arXiv subjects

Olivier Mousis

Publications and source records attributed to Olivier Mousis.

96 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Expectations for the Deep Impact collision from cometary nuclei modelling

Using the cometary nucleus model developed by Espinasse et al. (1991), we calculate the thermodynamical evolution of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 over a period of 360 years. Starting from an initially amorphous cometary nucleus which incorporates an icy mixture of H2O and CO, we show that, at the time of Deep Impact collision, the crater is expected to form at depths where ice is in its crystalline form. Hence, the subsurface exposed to space should not be primordial. We also attempt an order-of-magnitude estimate of the heating and material ablation effects on the crater activity caused by the 370 Kg projectile released by the DI spacecraft. We thus show that heating effects play no role in the evolution of crater activity. We calculate that the CO production rate from the impacted region should be about 300-400 times higher from the crater resulting from the impact with a 35 m ablation than over the unperturbed nucleus in the immediate post-impact period. We also show that the H2O production rate is decreased by several orders of magnitude at the crater base just after ablation.

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arXiv2005

Modeling the Jovian subnebula: I - Thermodynamical conditions and migration of proto-satellites

We have developed an evolutionary turbulent model of the Jovian subnebula consistent with the extended core accretion formation models of Jupiter described by Alibert et al. (2005b) and derived from Alibert et al. (2004,2005a). This model takes into account the vertical structure of the subnebula, as well as the evolution of the surface density as given by an $α$-disk model and is used to calculate the thermodynamical conditions in the subdisk, for different values of the viscosity parameter. We show that the Jovian subnebula evolves in two different phases during its lifetime. In the first phase, the subnebula is fed through its outer edge by the solar nebula as long as it has not been dissipated. In the second phase, the solar nebula has disappeared and the Jovian subdisk expands and gradually clears with time as Jupiter accretes the remaining material. We also demonstrate that early generations of satellites formed during the beginning of the first phase of the subnebula cannot survive in this environment and fall onto the proto-Jupiter. As a result, these bodies may contribute to the enrichment of Jupiter in heavy elements. Moreover, migration calculations in the Jovian subnebula allow us to follow the evolution of the ices/rocks ratios in the proto-satellites as a function of their migration pathways. By a tempting to reproduce the distance distribution of the Galilean satellites, as well as their ices/rocks ratios, we obtain some constraints on the viscosity parameter of the Jovian subnebula.

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arXiv2005

New Jupiter and Saturn formation models meet observations

The wealth of observational data about Jupiter and Saturn provides strong constraints to guide our understanding of the formation of giant planets. The size of the core and the total amount of heavy elements in the envelope have been derived from internal structure studies by Saumon & Guillot (2004). The atmospheric abundance of some volatile elements has been measured {\it in situ} by the {\it Galileo} probe (Mahaffy et al. 2000, Wong et al. 2004) or by remote sensing (Briggs & Sackett 1989, Kerola et al. 1997). In this Letter, we show that, by extending the standard core accretion formation scenario of giant planets by Pollack et al. (1996) to include migration and protoplanetary disk evolution, it is possible to account for all of these constraints in a self-consistent manner.

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arXiv2005

On the volatile enrichments and composition of Jupiter

Using the clathrate hydrates trapping theory, we discuss the enrichments in volatiles in the atmosphere of Jupiter measured by the \textit{Galileo} probe in the framework of new extended core-accretion planet formation models including migration and disk evolution. We construct a self-consistent model in which the volatile content of planetesimals accreted during the formation of Jupiter is calculated from the thermodynamical evolution of the disk. Assuming CO2:CO:CH4 = 30:10:1 (ratios compatible with ISM measurements), we show that we can explain the enrichments in volatiles in a way compatible with the recent constraints set from internal structure modeling on the total amount of heavy elements present in the planet.

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arXiv2005

On the composition of ices incorporated in Ceres

We use the clathrate hydrate trapping theory (Lunine & Stevenson 1985) and the gas drag formalism of Weidenschilling (1977) to calculate the composition of ices incorporated in the interior of Ceres. In the spirit of the work of Cyr et al. (1998), and using a time dependent solar nebula model, we show that icy solids can drift from beyond 5 AU to the present location of the asteroid and be preserved from vaporization. We argue that volatiles were trapped in the outer solar nebula under the forms of clathrate hydrates, hydrates and pure condensates prior to having been incorporated in icy solids and subsequently in Ceres. Under the assumption that most of volatiles were not vaporized during the accretion phase and the thermal evolution of Ceres, we determine the per mass abundances with respect to H2O of CO2, CO, CH4, N2, NH3, Ar, Xe, and Kr in the interior of the asteroid. The Dawn space mission, scheduled to explore Ceres in August 2014 (Russel et al. 2004), may have the capacity to test some predictions. We also show that an in situ measurement of the D/H ratio in H2O in Ceres could constrain the distance range in the solar nebula where its icy planetesimals were produced.

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arXiv2003

KBO binaries: are they really primordial ?

Given the large orbital separation and high satellite-to-primary mass ratio of all known Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) binaries, it is important to reassess their stability as bound pairs with respect to several disruptive mechanisms. Besides the classical shattering and dispersing of the secondary due to a high-velocity impact, we considered the possibility that the secondary is kicked off its orbit by a direct collision of a small impactor, or that it is gravitationally perturbed due to the close approach of a somewhat larger TNO. Depending on the values for the size/mass/separation of the binaries that we used, 2 or 3 of the 8 pairs can be dispersed in a timescale shorter than the age of the solar system in the current rarefied environment. A contemporary formation scenario could explain why we still observe these binaries, but no convincing mechanism has been proposed to date. The primordial formation scenarios, which seem to be the only viable ones, must be revised to increase the formation efficiency in order to account for this high dispersal rate. Objects like the large-separatioKBO binary n2001 QW$_{322}$ must have been initially an order of magnitude more numerous. If the KBO binaries are indeed primordial, then we show that the mass depletion of the Kuiper belt cannot result from collisional grinding, but must rather be due to dynamical ejection.

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