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Michail I. Petaev

Publications and source records attributed to Michail I. Petaev.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Planetesimal Impact Vapor Plumes and Nebular Shocks form Chondritic Mixtures

The origin of chondrules, and the chondritic sedimentary rocks that dominate the meteoritic record, is a long-standing problem in planetary science. Here, we develop a physical model for the formation of chondritic mixtures as an outcome of vaporizing collisions between planetesimals that were dynamically excited by the growth and migration of planets. We present calculations of nebular shock waves generated by impact vapor plumes and focus on aspects of the plume interaction with the nebular gas and dust that have been neglected in previous studies of impact ejecta. We find that, when water dominates the vapor, the plumes are relatively cool. However, the plume expansion is supersonic and can drive strong shock waves in the dusty nebular gas. Portions of these nebular shock fronts initially melt nebular dust, forming chondrules that are coupled to the moving front. As the shock front expands and cools, the chondrules solidify while the shock front entrains additional dust. Eventually, the plume expansion stalls and then hydrodynamically collapses, turbulently mixing variably processed dust and size-sorted chondrules. For probable impact parameters and nebular conditions during giant planet growth and migration, the impact-generated mixtures have characteristics that span the range observed in chondritic meteorites, providing an environment for rapid formation of chondritic assemblages after chondrule formation. Our impact vapor and nebular shocks (IVANS) model links chondrule formation to the overall context of planet formation and provides a framework for interpreting the detailed chronological and geochemical record contained in chondritic meteorites.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2023

Stellar outbursts and chondrite composition

The temperatures of observed protoplanetary disks are not sufficiently high to produce the accretion rate needed to form stars, nor are they sufficient to explain the volatile depletion patterns in CM, CO, and CV chondrites and terrestrial planets. We revisit the role that stellar outbursts, caused by high accretion episodes, play in resolving these two issues. These outbursts provide the necessary mass to form the star during the disk lifetime, and provide enough heat to vaporize planet-forming materials. We show that these outbursts can reproduce the observed chondrite abundances at distances near one AU. These outbursts would also affect the growth of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) and the isotopic compositions of carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous chondrites.

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

EOS Manual

The exoplanet field now abounds with new discoveries of planets and planetary systems. It is of great interest for the scientific community to understand the compositions and internal structures of these new planets outside our own solar system, and then infer their formation scenarios. In particular, the proper implementation of the equation-of-states of various matters into the calculation of internal structure is crucial. Thus, we have come up with this write-up that provides the detailed steps to turn an equation-of-state (EOS) into a mass-radius relation of exoplanets, and highlight the physics and chemistry involved in these calculations. It must be visualized!

astro-ph.EP↗
arXiv2022

Maximum Temperatures in Evolving Protoplanetary Discs and Composition of Planetary Building Blocks

The maximum temperature and radial temperature profile in a protoplanetary disc are important for the condensation of different elements in the disc. We simulate the evolution of a set of protoplanetary discs from the collapse of their progenitor molecular cloud cores as well as the dust decoupling within the discs as they evolve. We show how the initial properties of the cloud cores affect the thermal history of the protoplanetary discs using a simple viscous disc model. Our results show that the maximum midplane temperature in the disc occurs within 0.5 AU. It increases with the initial cloud temperature and decreases with its angular velocity and the viscosity of the disc. From the observed properties of the molecular cloud cores we find the median value of the maximum temperature is around 1250 K, with roughly 90% of them being less than 1500 K - a value that is lower than the 50% condensation temperatures of most refractory elements. Therefore, only cloud cores with high initial temperatures or low angular velocities and/or low viscosities within the planet-forming discs will result in refractory-rich planetesimals. To reproduce the volatile depletion pattern of CM, CO, and CV chondrites and the terrestrial planets in Solar system, one must either have rare properties of the initial molecular cloud cores like high core temperature, or other sources of energy to heat the disc to sufficiently high temperatures. Alternatively, the volatile depletion observed in these chondrites may be inherited from the progenitor molecular cloud.

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arXiv2022

New Perspectives on the Exoplanet Radius Gap from a Mathematica Tool and Visualized Water Equation of State

Recent astronomical observations obtained with the Kepler and TESS missions and their related ground-based follow-ups revealed an abundance of exoplanets with a size intermediate between Earth and Neptune. A low occurrence rate of planets has been identified at around twice the size of Earth, known as the exoplanet radius gap or radius valley. We explore the geometry of this gap in the mass-radius diagram, with the help of a Mathematica plotting tool developed with the capability of manipulating exoplanet data in multidimensional parameter space, and with the help of visualized water equations of state in the temperature-density graph and the entropy-pressure graph. We show that the radius valley can be explained by a compositional difference between smaller, predominantly rocky planets and larger planets that exhibit greater compositional diversity including cosmic ices (water, ammonia, methane) and gaseous envelopes. In particular, among the larger planets, when viewed from the perspective of planet equilibrium temperature, the hot ones are consistent with ice-dominated composition without significant gaseous envelopes, while the cold ones have more diverse compositions, including various amounts of gaseous envelopes.

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arXiv2020

Dust Condensation in Evolving Discs and the Composition of Planetary Building Blocks

Partial condensation of dust from the Solar nebula is likely responsible for the diverse chemical compositions of chondrites and rocky planets/planetesimals in the inner Solar system. We present a forward physical-chemical model of a protoplanetary disc to predict the chemical compositions of planetary building blocks that may form from such a disc. Our model includes the physical evolution of the disc and the condensation, partial advection, and decoupling of the dust within it. The chemical composition of the condensate changes with time and radius. We compare the results of two dust condensation models: one where an element condenses when the midplane temperature in the disc is lower than the 50\% condensation temperature ($\rm T_{50}$) of that element and the other where the condensation of the dust is calculated by a Gibbs free energy minimization technique assuming chemical equilibrium at local disc temperature and pressure. The results of two models are generally consistent with some systematic differences of $\sim 10$\% depending upon the radial distance and an element's condensation temperature. Both models predict compositions similar to CM, CO, and CV chondrites provided that the decoupling timescale of the dust is on the order of the evolution timescale of the disc or longer. If the decoupling timescale is too short, the composition deviates significantly from the measured values. These models may contribute to our understanding of the chemical compositions of chondrites, and ultimately the terrestrial planets in the solar system, and may constrain the potential chemical compositions of rocky exoplanets.

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arXiv2019

Growth Model Interpretation of Planet Size Distribution

The radii and orbital periods of 4000+ confirmed/candidate exoplanets have been precisely measured by the Kepler mission. The radii show a bimodal distribution, with two peaks corresponding to smaller planets (likely rocky) and larger intermediate-size planets, respectively. While only the masses of the planets orbiting the brightest stars can be determined by ground-based spectroscopic observations, these observations allow calculation of their average densities placing constraints on the bulk compositions and internal structures. Yet an important question about the composition of planets ranging from 2 to 4 Earth radii still remains. They may either have a rocky core enveloped in a H2-He gaseous envelope (gas dwarfs) or contain a significant amount of multi-component, H2O-dominated ices/fluids (water worlds). Planets in the mass range of 10-15 Earth masses, if half-ice and half-rock by mass, have radii of 2.5 Earth radii, which exactly match the second peak of the exoplanet radius bimodal distribution. Any planet in the 2-4 Earth radii range requires a gas envelope of at most a few mass percentage points, regardless of the core composition. To resolve the ambiguity of internal compositions, we use a growth model and conduct Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate that many intermediate-size planets are water worlds.

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arXiv2018

The origin of the Moon within a terrestrial synestia

The giant impact hypothesis remains the leading theory for lunar origin. However, current models struggle to explain the Moon's composition and isotopic similarity with Earth. Here we present a new lunar origin model. High-energy, high-angular momentum giant impacts can create a post-impact structure that exceeds the corotation limit (CoRoL), which defines the hottest thermal state and angular momentum possible for a corotating body. In a typical super-CoRoL body, traditional definitions of mantle, atmosphere and disk are not appropriate, and the body forms a new type of planetary structure, named a synestia. Using simulations of cooling synestias combined with dynamic, thermodynamic and geochemical calculations, we show that satellite formation from a synestia can produce the main features of our Moon. We find that cooling drives mixing of the structure, and condensation generates moonlets that orbit within the synestia, surrounded by tens of bars of bulk silicate Earth (BSE) vapor. The moonlets and growing moon are heated by the vapor until the first major element (Si) begins to vaporize and buffer the temperature. Moonlets equilibrate with BSE vapor at the temperature of silicate vaporization and the pressure of the structure, establishing the lunar isotopic composition and pattern of moderately volatile elements. Eventually, the cooling synestia recedes within the lunar orbit, terminating the main stage of lunar accretion. Our model shifts the paradigm for lunar origin from specifying a certain impact scenario to achieving a Moon-forming synestia. Giant impacts that produce potential Moon-forming synestias were common at the end of terrestrial planet formation.

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