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René Heller

Publications and source records attributed to René Heller.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Transits of extrasolar moons around luminous giant planets

Beyond Earth-like planets, moons can be habitable, too. No exomoons have been securely detected, but they could be extremely abundant. Young Jovian planets can be as hot as late M stars, with effective temperatures of up to 2000 K. Transits of their moons might be detectable in their infrared photometric light curves if the planets are sufficiently separated ($\gtrsim10$ AU) from the stars to be directly imaged. The moons will be heated by radiation from their young planets and potentially by tidal friction. Although stellar illumination will be weak beyond 5 AU, these alternative energy sources could liquify surface water on exomoons for hundreds of Myr. A Mars-mass H$_2$O-rich moon around $β$ Pic b would have a transit depth of $1.5\times10^{-3}$, in reach of near-future technology.

astro-ph.EP↗

Nanometer scale elemental analysis in the helium ion microscope using time of flight spectrometry

Time of flight backscattering spectrometry (ToF-BS) was successfully implemented in a helium ion microscope (HIM). Its integration introduces the ability to perform laterally resolved elemental analysis as well as elemental depth profiling on the nm scale. A lateral resolution of $\leq$ 54 nm and a time resolution of $Δt \leq$ 17 ns $(Δt/t \leq 5.4\%)$ are achieved. By using the energy of the backscattered particles for contrast generation, we introduce a new imaging method to the HIM allowing direct elemental mapping as well as local spectrometry. In addition laterally resolved time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) can be performed with the same setup. Time of flight is implemented by pulsing the primary ion beam. This is achieved in a cost effective and minimal invasive way that does not influence the high resolution capabilities of the microscope when operating in standard secondary electron (SE) imaging mode. This technique can thus be easily adapted to existing devices. The particular implementation of ToF-BS and ToF-SIMS techniques are described, results are presented and advantages, difficulties and limitations of this new techniques are discussed.

physics.ins-det↗

The formation of the Galilean moons and Titan in the Grand Tack scenario

In the Grand Tack (GT) scenario for the young solar system, Jupiter formed beyond 3.5 AU from the Sun and migrated as close as 1.5 AU until it encountered an orbital resonance with Saturn. Both planets then supposedly migrated outward for several $10^5$ yr, with Jupiter ending up at ~5 AU. The initial conditions of the GT and the timing between Jupiter's migration and the formation of the Galilean satellites remain unexplored. We study the formation of Ganymede and Callisto, both of which consist of ~50% H$_2$O and rock, in the GT scenario. We examine why they lack dense atmospheres, while Titan is surrounded by a thick N$_2$ envelope. We model an axially symmetric circumplanetary disk (CPD) in hydrostatic equilibrium around Jupiter. The CPD is warmed by viscous heating, Jupiter's luminosity, accretional heating, and the Sun. The position of the H$_2$O ice line in the CPD, which is crucial for the formation of massive moons, is computed at various solar distances. We assess the loss of Galilean atmospheres due to high-energy radiation from the young Sun. Ganymede and Callisto cannot have accreted their H$_2$O during Jupiter's supposed GT, because its CPD (if still active) was too warm to host ices and much smaller than Ganymede's contemporary orbit. From a thermal perspective, the Galilean moons might have had significant atmospheres, but these would probably have been eroded during the GT in < $10^5$ yr by solar XUV radiation. Jupiter and the Galilean moons formed beyond 4.5 (+/- 0.5) AU and prior to the proposed GT. Thereafter, Jupiter's CPD would have been dry, and delayed accretion of planetesimals should have created water-rich Io and Europa. While Galilean atmospheres would have been lost during the GT, Titan would have formed after Saturn's own tack, because Saturn still accreted substantially for ~$10^6$ yr after its closest solar approach, ending up at about 7 AU.

astro-ph.EP↗

Water ice lines and the formation of giant moons around super-Jovian planets

Most of the exoplanets with known masses at Earth-like distances to Sun-like stars are heavier than Jupiter, which raises the question of whether such planets are accompanied by detectable, possibly habitable moons. Here we simulate the accretion disks around super-Jovian planets and find that giant moons with masses similar to Mars can form. Our results suggest that the Galilean moons formed during the final stages of accretion onto Jupiter, when the circumjovian disk was sufficiently cool. But in contrast to other studies, with our assumptions, we show that Jupiter was still feeding from the circumsolar disk and that its principal moons cannot have formed after the complete photoevaporation of the circumsolar nebula. To counteract the steady loss of moons into the planet due to type I migration, we propose that the water ice line around Jupiter and super-Jovian exoplanets acted as a migration trap for moons. Heat transitions, however, cross the disk during the gap opening within 10^4 yr, which makes them inefficient as moon traps. This indicates a fundamental difference between planet and moon formation. We find that icy moons larger than the smallest known exoplanet can form at about 15 - 30 Jupiter radii around super-Jovian planets. Their size implies detectability by the Kepler and PLATO space telescopes as well as by the European Extremely Large Telescope.

astro-ph.EP↗

Conditions for water ice lines and Mars-mass exomoons around accreting super-Jovian planets at 1 - 20 AU from Sun-like stars

Exomoon detections might be feasible with NASA's Kepler or ESA's upcoming PLATO mission or the ground-based E-ELT. To use observational resources most efficiently we need to know where the largest, most easily detected moons can form. We explore the possibility of large exomoons by following the movement of water (H2O) ice lines in the accretion disks around young super-Jovian planets. We want to know how different heating sources in those disks affect the H2O ice lines. We simulate 2D rotationally symmetric accretion disks in hydrostatic equilibrium around super-Jovian exoplanets. The energy terms in our semi-analytical model -- (1) viscous heating, (2) planetary illumination, (3) accretional heating, and (4) stellar illumination -- are fed by precomputed planet evolution tracks. We consider planets accreting 1 to 12 Jupiter masses at distances between 1 and 20 AU to a Sun-like star. Accretion disks around Jupiter-mass planets closer than ~4.5 AU to Sun-like stars do not feature H2O ice lines, but the most massive super-Jovians can form icy satellites as close as ~3 AU to Sun-like stars. Super-Jovian planets forming beyond ~5 AU can host Mars-mass moons. We study a broad range of disk parameters for planets at 5.2 AU and find that the H2O ice lines are universally between ~15 and 30 Jupiter radii when the last generation of moons is forming. If the abundant population of super-Jovian planets at ~1 AU formed in situ, then they should lack giant icy moons because their disks did not host H2O ice in the final stages of accretion. In the more likely case that these planets migrated to their current locations from beyond a few AU, they might be orbited by large, H2O-rich moons. In this case, Mars-mass ocean moons might be common in the stellar habitable zones. Future exomoon searches can provide powerful constraints on the formation and migration history of giant exoplanets.

astro-ph.EP↗

Better Than Earth

Do We Inhabit The Best O All Possible Worlds? German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz thought so, writing in 1710 that our planet, warts and all, must be the most optimal one imaginable. Leibniz's idea was roundly scorned as unscientific wishful thinking, most notably by French author Voltaire in his magnum opus, Candide. Yet Leibniz might find sympathy from at least one group of scientists - the astronomers who have for decades treated Earth as a golden standard as they search for worlds beyond our own solar system. Because earthlings still know of just one living world - our own - it makes some sense to use Earth as a template in the search for life elsewhere, such as in the most Earth-like regions of Mars or Jupiter's watery moon Europa. Now, however, discoveries of potentially habitable planets orbiting stars other than our sun - exoplanets, that is - are challenging that geocentric approach.

astro-ph.EP↗

How to determine an exomoon's sense of orbital motion

We present two methods to determine an exomoon's sense of orbital motion (SOM), one with respect to the planet's circumstellar orbit and one with respect to the planetary rotation. Our simulations show that the required measurements will be possible with the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). The first method relies on mutual planet-moon events during stellar transits. Eclipses with the moon passing behind (in front of) the planet will be late (early) with regard to the moon's mean orbital period due to the finite speed of light. This "transit timing dichotomy" (TTD) determines an exomoon's SOM with respect to the circumstellar motion. For the ten largest moons in the solar system, TTDs range between 2 and 12 s. The E-ELT will enable such measurements for Earth-sized moons around nearby stars. The second method measures distortions in the IR spectrum of the rotating giant planet when it is transited by its moon. This Rossiter-McLaughlin effect (RME) in the planetary spectrum reveals the angle between the planetary equator and the moon's circumplanetary orbital plane, and therefore unveils the moon's SOM with respect to the planet's rotation. A reasonably large moon transiting a directly imaged planet like beta Pic b causes an RME amplitude of almost 100 m/s, about twice the stellar RME amplitude of the transiting exoplanet HD209458b. Both new methods can be used to probe the origin of exomoons, that is, whether they are regular or irregular in nature.

astro-ph.EP↗

Formation, Habitability, and Detection of Extrasolar Moons

The diversity and quantity of moons in the Solar System suggest a manifold population of natural satellites exist around extrasolar planets. Of peculiar interest from an astrobiological perspective, the number of sizable moons in the stellar habitable zones may outnumber planets in these circumstellar regions. With technological and theoretical methods now allowing for the detection of sub-Earth-sized extrasolar planets, the first detection of an extrasolar moon appears feasible. In this review, we summarize formation channels of massive exomoons that are potentially detectable with current or near-future instruments. We discuss the orbital effects that govern exomoon evolution, we present a framework to characterize an exomoon's stellar plus planetary illumination as well as its tidal heating, and we address the techniques that have been proposed to search for exomoons. Most notably, we show that natural satellites in the range of 0.1 - 0.5 Earth mass (i) are potentially habitable, (ii) can form within the circumplanetary debris and gas disk or via capture from a binary, and (iii) are detectable with current technology.

astro-ph.EP↗

Detecting extrasolar moons akin to solar system satellites with an orbital sampling effect

Despite years of high accuracy observations, none of the available theoretical techniques has yet allowed the confirmation of a moon beyond the solar system. Methods are currently limited to masses about an order of magnitude higher than the mass of any moon in the solar system. I here present a new method sensitive to exomoons similar to the known moons. Due to the projection of transiting exomoon orbits onto the celestial plane, satellites appear more often at larger separations from their planet. After about a dozen randomly sampled observations, a photometric orbital sampling effect (OSE) starts to appear in the phase-folded transit light curve, indicative of the moons' radii and planetary distances. Two additional outcomes of the OSE emerge in the planet's transit timing variations (TTV-OSE) and transit duration variations (TDV-OSE), both of which permit measurements of a moon's mass. The OSE is the first effect that permits characterization of multi-satellite systems. I derive and apply analytical OSE descriptions to simulated transit observations of the Kepler space telescope assuming white noise only. Moons as small as Ganymede may be detectable in the available data, with M stars being their most promising hosts. Exomoons with the 10-fold mass of Ganymede and a similar composition (about 0.86 Earth radii in radius) can most likely be found in the available Kepler data of K stars, including moons in the stellar habitable zone. A future survey with Kepler-class photometry, such as Plato 2.0, and a permanent monitoring of a single field of view over 5 years or more will very likely discover extrasolar moons via their OSEs.

astro-ph.EP↗

Charge Exchange and Energy Loss of Slow Highly Charged Ions in 1nm Thick Carbon Nanomembranes

Experimental charge exchange and energy loss data for the transmission of slow highly charged Xe ions through ultra-thin polymeric carbon membranes are presented. Surprisingly, two distinct exit charge state distributions accompanied by charge exchange dependent energy losses are observed. The energy loss for ions exhibiting large charge loss shows a quadratic dependency on the incident charge state indicating that equilibrium stopping force values do not apply in this case. Additional angle resolved transmission measurements point on a significant contribution of elastic energy loss. The observations show that regimes of different impact parameters can be separated and thus a particle's energy deposition in an ultra-thin solid target may not be described in terms of an averaged energy loss per unit length.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Superhabitable Worlds

To be habitable, a world (planet or moon) does not need to be located in the stellar habitable zone (HZ), and worlds in the HZ are not necessarily habitable. Here, we illustrate how tidal heating can render terrestrial or icy worlds habitable beyond the stellar HZ. Scientists have developed a language that neglects the possible existence of worlds that offer more benign environments to life than Earth does. We call these objects "superhabitable" and discuss in which contexts this term could be used, that is to say, which worlds tend to be more habitable than Earth. In an appendix, we show why the principle of mediocracy cannot be used to logically explain why Earth should be a particularly habitable planet or why other inhabited worlds should be Earth-like. Superhabitable worlds must be considered for future follow-up observations of signs of extraterrestrial life. Considering a range of physical effects, we conclude that they will tend to be slightly older and more massive than Earth and that their host stars will likely be K dwarfs. This makes Alpha Centauri B, member of the closest stellar system to the Sun that is supposed to host an Earth-mass planet, an ideal target for searches of a superhabitable world.

astro-ph.EP↗

Runaway greenhouse effect on exomoons due to irradiation from hot, young giant planets

The Kepler space telescope has detected transits of objects as small as the Earth's Moon, and moons as small as 0.2 Earth masses can be detected in the Kepler data by transit timing and transit duration variations of their host planets. Such massive moons around giant planets in the stellar habitable zone (HZ) could serve as habitats for extraterrestrial life. We here assess the danger of exomoons to be in a runaway greenhouse (RG) state due to extensive heating from the planet. We apply pre-computed evolution tracks for giant planets to calculate the incident planetary radiation on the moon as a function of time. The total energy budget of stellar flux, illumination from the planet, and tidal heating in the satellite is compared to the critical flux for the moon to experience an RG effect. Irradiation from a 13-Jupiter-mass planet onto an Earth-sized moon at a distance of ten Jupiter radii can drive an RG state on the moon for about 200 Myr. If stellar illumination equivalent to that received by Earth from the Sun is added, the RG holds for about 500 Myr. After 1000 Myr, the planet's habitable edge has moved inward to about 6 planetary radii. Exomoons in orbits with eccentricities of 0.1 experience strong tidal heating; they must orbit a 13-Jupiter-mass host beyond 29 or 18 Jupiter radii after 100 Myr (at the inner and outer boundaries of the stellar HZ, respectively), and beyond 13 Jupiter radii (in both cases) after 1000 Myr to be habitable. If a roughly Earth-sized moon would be detected in orbit around a giant planet, and if this binary would orbit in the stellar HZ, then it will be crucial to recover the moon's orbital history. If such a moon around a 13-Jupiter-mass planet has been closer than 20 Jupiter radii to its host during the first few hundred million years at least, then it might have lost substantial amounts of its initial water reservoir and be uninhabitable today.

astro-ph.EP↗

Exomoon habitability constrained by illumination and tidal heating

The detection of moons orbiting extrasolar planets ("exomoons") has now become feasible. Once they are discovered in the circumstellar habitable zone, questions about their habitability will emerge. Exomoons are likely to be tidally locked to their planet and hence experience days much shorter than their orbital period around the star and have seasons, all of which works in favor of habitability. These satellites can receive more illumination per area than their host planets, as the planet reflects stellar light and emits thermal photons. On the contrary, eclipses can significantly alter local climates on exomoons by reducing stellar illumination. In addition to radiative heating, tidal heating can be very large on exomoons, possibly even large enough for sterilization. We identify combinations of physical and orbital parameters for which radiative and tidal heating are strong enough to trigger a runaway greenhouse. By analogy with the circumstellar habitable zone, these constraints define a circumplanetary "habitable edge". We apply our model to hypothetical moons around the recently discovered exoplanet Kepler-22b and the giant planet candidate KOI211.01 and describe, for the first time, the orbits of habitable exomoons. If either planet hosted a satellite at a distance greater than 10 planetary radii, then this could indicate the presence of a habitable moon.

astro-ph.EP↗

Magnetic shielding of exomoons beyond the circumplanetary habitable edge

With most planets and planetary candidates detected in the stellar habitable zone (HZ) being super-Earths and gas giants, rather than Earth-like planets, we naturally wonder if their moons could be habitable. The first detection of such an exomoon has now become feasible, and due to observational biases it will be at least twice as massive as Mars. But formation models predict moons can hardly be as massive as Earth. Hence, a giant planet's magnetosphere could be the only possibility for such a moon to be shielded from cosmic and stellar high-energy radiation. Yet, the planetary radiation belt could also have detrimental effects on exomoon habitability. We here synthesize models for the evolution of the magnetic environment of giant planets with thresholds from the runaway greenhouse (RG) effect to assess the habitability of exomoons. For modest eccentricities, we find that satellites around Neptune-sized planets in the center of the HZ around K dwarf stars will either be in an RG state and not be habitable, or they will be in wide orbits where they will not be affected by the planetary magnetosphere. Saturn-like planets have stronger fields, and Jupiter-like planets could coat close-in habitable moons soon after formation. Moons at distances between about 5 and 20 planetary radii from a giant planet can be habitable from an illumination and tidal heating point of view, but still the planetary magnetosphere would critically influence their habitability.

astro-ph.EP↗

A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ667C with three super-Earths in its habitable zone

Since low-mass stars have low luminosities, orbits at which liquid water can exist on Earth-sized planets are relatively close-in, which produces Doppler signals that are detectable using state-of-the-art Doppler spectroscopy. GJ 667C is already known to be orbited by two super-Earth candidates. We investigate whether the data supports the presence of additional companions. We obtain new Doppler measurements from HARPS extracted spectra and combined them with those obtained from the PFS and HIRES spectrographs. We used Bayesian and periodogram-based methods to re-assess the number of candidates and evaluated the confidence of each detection. Among other tests, we validated the planet candidates by analyzing correlations of each Doppler signal activity indices and investigate quasi-periodicity. Doppler measurements of GJ 667C are described better by six Keplerian-like signals: the two known candidates (b and c); three additional few-Earth mass candidates with periods of 92, 62 and 39 days (d, e and f); a cold super-Earth in a 260-day orbit (g) and tantalizing evidence of a $\sim$ 1 M$_\oplus$ object in a close-in orbit of 17 days (h). We explore whether long-term stable orbits are compatible with the data by integrating 8$\times 10^4$ solutions derived from the Bayesian samplings. The system consisting of six planets is compatible with dynamically stable configurations. As for the solar system, the most stable solutions do not contain mean-motion resonances and are described well by analytic Laplace-Lagrange solutions. The presence of a seventh planet (h) is supported by the fact that it appears squarely centered on the only island of stability left in the six-planet solution. Habitability assessments accounting for the stellar flux, as well as tidal dissipation effects, indicate that three (maybe four) planets are potentially habitable...

astro-ph.EP↗

Hot Moons and Cool Stars

The exquisite photometric precision of the Kepler space telescope now puts the detection of extrasolar moons at the horizon. Here, we firstly review observational and analytical techniques that have recently been proposed to find exomoons. Secondly, we discuss the prospects of characterizing potentially habitable extrasolar satellites. With moons being much more numerous than planets in the solar system and with most exoplanets found in the stellar habitable zone being gas giants, habitable moons could be as abundant as habitable planets. However, satellites orbiting planets in the habitable zones of cool stars will encounter strong tidal heating and likely appear as hot moons.

astro-ph.EP↗

Constraints on the habitability of extrasolar moons

Detections of massive extrasolar moons are shown feasible with the Kepler space telescope. Kepler's findings of about 50 exoplanets in the stellar habitable zone naturally make us wonder about the habitability of their hypothetical moons. Illumination from the planet, eclipses, tidal heating, and tidal locking distinguish remote characterization of exomoons from that of exoplanets. We show how evaluation of an exomoon's habitability is possible based on the parameters accessible by current and near-future technology.

astro-ph.EP↗

Exomoon habitability constrained by energy flux and orbital stability

Detecting massive satellites of extrasolar planets has now become feasible, which led naturally to questions about their habitability. In a previous study we presented constraints on the habitability of moons from stellar and planetary illumination as well as from tidal heating. Here I refine our model by including the effect of eclipses on the orbit-averaged illumination. Moons in low-mass stellar systems must orbit their planet very closely to remain bound, which puts them at risk of strong tidal heating. I first describe the effect of eclipses on stellar illumination of satellites. Then I calculate the orbit-averaged energy flux including illumination from the planet and tidal heating. Habitability is defined by a scaling relation at which a moon loses its water by the runaway greenhouse process. As a working hypothesis, orbital stability is assumed if the moon's orbital period is less than 1/9 of the planet's orbital period. Due to eclipses, a satellite in a close orbit can experience a reduction in orbit-averaged stellar flux by up to about 6%. The smaller the semi-major axis and the lower the inclination of the moon's orbit, the stronger the reduction. I find a lower mass limit of ~0.2M_sun for exomoon host stars to avoid the runaway greenhouse effect. Precise estimates depend on the satellite's orbital eccentricity. Deleterious effects on exomoon habitability may occur up to ~0.5M_sun. Although the habitable zone lies close to low-mass stars, which allows for many transits of planet-moon binaries within a given observation cycle, resources should not be spent to trace habitable satellites around them. Gravitational perturbations by the star, another planet, or another satellite induce eccentricities that likely make any moon uninhabitable. Estimates for individual systems require dynamical simulations that include perturbations among all bodies and tidal heating in the satellite.

astro-ph.EP↗