| 1. |
- Fray, Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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High-molecular-weight organic matter in the particles of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 538:7623, s. 72-74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The presence of solid carbonaceous matter in cometary dust was established by the detection of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in particles from comet 1P/Halley1, 2. Such matter is generally thought to have originated in the interstellar medium3, but it might have formed in the solar nebula—the cloud of gas and dust that was left over after the Sun formed4. This solid carbonaceous material cannot be observed from Earth, so it has eluded unambiguous characterization5. Many gaseous organic molecules, however, have been observed6, 7, 8, 9; they come mostly from the sublimation of ices at the surface or in the subsurface of cometary nuclei8. These ices could have been formed from material inherited from the interstellar medium that suffered little processing in the solar nebula10. Here we report the in situ detection of solid organic matter in the dust particles emitted by comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko; the carbon in this organic material is bound in very large macromolecular compounds, analogous to the insoluble organic matter found in the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites11, 12. The organic matter in meteorites might have formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar nebula, but was almost certainly modified in the meteorites’ parent bodies11. We conclude that the observed cometary carbonaceous solid matter could have the same origin as the meteoritic insoluble organic matter, but suffered less modification before and/or after being incorporated into the comet.
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| 2. |
- Hilchenbach, Martin, et al.
(författare)
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Mechanical and electrostatic experiments with dust particles collected in the inner coma of comet 67P by COSIMA onboard Rosetta
- 2017
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Ingår i: Philosophical Transactions. Series A. - : The Royal Society. - 1364-503X .- 1471-2962. ; 375:2097
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The in situ cometary dust particle instrument COSIMA (COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyser) onboard ESA's Rosetta mission has collected about 31 000 dust particles in the inner coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since August 2014. The particles are identified by optical microscope imaging and analysed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. After dust particle collection by low speed impact on metal targets, the collected particle morphology points towards four families of cometary dust particles. COSIMA is an in situ laboratory that operates remotely controlled next to the comet nucleus. The particles can be further manipulated within the instrument by mechanical and electrostatic means after their collection by impact. The particles are stored above 0°C in the instrument and the experiments are carried out on the refractory, ice-free matter of the captured cometary dust particles. An interesting particle morphology class, the compact particles, is not fragmented on impact. One of these particles was mechanically pressed and thereby crushed into large fragments. The particles are good electrical insulators and transform into rubble pile agglomerates by the application of an energetic indium ion beam during the secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis. This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'. © 2017 The Authors.
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| 3. |
- Mattsson, Lars, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Carbon-excess dependent Mass Loss and Molecular Opacities on Models of C-star Evolution
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We present models of stellar evolution for a 2Msun-star of initial metallicity Z = 0.01 (scaled solar), with focus on the carbon-star phase, the effects of increasing carbon excess on mass loss and molecular opacities. We employ a new, state-of-the-art theoretical mass-loss prescription for dust-driven winds, which takes effects of the carbon excess into account and implement a set of composition-dependent molecular opacities, which incorporates the changes due to the evolution of the carbon excess. This work should be regarded as an exploratory and comparative study. The stellar evolution models were computed using the MESA code-package (http://mesa.sourceforge.net), which includes a new fast and efficient code for stellar evolution, but still needs further calibration before quantitative comparisons with observations can be made. We find that the development of the carbon excess is controlling much of the carbon-star evolution. A very pronounced superwind is forming and the termination of the AGB happens soon after the star becomes carbon rich, in fact, after only 4-5 thermal pulses, which is much less than in existing models.
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| 4. |
- Mattsson, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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Mass loss evolution and the formation of detached shells around TP-AGB stars
- 2007
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 470:1, s. 339-352
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: The origin of the so called “detached shells” around AGB stars is not fully understood, but two common hypotheses state that these shells form either through the interaction of distinct wind phases or an eruptive mass loss associated with a He-shell flash. We present a model of the formation of detached shells around thermal pulse asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars, based on detailed modelling of mass loss and stellar evolution, leading to a combination of eruptive mass loss and wind interaction. Aims: The purpose of this paper is first of all to connect stellar evolution with wind and mass loss evolution and demonstrate its consistency with observations, but also to show how thin detached shells around TP-AGB stars can be formed. Previous attempts to link mass loss evolution with the formation of detached shells were based on approximate prescriptions for the mass loss and have not included detailed modelling of the wind formation as we do here. Methods: Using stellar parameters sampled from an evolutionary track for a 2 ~M_ȯ star, we have computed the time evolution of the atmospheric layers and wind acceleration region during a typical thermal pulse with detailed radiation hydrodynamical models including dust formation. Based on these results, we simulate the subsequent circumstellar envelope (CSE) evolution using a spherical hydrodynamic model. Results: We find that existing simple mass loss prescriptions all suggest different mass loss evolutions and that they differ from our detailed wind modelling. The most important factor for the formation of a detached shell is the wind velocity evolution which has a strong impact on the wind interaction and the resulting pile-up of matter. Our CSE model shows that a thin shell structure may be formed as a consequence of a rather short phase of intense mass loss in combination with a significant variation in the wind velocity, as obtained by our wind models. This situation can only be obtained for a limited range of amplitudes for the piston boundary used in the dynamic atmosphere models. Conclusions: The combined mass loss eruption and wind interaction scenario for the formation of detached shells around AGB stars (suggested by previous work) is confirmed by the present modelling. Changes in mass loss rate and wind velocity due to a He-shell flash are adequate for creating distinct wind phases and a “snow plow effect” that is necessary to form a geometrically thin detached shell. The derived properties of the shell (i.e. radius, thickness and density) are more or less consistent with existing observational constraints.
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| 5. |
- Mattsson, Lars, et al.
(författare)
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On the Connection between Mass Loss and Evolution of C-rich AGB Stars
- 2007
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Ingår i: Why Galaxies Care About AGB Stars: Their Importance as Actors and Probes. - 9781583813188 ; , s. 239-243
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The mass-loss properties of carbon rich AGB stars are not very well constrained at present. A variety of empirical or theoretical formulae with different parameterisations are available in the literature and the agreement between them is anything but good. These simple mass-loss prescriptions are nonetheless used in many models of stellar evolution without much consideration of their applicability in various cases. We present here an on-going project aiming at a better description of the mass loss, that could be used to improve stellar evolution models -- especially the evolution during the TP-AGB phase. As a first step, we have considered the mass-loss evolution during a He-shell flash. Using stellar parameters sampled from a stellar evolutionary track, we have computed the time evolution of the atmospheric layers and wind acceleration region during a flash event with detailed frequency-dependent radiation-hydrodynamical models including dust formation. We find that existing simple mass-loss prescriptions imply mass-loss evolutions different than our model. Based on these results, we have also simulated the subsequent long-term dynamical evolution of the circumstellar envelope (CSE), including the formation of a detached shell. The second step of the project deals with the dependence of mass loss on the basic stellar parameters. At the moment we are computing a large grid of wind models for C-rich AGB stars. Preliminary results show that simple parameterisations are difficult to obtain in certain regions of the parameter space considered, due to strong non-linearities in the wind mechanism.
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