inward to form a resonant chain anchored at the inner edge of the disk. These resonant chains are far more compact than the observed super-Earth systems. Once the gas dissipates resonant chains may become dynamically unstable. They undergo a phase of giant impacts that spreads the systems out. Disk turbulence has no measurable effect on the outcome. Our simulations match observations if a small fraction of resonant chains remain stable, while most super-Earths undergo a late dynamical instability. Our statistical analysis restricts the contribution of stable systems to less than $25\%$. Our results also suggest that the large fraction of observed single planet systems does not necessarily imply any dichotomy in the architecture of planetary systems. Finally, we use the low abundance of resonances in Kepler data to argue that, in reality, the survival of resonant chains happens likely only in $\sim 5\%$ of the cases. This leads to a mystery: in our simulations only 50-60\% of resonant chains became unstable whereas at least 75\% (and probably 90-95\%) must be unstable to match observations.

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arXiv2017

Thermochemistry and vertical mixing in the tropospheres of Uranus and Neptune: How convection inhibition can affect the derivation of deep oxygen abundances

Thermochemical models have been used in the past to constrain the deep oxygen abundance in the gas and ice giant planets from tropospheric CO spectroscopic measurements. Knowing the oxygen abundance of these planets is a key to better understand their formation. These models have widely used dry and/or moist adiabats to extrapolate temperatures from the measured values in the upper troposphere down to the level where the thermochemical equilibrium between H$_2$O and CO is established. The mean molecular mass gradient produced by the condensation of H$_2$O stabilizes the atmosphere against convection and results in a vertical thermal profile and H$_2$O distribution that departs significantly from previous estimates. We revisit O/H estimates using an atmospheric structure that accounts for the inhibition of the convection by condensation. We use a thermochemical network and the latest observations of CO in Uranus and Neptune to calculate the internal oxygen enrichment required to satisfy both these new estimates of the thermal profile and the observations. We also present the current limitations of such modeling.

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arXiv2016

Condensation-inhibited convection in hydrogen-rich atmospheres: Stability against double-diffusive processes and thermal profiles for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

In an atmosphere, a cloud condensation region is characterized by a strong vertical gradient in the abundance of the related condensing species. On Earth, the ensuing gradient of mean molecular weight has relatively few dynamical consequences because N$_2$ is heavier than water vapor, so that only the release of latent heat significantly impacts convection. On the contrary, in an hydrogen dominated atmosphere (e.g. giant planets), all condensing species are significantly heavier than the background gas. This can stabilize the atmosphere against convection near a cloud deck if the enrichment in the given species exceeds a critical threshold. This raises two questions. What is transporting energy in such a stabilized layer, and how affected can the thermal profile of giant planets be? To answer these questions, we first carry out a linear analysis of the convective and double-diffusive instabilities in a condensable medium showing that an efficient condensation can suppress double-diffusive convection. This suggests that a stable radiative layer can form near a cloud condensation level, leading to an increase in the temperature of the deep adiabat. Then, we investigate the impact of the condensation of the most abundant species---water---with a steady-state atmosphere model. Compared to standard models, the temperature increase can reach several hundred degrees at the quenching depth of key chemical tracers. Overall, this effect could have many implications for our understanding of the dynamical and chemical state of the atmosphere of giant planets, for their future observations (with Juno for example), and for their internal evolution.

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arXiv2016

Gas and grain chemical composition in cold cores as predicted by the Nautilus 3-phase model

We present an extended version of the 2-phase gas-grain code NAUTILUS to the 3-phase modelling of gas and grain chemistry of cold cores. In this model, both the mantle and the surface are considered as chemically active. We also take into account the competition among reaction, diffusion and evaporation. The model predictions are confronted to ice observations in the envelope of low-mass and massive young stellar objects as well as toward background stars. Modelled gas-phase abundances are compared to species observed toward TMC-1 (CP) and L134N dark clouds. We find that our model successfully reproduces the observed ice species. It is found that the reaction-diffusion competition strongly enhances reactions with barriers and more specifically reactions with H2, which is abundant on grains. This finding highlights the importance to have a good approach to determine the abundance of H2 on grains. Consequently, it is found that the major N-bearing species on grains go from NH3 to N2 and HCN when the reaction-diffusion competition is accounted. In the gas-phase and before few 10^5 yrs, we find that the 3-phase model does not have a strong impact on the observed species compared to the 2-phase model. After this time, the computed abundances dramatically decrease due to the strong accretion on dust, which is not counterbalanced by the desorption less efficient than in the 2-phase model. This strongly constrains the chemical-age of cold cores to be of the order of few 10^5 yrs.

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arXiv2015

Mercury-T: A new code to study tidally evolving multi-planet systems. Applications to Kepler-62

A large proportion of observed planetary systems contain several planets in a compact orbital configuration, and often harbor at least one close-in object. These systems are then most likely tidally evolving. We investigate how the effects of planet-planet interactions influence the tidal evolution of planets. We introduce for that purpose a new open-source addition to the Mercury N-body code, Mercury-T, which takes into account tides, general relativity and the effect of rotation-induced flattening in order to simulate the dynamical and tidal evolution of multi-planet systems. It uses a standard equilibrium tidal model, the constant time lag model. Besides, the evolution of the radius of several host bodies has been implemented (brown dwarfs, M-dwarfs of mass $0.1~M_\odot$, Sun-like stars, Jupiter). We validate the new code by comparing its output for one-planet systems to the secular equations results. We find that this code does respect the conservation of total angular momentum. We applied this new tool to the planetary system Kepler-62. We find that tides influence the stability of the system in some cases. We also show that while the four inner planets of the systems are likely to have slow rotation rates and small obliquities, the fifth planet could have a fast rotation rate and a high obliquity. This means that the two habitable zone planets of this system, Kepler-62e ad f are likely to have very different climate features, and this of course would influence their potential at hosting surface liquid water.

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arXiv2015

Accretion of Uranus and Neptune from inward-migrating planetary embryos blocked by Jupiter and Saturn

Reproducing Uranus and Neptune remains a challenge for simulations of solar system formation. The ice giants' peculiar obliquities suggest that they both suffered giant collisions during their formation. Thus, there must have been an epoch of accretion dominated by collisions among large planetary embryos in the primordial outer solar system. We test this idea using N-body numerical simulations including the effects of a gaseous protoplanetary disk. One strong constraint is that the masses of the ice giants are very similar -- the Neptune/Uranus mass ratio is $\sim1.18$. We show that similar-size ice giants do indeed form by collisions between planetary embryos beyond Saturn. The fraction of successful simulations varies depending on the initial number of planetary embryos in the system, their individual and total masses. Similar-sized ice giants are consistently reproduced in simulations starting with 5-10 planetary embryos with initial masses of $\sim$3-6 ${\rm M_\oplus}$. We conclude that accretion from a population of planetary embryos is a plausible scenario for the origin of Uranus and Neptune.

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arXiv2015

2D photochemical modeling of Saturn's stratosphere. Part I: Seasonal variation of atmospheric composition without meridional transport

Saturn's axial tilt of 26.7° produces seasons in a similar way as on Earth. Both the stratospheric temperature and composition are affected by this latitudinally varying insolation along Saturn's orbital path. A new time dependent 2D photochemical model is presented to study the seasonal evolution of Saturn's stratospheric composition. This study focuses on the impact of the seasonally variable thermal field on the main stratospheric C2 hydrocarbon chemistry (C2H2 and C2H6) using a realistic radiative climate model. Meridional mixing and advective processes are implemented in the model but turned off in the present study for the sake of simplicity. The results are compared to a simple study case where a latitudinally and temporally steady thermal field is assumed. Our simulations suggest that, when the seasonally variable thermal field is accounted for, the downward diffusion of the seasonally produced hydrocarbons is faster due to the seasonal compression of the atmospheric column during winter. This effect increases with increasing latitudes which experience the most important thermal changes in the course of the seasons. The seasonal variability of C2H2 and C2H6 therefore persists at higher-pressure levels with a seasonally-variable thermal field. Cassini limb-observations of C2H2 and C2H6 (Guerlet et al., 2009) are reasonably well-reproduced from the equator to 40° in both hemispheres

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arXiv2015

Evidence for DCO+ as a probe of ionization in the warm disk surface

In this Letter we model the chemistry of DCO$^{+}$ in protoplanetary disks. We find that the overall distribution of the DCO$^{+}$ abundance is qualitatively similar to that of CO but is dominated by thin layer located at the inner disk surface. To understand its distribution, we investigate the different key gas-phase deuteration pathways that can lead to the formation of DCO$^{+}$. Our analysis shows that the recent update in the exothermicity of the reaction involving CH$_2$D$^{+}$ as a parent molecule of DCO$^{+}$ favors deuterium fractionation in warmer conditions. As a result the formation of DCO$^{+}$ is enhanced in the inner warm surface layers of the disk where X-ray ionization occurs. Our analysis points out that DCO$^{+}$ is not a reliable tracer of the CO snow line as previously suggested. We thus predict that DCO$^{+}$ is a tracer of active deuterium and in particular X-ray ionization of the inner disk.

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arXiv2015

Gas giant planets as dynamical barriers to inward-migrating super-Earths

Planets of 1-4 times Earth's size on orbits shorter than 100 days exist around 30-50% of all Sun-like stars. In fact, the Solar System is particularly outstanding in its lack of "hot super-Earths" (or "mini-Neptunes"). These planets -- or their building blocks -- may have formed on wider orbits and migrated inward due to interactions with the gaseous protoplanetary disk. Here, we use a suite of dynamical simulations to show that gas giant planets act as barriers to the inward migration of super-Earths initially placed on more distant orbits. Jupiter's early formation may have prevented Uranus and Neptune (and perhaps Saturn's core) from becoming hot super-Earths. Our model predicts that the populations of hot super-Earth systems and Jupiter-like planets should be anti-correlated: gas giants (especially if they form early) should be rare in systems with many hot super-Earths. Testing this prediction will constitute a crucial assessment of the validity of the migration hypothesis for the origin of close-in super-Earths.

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arXiv2014

Hot super-Earths and giant planet cores from different migration histories

Planetary embryos embedded in gaseous protoplanetary disks undergo Type I orbital migration. Migration can be inward or outward depending on the local disk properties but, in general, only planets more massive than several $M_\oplus$ can migrate outward. Here we propose that an embryo's migration history determines whether it becomes a hot super-Earth or the core of a giant planet. Systems of hot super-Earths (or mini-Neptunes) form when embryos migrate inward and pile up at the inner edge of the disk. Giant planet cores form when inward-migrating embryos become massive enough to switch direction and migrate outward. We present simulations of this process using a modified N-body code, starting from a swarm of planetary embryos. Systems of hot super-Earths form in resonant chains with the innermost planet at or interior to the disk inner edge. Resonant chains are disrupted by late dynamical instabilities triggered by the dispersal of the gaseous disk. Giant planet cores migrate outward toward zero-torque zones, which move inward and eventually disappear as the disk disperses. Giant planet cores migrate inward with these zones and are stranded at ~1-5 AU. Our model reproduces several properties of the observed extra-solar planet populations. The frequency of giant planet cores increases strongly when the mass in solids is increased, consistent with the observed giant exoplanet - stellar metallicity correlation. The frequency of hot super-Earths is not a function of stellar metallicity, also in agreement with observations. Our simulations can reproduce the broad characteristics of the observed super-Earth population.

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arXiv2014

Formation, tidal evolution and habitability of the Kepler-186 system

The Kepler-186 system consists of five planets orbiting an early-M dwarf. The planets have physical radii of 1.0-1.50 R$_\oplus$ and orbital periods of 4 to 130 days. The $1.1~$R$_\oplus$ Kepler-186f with a period of 130 days is of particular interest. Its insolation of roughly $0.32~S_\odot$places it within the liquid water habitable zone. We present a multi-faceted study of the Kepler-186 system. First, we show that the distribution of planet masses can be roughly reproduced if the planets accreted from a high-surface density disk presumably sculpted by an earlier phase of migration. However, our simulations predict the existence of 1-2 undetected planets between planets e and f. Next, we present a dynamical analysis of the system including the effect of tides. The timescale for tidal evolution is short enough that the four inner planets must have small obliquities and near-synchronous rotation rates. Tidal evolution of Kepler-186f is slow enough that its current spin state depends on a combination of its dissipation rate and the stellar age. Finally, we study the habitability of Kepler-186f with a 1-D climate model. The planet's surface temperature can be raised above 273 K with 0.5-5 bars of CO$_2$, depending on the amount of N$_2$ present. Kepler-186f represents a case study of an Earth-sized planet in the cooler regions of the habitable zone of a cool star.

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arXiv2014

Grain Surface Reactions in Molecular Clouds: The Effect of Cosmic Rays and Quantum Tunneling

Grain-surface reactions play an essential role in interstellar chemistry, since dust grain catalyses reactions at its surface allowing for the formation of molecules. We used a chemical model in which both gas-phase and grain-surface reactions occur and studied particularly the diffusion mechanisms on the surface of the grains. Surface reactions can occur via thermal hopping when species cross over a potential barrier or via quantum tunneling when species cross through this barrier. We show that the thermal diffusion (hopping) can be much more efficient after a cosmic ray particle collides with a dust grain, heating it to a peak temperature of 70K. We present here the results of numerical simulations after including the quantum tunneling mechanism for species H, H2 and O and considering the effect of cosmic ray particle collision on the surface reactions. As a consequence, the gas-phase and grain-surface abundances are affected and we show that more complex molecules can be formed in molecular clouds.

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arXiv2014

Pseudo 2D chemical model of hot Jupiter atmospheres: application to HD 209458b and HD 189733b

We have developed a pseudo two-dimensional model of a planetary atmosphere, which takes into account thermochemical kinetics, photochemistry, vertical mixing, and horizontal transport, the latter being modeled as a uniform zonal wind. We have applied the model to the atmospheres of the hot Jupiters HD 209458b and HD 189733b. The adopted eddy diffusion coefficients are calculated by following the behaviour of passive tracers in three-dimensional general circulation models, which results in eddy values significantly below previous estimates. We find that the distribution of molecules with altitude and longitude in the atmospheres of these two hot Jupiters is complex because of the interplay of the various physical and chemical processes at work. Much of the distribution of molecules is driven by the strong zonal wind and the limited extent of vertical transport, resulting in an important homogenisation of the chemical composition with longitude. In general, molecular abundances are quenched horizontally to values typical of the hottest dayside regions, and thus the composition in the cooler nightside regions is highly contaminated by that of warmer dayside regions. As a consequence, the abundance of methane remains low, even below the predictions of previous one-dimensional models, which is likely to be in conflict with the high CH4 content inferred from observations of the dayside of HD 209458b. Another consequence of the important longitudinal homogenisation of the abundances is that the variability of the chemical composition has little effect on the way the emission spectrum is modified with phase and on the changes in the transmission spectrum from the transit ingress to the egress, these variations in the spectra being mainly due to changes in the temperature rather than in the composition between the different sides of the planet.

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arXiv2014

Physical and chemical structure of planet-forming disks probed by millimeter observations and modeling

Protoplanetary disks composed of dust and gas are ubiquitous around young stars and are commonly recognized as nurseries of planetary systems. Their lifetime, appearance, and structure are determined by an interplay between stellar radiation, gravity, thermal pressure, magnetic field, gas viscosity, turbulence, and rotation. Molecules and dust serve as major heating and cooling agents in disks. Dust grains dominate the disk opacities, reprocess most of the stellar radiation, and shield molecules from ionizing UV/X-ray photons. Disks also dynamically evolve by building up planetary systems which drastically change their gas and dust density structures. Over the past decade significant progress has been achieved in our understanding of disk chemical composition thanks to the upgrade or advent of new millimeter/Infrared facilities (SMA, PdBI, CARMA, Herschel, e-VLA, ALMA). Some major breakthroughs in our comprehension of the disk physics and chemistry have been done since PPV. This review will present and discuss the impact of such improvements on our understanding of the disk physical structure and chemical composition.

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arXiv2014

Self-gravity in curved mesh elements

The local character of self-gravity along with the number of spatial dimensions are critical issues when computing the potential and forces inside massive systems like stars and disks. This appears from the discretisation scale where each cell of the numerical grid is a self-interacting body in itself. There is apparently no closed-form expression yet giving the potential of a three-dimensional homogeneous cylindrical or spherical cell, in contrast with the Cartesian case. By using Green's theorem, we show that the potential integral for such polar-type 3D sectors -- initially, a volume integral with singular kernel -- can be converted into a regular line-integral running over the lateral contour, thereby generalising a formula already known under axial symmetry. It therefore is a step towards the obtention of another potential/density pair. The new kernel is a finite function of the cell's shape (with the simplest form in cylindrical geometry), and mixes incomplete elliptic integrals, inverse trigonometric and hyperbolic functions. The contour integral is easy to compute; it is valid in the whole physical space, exterior and interior to the sector itself and works in fact for a wide variety of shapes of astrophysical interest (e.g. sectors of tori or flared discs). This result is suited to easily providing reference solutions, and to reconstructing potential and forces in inhomogeneous systems by superposition. The contour integrals for the 3 components of the acceleration vector are explicitely given.

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arXiv2014

Self-gravity in thin discs and edge effects: an extension of Paczynski's approximation

As hydrostatic equilibrium of gaseous discs is partly governed by the gravity field, we have estimated the component caused by a vertically homogeneous disc, with a special attention for the outer regions where self-gravity classically appears. The accuracy of the integral formula is better than 1%, whatever the disc thickness, radial extension and radial density profile. At order zero, the field is even algebraic for thin discs and writes $- 4 πG Σ(R) f_{edge} (R)$ at disc surface, thereby correcting Paczynski's formula by a multiplying factor $f_{edge} \gtrsim 1/2$, which depends on the relative distance to the edges and the local disc thickness. For very centrally condensed discs however, this local contribution can be surpassed by action of mass stored in the inner regions, possibly resulting in $f_{edge} \gg 1$. A criterion setting the limit between these two regimes is derived. These result are robust in the sense that the details of vertical stratification are not critical. We briefly discuss how hydrostatic equilibrium is impacted. In particular, the disc flaring should not reverse in the self-gravitating region, which contradicts what is usually obtained from Paczynski's formula. This suggests that i) these outer regions are probably not fully shadowed by the inner ones (important when illuminated by a central star), and ii) the flared shape of discs does not firmly prove the absence or weakness of self-gravity.

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