arXiv subjects

Kristen Menou

Publications and source records attributed to Kristen Menou.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

The Origin of Solar Activity in the Tachocline

Solar active regions, produced by the emergence of tubes of strong magnetic field in the photosphere, are restricted to within 35 degrees of the solar equator. The nature of the dynamo processes that create and renew these fields, and are therefore responsible for solar magnetic phenomena, are not well understood. We analyze the magneto-rotational stability of the solar tachocline for general field geometry. This thin region of strong radial and latitudinal differential rotation, between the radiative and convective zones, is unstable at latitudes above 37 degrees, yet is stable closer to the equator. We propose that small-scale magneto-rotational turbulence prevents coherent magnetic dynamo action in the tachocline except in the vicinity of the equator, thus explaining the latitudinal restriction of active regions. Tying the magnetic dynamo to the tachocline elucidates the physical conditions and processes relevant to solar magnetism.

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arXiv2007

Turbulent Torques on Protoplanets in a Dead Zone

Migration of protoplanets in their gaseous host disks may be largely responsible for the observed orbital distribution of extrasolar planets. Recent simulations have shown that the magnetorotational turbulence thought to drive accretion in protoplanetary disks can affect migration by turning it into an orbital random walk. However, these simulations neglected the disk's ionization structure. Low ionization fraction near the midplane of the disk can decouple the magnetic field from the gas, forming a dead zone with reduced or no turbulence. Here, to understand the effect of dead zones on protoplanetary migration, we perform numerical simulations of a small region of a stratified disk with magnetorotational turbulence confined to thin active layers above and below the midplane. Turbulence in the active layers exerts decreased, but still measurable, gravitational torques on a protoplanet located at the disk midplane. We find a decrease of two orders of magnitude in the diffusion coefficient for dead zones with dead-to-active surface density ratios approaching realistic values in protoplanetary disks. This torque arises primarily from density fluctuations within a distance of one scale height of the protoplanet. Turbulent torques have correlation times of only $\sim 0.3$ orbital periods and apparently time-stationary distributions. These properties are encouraging signs that stochastic methods can be used to determine the orbital evolution of populations of protoplanets under turbulent migration. Our results indicate that dead zones may be dynamically distinct regions for protoplanetary migration.

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arXiv2007

Pre-Merger Localization of Gravitational-Wave Standard Sirens With LISA I: Harmonic Mode Decomposition

The continuous improvement in localization errors (sky position and distance) in real time as LISA observes the gradual inspiral of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary can be of great help in identifying any prompt electromagnetic counterpart associated with the merger. We develop a new method, based on a Fourier decomposition of the time-dependent, LISA-modulated gravitational-wave signal, to study this intricate problem. The method is faster than standard Monte Carlo simulations by orders of magnitude. By surveying the parameter space of potential LISA sources, we find that counterparts to SMBH binary mergers with total mass M~10^5-10^7 M_Sun and redshifts z<~3 can be localized to within the field of view of astronomical instruments (~deg^2) typically hours to weeks prior to coalescence. This will allow targeted searches for variable electromagnetic counterparts as the merger proceeds, as well as monitoring of the most energetic coalescence phase. A rich set of astrophysical and cosmological applications would emerge from the identification of electromagnetic counterparts to these gravitational-wave standard sirens.

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arXiv2007

Hot Jupiter Variability in Eclipse Depth

Physical conditions in the atmospheres of tidally-locked, slowly-rotating hot Jupiters correspond to dynamical circulation regimes with Rhines scales and Rossby deformation radii comparable to the planetary radii. Consequently, the large spatial scales of moving atmospheric structures could generate significant photospheric variability. Here, we estimate the level of thermal infrared variability expected in successive secondary eclipse depths, according to hot Jupiter turbulent ``shallow-layer'' models. The variability, at the few percent level or more in models with strong enough winds, is within the reach of Spitzer measurements. Eclipse depth variability is thus a valuable tool to constrain the circulation regime and global wind speeds in hot Jupiter atmospheres.

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arXiv2007

Toward Eclipse Mapping of Hot Jupiters

Recent Spitzer infrared measurements of hot Jupiter eclipses suggest that eclipse mapping techniques could be used to spatially resolve the day-side photospheric emission of these planets using partial occultations. As a first step in this direction, we simulate ingress/egress lightcurves for the three brightest known eclipsing hot Jupiters and evaluate the degree to which parameterized photospheric emission models can be distinguished from each other with repeated, noisy eclipse measurements. We find that the photometric accuracy of Spitzer is insufficient to use this tool effectively. On the other hand, the level of photospheric details that could be probed with a few JWST eclipse measurements could greatly inform hot Jupiter atmospheric modeling efforts. A JWST program focused on non-parametric eclipse map inversions for hot Jupiters should be actively considered.

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arXiv2006

Magneto-Rotational Transport in the Early Sun

Angular momentum transport must have occurred in the Sun's radiative zone to explain its current solid body rotation. We survey the stability of the early Sun's radiative zone with respect to diffusive rotational instabilities, for a variety of plausible past configurations. We find that the (faster rotating) early Sun was prone to rotational instabilities even if only weak levels of radial differential rotation were present, while the current Sun is not. Stability domains are determined by approximate balance between dynamical and diffusive timescales, allowing generalizations to other stellar contexts. Depending on the strength and geometry of the weak magnetic field present, the fastest growing unstable mode can be hydrodynamic or magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) in nature. Our results suggest that diffusive MHD modes may be more efficient at transporting angular momentum than their hydrodynamic (``Goldreich-Schubert-Fricke'') counterparts because the minimum spatial scale required for magnetic tension to be destabilizing limits the otherwise very small scales favored by double-diffusive instabilities. Diffusive magneto-rotational instabilities are thus attractive candidates for angular momentum transport in the early Sun's radiative zone.

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arXiv2006

Hot Accretion With Conduction: Spontaneous Thermal Outflows

Motivated by the low-collisionality of gas accreted onto black holes in Sgr A* and other nearby galactic nuclei, we study a family of 2D advective accretion solutions with thermal conduction. While we only impose global inflow, the accretion flow spontaneously develops bipolar outflows. The role of conduction is key in providing the extra degree of freedom (latitudinal energy transport) necessary to launch these rotating thermal outflows. The sign of the Bernoulli constant does not discriminate between inflowing and outflowing regions. Our parameter survey covers mass outflow rates from ~ 0 to 13% of the net inflow rate, outflow velocities from ~0 to 11% of the local Keplerian velocity and outflow opening angles from ~ 0 to 60 degs. As the magnitude of conduction is increased, outflows can adopt a conical geometry, pure inflow solutions emerge, and the limit of 2D non-rotating Bondi-like solutions is eventually reached. These results confirm that radiatively-inefficient, hot accretion flows have a hydrodynamical propensity to generate bipolar thermal outflows.

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arXiv2006

Diffusive Migration of Low-Mass Proto-planets in Turbulent Disks

Torque fluctuations due to magnetorotational turbulence in proto-planetary disks may greatly influence the migration patterns and survival probabilities of nascent planets. Provided that the turbulence is a stationary stochastic process with finite amplitude and correlation time, the resulting diffusive migration can be described with a Fokker-Planck equation, which we reduce to an advection-diffusion equation. We calibrate the coefficients with existing turbulent-disk simulations and mean-migration estimates, and solve the equation both analytically and numerically. Diffusion tends to dominate over advection for planets of low-mass and those in the outer regions of proto-planetary disks, whether they are described by the Minimum Mass Solar Nebula (MMSN) or by T-Tauri alpha disks. Diffusion systematically reduces the lifetime of most planets, yet it allows a declining fraction of them to survive for extended periods of time at large radii. Mean planet lifetimes can even be formally infinite (e.g. in an infinite steady MMSN), though median lifetimes are always finite. Surviving planets may linger near specific radii where the combined effects of advection and diffusion are minimized, or at large radii, depending on model specifics. The stochastic nature of migration in turbulent disks challenges deterministic planet formation scenarios and suggests instead that a wide variety of planetary outcomes are possible from similar initial conditions. This would contribute to the diversity of (extrasolar) planetary systems.

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arXiv2005

All Quiet in Globular Clusters

Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) should be present in large numbers in Globular Clusters (GCs). Numerous low-luminosity X-ray sources identified over the past few years as candidate CVs in GCs support this notion. Yet, very few "cataclysms," the characteristic feature of this class of objects in the field, have been observed in GCs. We address this discrepancy here, within the framework of the standard Disk Instability Model for CV outbursts. We argue that the paucity of outbursts in GCs is probably not a direct consequence of the donors' low metallicities. We present diagnostics based on outburst properties allowing tests of the hypothesis that rare cataclysms are entirely due to lower mass transfer rates in GCs relative to the field, and we argue against this explanation. Instead, we propose that a combination of low mass transfer rates (>~ 10^14-15 g/s) and moderately strong white dwarf magnetic moments (>~ 10^30 G cm^3) stabilize CV disks in GCs and thus prevent most of them from experiencing frequent outbursts. If it is so, rare cataclysms in GCs would signal important evolutionary differences between field and cluster CVs.

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arXiv2005

Hot Accretion With Saturated Conduction

Observations of the hot gas surrounding Sgr A* and a few other nearby galactic nuclei imply electron and proton mean free paths comparable to the gas capture radius: hot accretion likely proceeds under weakly-collisional conditions in these systems. As a result, thermal conduction, rather than convection, may be important on all scales and affect the global flow properties. The self-similar ADAF solution of Narayan & Yi (1994) is generalized to include a saturated form of thermal conduction, as is appropriate for the weakly-collisional regime of interest. Conduction provides extra heating and yet it reduces the free-free radiative efficiency of the accretion flow (by potentially large factors). These idealized solutions suggest that thermal conduction may be an important physical ingredient to understand hot accretion onto dim accreting black holes. Conduction could also play a role in reducing the rate at which black holes capture ambient gas and in providing an evaporation mechanism for an underlying cold thin disk.

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arXiv2005

Golden Binary Gravitational-Wave Sources: Robust Probes of Strong-Field Gravity

Space-born gravitational-wave interferometers such as {\it LISA} will detect the gravitational wave (GW) signal from the inspiral, plunge and ringdown phases of massive black hole binary mergers at cosmological distances. From the inspiral waves, we will be able to measure the masses of the binaries' members; from the ringdown waves, we will be able to measure the mass of the final merged remnant. A subset of detected events allow the identification of both the inspiral and the ringdown waveforms in a given source, and thus allow a measurement of the total mass-energy lost to GWs over the coalescence, $M_{\rm GW}$. We define ``golden'' binary mergers to be those with measurement errors likely to be small enough for a physically useful determination of $M_{\rm GW}$. A detailed sensitivity study, combined with simple black hole population models, suggests that a few golden binary mergers may be detected during a 3-year {\it LISA} mission lifetime. Any such mass deficit measurement would constitute a robust and valuable observational test of strong-field relativistic gravity. An extension of this concept to include spin measurements may allow a direct empirical test of the black hole area theorem.

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arXiv2004

On The Dark Side of Quasar Evolution

Recent improved determinations of the mass density rho_BH of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the local universe have allowed accurate comparisons of rho_BH with the amount of light received from past quasar activity. These comparisons support the notion that local SMBHs are ``dead quasars'' and yield a value epsilon >~ 0.1 for the average radiative efficiency of cosmic SMBH accretion. BH coalescences may represent an important component of the quasar mass assembly and yet not produce any observable electromagnetic signature. Therefore, ignoring gravitational wave (GW) emission during such coalescences, which reduces the amount of mass locked into remnant BHs, results in an overestimate of epsilon. Here, we put constraints on the magnitude of this bias. We calculate the cumulative mass loss to GWs experienced by a representative population of BHs during repeated cosmological mergers, using loss prescriptions based on detailed general relativistic calculations. Despite the possibly large number of mergers in the assembly history of each individual SMBH, we find that near--equal mass mergers are rare, and therefore the cumulative loss is likely to be modest, amounting at most to an increase by 20 percent of the inferred epsilon value. Thus, recent estimates of epsilon >~ 0.1 appear robust. The space interferometer LISA should provide empirical constraints on the dark side of quasar evolution, by measuring the masses and rates of coalescence of massive BHs to cosmological distances.

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arXiv2004

The Mass Budget of Merging Quasars

Two spectacular results emerging from recent studies of nearby dead quasars and distant active quasars are (i) the existence of tight relations between the masses of black holes (BHs) and the properties of their host galaxies (spheroid luminosity or velocity dispersion, galaxy mass), and (ii) a consistency between the local mass density in BHs and that expected by summing up the light received from distant active quasars. These results are partly shaped by successive galactic mergers and BH coalescences, since mergers redistribute the population of BHs in galaxies and BH binary coalescences reduce the mass density in BHs through losses to gravitational waves. Here, we isolate and quantify these effects by following the cosmological merger history of a population of massive BHs representing the quasar population between z = 3 and z =0. Our results suggest that the relation between BH mass and host galaxy properties, and inferences on the global efficiency of BH accretion during active quasar phases, could be influenced by the cumulative effect of repeated mergers.

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arXiv2004

Differential Rotation in Weakly-Magnetized Neutron Star Atmospheres

The atmospheres of weakly-magnetized neutron stars expand hydrostatically and rotate differentially during thermonuclear X-ray bursts. Differential rotation is probably related to the frequency drifts of millisecond burst oscillations exhibited by about a dozen nuclear-powered X-ray pulsars. Here, we analyze the linear stability of this differential rotation with respect to local, axisymmetric, multi-diffusive MHD perturbations, at various heights in the neutron star atmosphere. Unstable magneto-rotational modes are identified from within to well above the burning layers. Properties of the fastest growing modes depend sensitively on the local magnetic field geometry. Linear estimates suggest that momentum transport due to magneto-rotational instabilities can affect atmospheric rotation profiles on time-scales relevant to burst oscillations. This transport would likely strengthen the coherence of burst oscillations and contribute to their drifts.

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arXiv2004

Low-Mass Proto-Planet Migration in T-Tauri Alpha-Disks

We present detailed estimates of ''type-I'' migration rates for low-mass proto-planets embedded in steady-state T-Tauri alpha-disks, based on Lindblad torque calculations ignoring feedback on the disk. Differences in migration rates for several plausible background disk models are explored and we contrast results obtained using the standard two dimensional formalism of spiral density wave theory with those obtained from a simple treatment of three-dimensional effects. Opacity transitions in the disk result in sudden radial variations of the migration rates. Regions with minimal migration rates may be preferred sites of gravitational interactions between proto-planets. Three-dimensional torques are significantly weaker than two-dimensional ones and they are sensitive to the surface density profile of the background disk. We find that migration times in excess of runaway envelope accretion times or T-Tauri disk lifetimes are possible for Earth-mass proto-planets in some background disk models, even at sub-AU distances. We conclude that an understanding of the background disk structure and ''viscosity'', as well as a proper treatment of three-dimensional effects in torque calculations, are necessary to obtain reliable estimates of ``type-I'' migration rates.

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arXiv2004

Local Axisymmetric Diffusive Stability of Weakly-Magnetized, Differentially-Rotating, Stratified Fluids

We study the local stability of stratified, differentially-rotating fluids to axisymmetric perturbations in the presence of a weak magnetic field and of finite resistivity, viscosity and heat conductivity. This is a generalization of the Goldreich-Schubert-Fricke (GSF) double-diffusive analysis to the magnetized and resistive, triple-diffusive case. Our fifth-order dispersion relation admits a novel branch which describes a magnetized version of multi-diffusive modes. We derive necessary conditions for axisymmetric stability in the inviscid and perfect-conductor (double-diffusive) limits. In each case, rotation must be constant on cylinders and angular velocity must not decrease with distance from the rotation axis for stability, irrespective of the relative strength of viscous, resistive and heat diffusion. Therefore, in both double-diffusive limits, solid body rotation marginally satisfies our stability criteria. The role of weak magnetic fields is essential to reach these conclusions. The triple-diffusive situation is more complex, and its stability criteria are not easily stated. Numerical analysis of our general dispersion relation confirms our analytic double-diffusive criteria, but also shows that an unstable double-diffusive situation can be significantly stabilized by the addition of a third, ostensibly weaker, diffusion process. We describe a numerical application to the Sun's upper radiative zone and establish that it would be subject to unstable multi-diffusive modes if moderate or strong radial gradients of angular velocity were present.

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arXiv2003

Chandra Observations of the Dwarf Nova WX Hyi in Quiescence

We report Chandra observations of the dwarf nova WX Hyi in quiescence. The X-ray spectrum displays strong and narrow emission lines of N, O, Mg, Ne, Si, S and Fe. The various ionization states implied by the lines suggest that the emission is produced within a flow spanning a wide temperature range, from T ~ 10^6 K to T >~ 10^8 K. Line diagnostics indicate that most of the radiation originates from a very dense region, with n ~ 10^{13}-10^{14} cm^{-3}. The Chandra data allow the first tests of specific models proposed in the literature for the X-ray emission in quiescent dwarf novae. We have computed the spectra for a set of models ranging from hot boundary layers, to hot settling flows solutions, to X-ray emitting coronae. WX Hyi differs from other dwarf novae observed at minimum in having much stronger low temperature lines, which prove difficult to fit with existing models, and possibly a very strong, broad O VII line, perhaps produced in a wind moving at a few x 10^3 km/s. The accretion rate inferred from the X-rays is lower than the value inferred from the UV. The presence of high-velocity mass ejection could account for this discrepancy while at the same time explaining the presence of the broad O VII line. If this interpretation is correct, it would provide the first detection of a wind from a dwarf nova in quiescence.

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arXiv2003

Black Hole Accretion Disks On The Edge

The local axisymmetric stability of hydrodynamical and magnetized, nearly-Keplerian gaseous accretion disks around non-rotating black holes is examined in the vicinity of the classical marginally-stable orbit (at radii ~ R_ms). An approximate Paczynski-Wiita pseudo-Newtonian potential is used. Hydrodynamical disks are linearly unstable inside a radius which differs slightly from the classical R_ms value because of finite pressure and radial stratification effects. Linear stresses associated with unstable hydrodynamical modes vanish exactly at the radius of marginal stability and are generally positive inside of that radius. When a magnetic field is introduced, however, the concept of radius of marginal stability becomes largely irrelevant because there are linearly unstable magneto-rotational modes everywhere. Associated linear stresses are positive and continuous across the region of hydrodynamical marginal stability, even for large-scale "hydro-like" modes subject only to weak magnetic tension. This conclusion is valid for arbitrarily thin disks (in ideal MHD) and it does not require a large-scale "radially-connecting" magnetic field. Results on hydrodynamical diskoseismic modes trapped in deep relativistic potential wells should be revised to account for the short-wavelength Alfven-like behavior of inertio-gravity waves in magnetized disks.

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