Orientadora: Silvia Maria Giuliatti Winter / Coorientador: Rodney da Silva Gomes / Banca: Tadashi Yokoyama / Banca: Ernesto Vieira Neto / Banca: Fernando Virgilio Roig / Banca: Nelson Callegari Junior / Resumo : Neste trabalho investigamos a evolução orbital de partículas de poeira que escapam das superfícies de ambos satélites pequenos de Plutão: Nix e Hidra, produzidas através do impacto de micrometeoroides nas superfícies dos mesmos, sob influencia da pressão de radiação solar e dos efeitos gravitacionais de Plutão, Caronte e dos próprios satélites fontes (Nix e Hidra). A taxa de produção de massa dos grãos de poeira micrométricos foi obtida e simulações numéricas foram realizadas para obter o tempo de vida destes grãos no sistema plutoniano. Os grãos ejetados de Nix e Hidra formam um anel de largura de aproximadamente 16.000 km, o que corresponde a distância radial aproximada entre as órbitas de Nix e Hidra. Através das integrações numéricas verificamos que colisões de grãos com os corpos massivos do sistema e escape em _orbitas hiperbólicas constituem os principais mecanismos de perda de material e são determinadas pelo efeito da pressão de radiação solar. Este importante mecanismo de desestabilização de grãos de poeira em Plutão, remove 30% do conjunto inicial de partículas com raios de 1 µ em apenas 1 ano. As demais partículas que permanecem no sistema formam um anel muito tênue com uma profundidade óptica máxima de 4x10¹¹. Exploramos também a possibilidade dos progenitores dos satélites pequenos de Plutão terem sido capturados pelo binário Plutão-Caronte do disco primordial massivo heliocêntrico, no qual Plutão estaria inserido. Encontramos que, para objetos com baixas velocidades de aproximação com o binário, capturas poderiam ocorrer com probabilidade não é negligenciável devido a natureza do próprio encontro: planetesimal e par de objetos massivosNo entanto, os objetos capturados permaneceriam em orbitas bastante excêntricas em relação ao baricentro do binário, assim o tempo tópico de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this work, we investigate the orbital evolution of the escaping dust from both small satellites of Pluto: Nix and Hydra, produced via impacts of micrometeoroids on the surfaces of the small satellites, under the influence of the solar radiation pressure combined with the gravitational ejects of Pluto, Charon, and the parent-bodies (Nix and Hydra). The mass production rate of micron-sized dust particles is obtained and numerical simulations are performed to derive the lifetime of the ejecta. The ejected particles form a wide ring of about 16,000 km, which corresponds to the radial distance between the orbits of Nix and Hydra. Through the numerical simulations we verified that collisions with the massive bodies within the system and escape into hyperbolic orbits are the main mechanisms of loss of material, which are mainly determined by the solar radiation pressure acting on the grains. This important loss mechanism removes 30% of the initial set of 1 µ sized particles in 1 year. The surviving particles form a ring too faint to be detectable with a derived maximum optical depth of 4x10¹¹. We also explore the possibility that the progenitors of the small satellites of Pluto have been captured by the Pluto-Charon binary from the massive heliocentric planetesimal disk in which Pluto was originally embedded into. Wend that debris with small approximation velocities to the binary can be captured temporarily by Pluto-Charon with non-negligible probability, due to the dynamical perturbations exerted by the binary nature of the Pluto-Charon pair... (Complete abstract click eletronic access below) / Doutor

El análisis químico de los meteoritos que más se parecen a la materia que dio lugar a la formación de la Tierra revela que la concentración del gas xenón en la atmósfera de nuestro planeta es menor de la que se debería esperar. Investigaciones recientes parecen indicar que el origen de esta deficiencia podría estar relacionado con la solubilidad de los gases nobles en las vacantes de oxígeno de la estructura perovskita del silicato de magnesio, MgSiO3, principal componente del manto terrestre. / The chemical analysis of the meteorites considered to resemble closely the primordial matter which led to the formation of the Earth indicates that the concentration of xenon gas in our atmosphere is lower than expected. It seems that this deficiency is related to the noble gases’ solubility in the oxygen vacancies present in the perovskite structure of magnesium silicate, MgSiO3, the main constituent of the Earth’s mantle.

The Mars climate has been explored using two reanalysis datasets based on combining spacecraft observations of temperature and dust with the UK version of the LMD Mars GCM. The semiannual oscillation (SAO) of zonal-mean zonal wind was studied using the existing Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation reanalysis during Mars Years (MYs) 24-27. The SAO of zonal-mean zonal wind was shown to exist and extend over a wide range of latitudes. The dynamical driving processes of the SAO in the tropics were investigated, and the forcing due to meridional advection appeared to be the main contributor to the SAO. The study also highlighted some phenomena associated with perturbations of the global circulation during the MY 25 global dust storm (GDS). The meridional advection term was shown to be weaker in the first half of GDS year MY 25 than in the following year, but the forcing due to meridional advection and westward thermal tides both appeared to intensify during the MY 25 GDS. The capabilities of the Mars data assimilation system were also extended in this thesis, 1) to represent dynamic dust lifting and dust transport during the assimilation and 2) to assimilate measurements of the dust vertical distribution. The updated reanalysis was then used to study several major dust events during MY28-29. It proved able to reproduce a southward-moving regional dust storm without the overwhelming assistance of the assimilation. Dust devil lifting was found to at least partly provide the initial pattern of dust of this moving dust storm. The cold anomaly of the cooling zone beneath this dust storm could be as large as ∼ 2 K similar to the magnitude of what was found during the MY 25 GDS. Using the reanalysis, the life cycle of the planet-encircling global dust storm in MY28 was also studied. The Noachis dust storm that occurred just before the MY 28 GDS was found to be the joint result of a travelling Chryse storm, enhanced by dust lifting along its path and local dust lifting in Noachis itself. The adiabatic heating associated with the north polar warming that occurred during MY 28 GDS was up to ∼ 3 times as large as that found during the non-GDS year MY 29. The wind stress dust lifting was shown to in strong correlation with the global average dust loadings, and significantly decreased when the GDS decayed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-02T11:16:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-03-20Bitstream added on 2014-12-02T11:20:56Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000791753.pdf: 2751318 bytes, checksum: 273e7cbadcaa9ed81c675b41ad4a9fb7 (MD5) / Neste trabalho investigamos a evolução orbital de partículas de poeira que escapam das superfícies de ambos satélites pequenos de Plutão: Nix e Hidra, produzidas através do impacto de micrometeoroides nas superfícies dos mesmos, sob influencia da pressão de radiação solar e dos efeitos gravitacionais de Plutão, Caronte e dos próprios satélites fontes (Nix e Hidra). A taxa de produção de massa dos grãos de poeira micrométricos foi obtida e simulações numéricas foram realizadas para obter o tempo de vida destes grãos no sistema plutoniano. Os grãos ejetados de Nix e Hidra formam um anel de largura de aproximadamente 16.000 km, o que corresponde a distância radial aproximada entre as órbitas de Nix e Hidra. Através das integrações numéricas verificamos que colisões de grãos com os corpos massivos do sistema e escape em _orbitas hiperbólicas constituem os principais mecanismos de perda de material e são determinadas pelo efeito da pressão de radiação solar. Este importante mecanismo de desestabilização de grãos de poeira em Plutão, remove 30% do conjunto inicial de partículas com raios de 1 µ em apenas 1 ano. As demais partículas que permanecem no sistema formam um anel muito tênue com uma profundidade óptica máxima de 4x10¹¹. Exploramos também a possibilidade dos progenitores dos satélites pequenos de Plutão terem sido capturados pelo binário Plutão-Caronte do disco primordial massivo heliocêntrico, no qual Plutão estaria inserido. Encontramos que, para objetos com baixas velocidades de aproximação com o binário, capturas poderiam ocorrer com probabilidade não é negligenciável devido a natureza do próprio encontro: planetesimal e par de objetos massivosNo entanto, os objetos capturados permaneceriam em orbitas bastante excêntricas em relação ao baricentro do binário, assim o tempo tópico de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / In this work, we investigate the orbital evolution of the escaping dust from both small satellites of Pluto: Nix and Hydra, produced via impacts of micrometeoroids on the surfaces of the small satellites, under the influence of the solar radiation pressure combined with the gravitational ejects of Pluto, Charon, and the parent-bodies (Nix and Hydra). The mass production rate of micron-sized dust particles is obtained and numerical simulations are performed to derive the lifetime of the ejecta. The ejected particles form a wide ring of about 16,000 km, which corresponds to the radial distance between the orbits of Nix and Hydra. Through the numerical simulations we verified that collisions with the massive bodies within the system and escape into hyperbolic orbits are the main mechanisms of loss of material, which are mainly determined by the solar radiation pressure acting on the grains. This important loss mechanism removes 30% of the initial set of 1 µ sized particles in 1 year. The surviving particles form a ring too faint to be detectable with a derived maximum optical depth of 4x10¹¹. We also explore the possibility that the progenitors of the small satellites of Pluto have been captured by the Pluto-Charon binary from the massive heliocentric planetesimal disk in which Pluto was originally embedded into. Wend that debris with small approximation velocities to the binary can be captured temporarily by Pluto-Charon with non-negligible probability, due to the dynamical perturbations exerted by the binary nature of the Pluto-Charon pair... (Complete abstract click eletronic access below)

abstract: The Kuiper Belt Object Haumea is one of the most fascinating objects in the solar system. Spectral reflectance observations reveal a surface of almost pure water ice, yet it has a mass of 4.006 × 1021 kg, measured from orbits of its moons, along with an inferred mean radius of 715 km, and these imply a mean density of around 2600 kg m−3. Thus the surface ice must be a veneer over a rocky core. This model is supported by observations of Haumea's light curve, which shows large photometric variations over an anomalously rapid 3.9154-hour rotational period. Haumea's surface composition is uniform, therefore the light curve must be due to a varying area presented to the observer, implying that Haumea has an oblong, ellipsoidal shape. If Haumea's rotation axis is normal to our line of sight, and Haumea reflects with a lunar-like scattering function, then its axis ratios are p = b/a = 0.80 (in the equatorial cross section) and q = c/a = 0.52 (in the polar cross section). In this work, I assume that Haumea is in hydrostatic equilibrium, and I model it as a two-phase ellipsoid with an ice mantle and a rocky core. I model the core assuming it has a given density in the range between 2700–3300 kg m−3 with axis ratios that are free to vary. The metric which my code uses calculates the angle between the gravity vector and the surface normal, then averages this over both the outer surface and the core-mantle boundary. When this fit angle is minimized, it allows an interpretation of the size and shape of the core, as well as the thickness of the ice mantle. Results of my calculations show that Haumea's most likely core density is 2700–2800 kg m−3, with ice thicknesses anywhere from 12–32 km over the poles and as thin as 4–18 km over the equator. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Astrophysics 2015

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:14:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FranciscoJC_DISSERT.pdf: 1252788 bytes, checksum: 79f23bcf558ba802fceb9767f5de4082 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / n this work, we analyze the behavior of the chromospheric and coronal activities as a function of the mass and the orbital period of extrasolar planets which were detected by transit technique. So we look for possible effects of the planet on the star s chromosphere and corona. For this study we selected a sample of 48 stars with chromospheric activity indicator and 23 with coronal activity indicator. Our work is based on the work from Pont et al. (2011) in order to study stars with planets which were obtained by transit technique. Furthermore, we studied the relationship between planetary mass and orbital period with the chromospheric and coronal activity in order to better understand which influences the planets cause in the outer layers of stellar atmosphere. In our analysis we can observe that the mass of the planets exerts no influence in the stellar activity. However, we observed that the stellar coronal and chromospheric activities decrease with the increase of the orbital period of the planet / Neste trabalho, analisamos o comportamento da atividade cromosf?rica e coronal em fun??o da massa e do per?odo orbital de planetas extrassolares que foram detectados atrav?s da t?cnica de tr?nsito. Desta forma, procuramos poss?veis efeitos do planeta sobre a cromosfera e a coroa da estrela. Para este estudo selecionamos uma amostra de 48 estrelas com indicador de atividade cromosf?rica e 23 estrelas com indicador de atividade coronal. Tomamos como modelo o trabalho de Pont et al. (2011) afim de estudar estrelas com planetas os quais foram obtidos atrav?s da t?cnica de tr?nsito. Portanto, estudamos a rela??o massa-per?odo planet?rio com a atividade cromosf?rica e coronal no intuito de compreender melhor quais as influ?ncias que os planetas causam nas camadas mais externas da atmosfera estelar. Em nossa an?lise podemos observar que a massa do planeta n?o exerce nenhuma influ?ncia na atividade estelar. No entanto, podemos observar que as atividades cromosf?rica e coronal diminuem com o aumento do per?odo orbital do planeta

Ante la evidente necesidad de comprender los frecuentes cambios negativos que experimenta el planeta Tierra en los suelos, los ríos y la atmosfera y con la idea de intentar mitigar el cambio climático, aparece la química computacional como una rama de la química que nos permite estudiar y predecir diversas propiedadesfisicoquímicas de sistemas moleculares complejos de interés ambiental las cuales son, algunas veces, imposibles de estudiar de forma experimental. El presente artículo muestra un panorama molecular del comportamiento y características fisicoquímicas de algunos contaminantes atmosféricos estudiados a través de la química computacional / The urgent need to understand the frequent negative changes that the planet Earth suffer on its soil, rivers and atmosphere and the need to mitigate climate change makes computational chemistry stand out as a branch of chemistry that allows thestudy and prediction of different physicochemical properties of several complex molecular systems of environmental significance which are sometimes impossible to study in a laboratory. The present article shows a molecular overview of the behavior and physicochemical characteristics of some atmospheric pollutants studied through computational chemistry.

HD 100453AB is a 10 +/- 2 Myr old binary whose protoplanetary disk was recently revealed to host a global two-armed spiral structure. Given the relatively small projected separation of the binary (1.'' 05, or similar to 108 au), gravitational perturbations by the binary seemed to be a likely driving force behind the formation of the spiral arms. However, the orbit of these stars remained poorly understood, which prevented a proper treatment of the dynamical influence of the companion on the disk. We observed HD. 100453AB between 2015 and 2017, utilizing extreme adaptive optics systems on the Very Large Telescope and the Magellan Clay Telescope. We combined the astrometry from these observations with published data to constrain the parameters of the binary's orbit to a = 1.'' 06 +/- 0.'' 09, e = 0.17 +/- 0.07, and i = 32 degrees.5 +/- 6 degrees.5. We utilized publicly available ALMA (CO)-C-12 data to constrain the inclination of the disk, i(disk) similar to 28 degrees, which is relatively coplanar with the orbit of the companion and consistent with previous estimates from scattered light images. Finally, we input these constraints into hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations to model the structural evolution of the disk. We find that the spiral structure and truncation of the circumprimary disk in HD 100453 are consistent with a companion-driven origin. Furthermore, we find that the primary star's rotation, its outer disk, and the companion exhibit roughly the same direction of angular momentum, and thus the system likely formed from the same parent body of material.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T12:19:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcia Figueiredo Leite.pdf: 1188074 bytes, checksum: 604cf56aebeabeee9a6405b49c1c86fc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / During the northern hemisphere winter the stratospheric polar temperature increases abruptly. On some occasions, the stratospheric polar region experience more intense heating, which are accompanied by a reversal in the zonal mean circulation. These events are classified as sudden stratospheric warming. Some studies showed intense connection between the events of abrupt warming of the Northern Hemisphere polar stratosphere and mesospheric cooling of the region, as well as between these events and disturbances in the mesosphere and the ionosphere at middle and low latitudes, including the equatorial region. The objective of this study was to investigate possible effects of sudden warming event in stratospheric polar temperature behavior of the equatorial region near the menopause. In this sense, temperature data estimated from meteor radar measurements obtained at São João do Cariri-PB (7.4°S, 36.5°W) were analyzed together with data from the polar stratosphere, provided by National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Analyzing the results it was found that during the sudden stratospheric warming major the mesopause temperatures on the São João do Cariri are lower than during the stratospheric warming events considered minor. Also was verified an anti-correlation between the equatorial mean mesopause temperature and the temperature in the polar cap (poleward of 60 N) at 10 hPa, during Sudden Stratospheric Warming Major events. / Durante o inverno do hemisfério norte a temperatura da estratosfera polar aumenta de forma brusca. Em algumas ocasiões, a estratosfera polar experimenta aquecimentos mais intensos, os quais são acompanhados de uma inversão na circulação zonal média. Estes eventos são classificados como aquecimentos abruptos estratosféricos (Sudden Stratospheric Warming). Alguns estudos evidenciaram conexão entre os eventos intensos de aquecimento abrupto da estratosfera polar do hemisfério norte e o esfriamento da região mesosférica, assim como entre os eventos e perturbações presentes na mesosfera e na ionosfera em médias e baixas latitudes, incluindo a região equatorial. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar possíveis efeitos de evento de aquecimento abrupto da estratosfera polar no comportamento da temperatura da região próxima à mesopausa equatorial. Neste sentido, dados de temperaturas estimados a partir de medidas obtidas com radar meteórico em São João do Cariri-PB (7,4°S, 36,5°O) foram analisados juntamente com dados da estratosfera polar, fornecidos pelo National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Analisados os resultados, verificou-se que durante evento intenso de aquecimento abrupto da estratosfera polar, as temperaturas da mesopausa sobre São João do Cariri são mais baixas do que durante os eventos de aquecimento estratosféricos considerados fracos. Também foram verificadas anticorrelações entre a temperatura próxima a região da mesopausa equatorial e a média zonal da temperatura da estratosfera polar durante eventos intensos de aquecimento abrupto da estratosfera.

Measuring masses of long-period planets around F, G, and K stars is necessary to characterize exoplanets and assess their habitability. Imaging stellar astrometry offers a unique opportunity to solve radial velocity system inclination ambiguity and determine exoplanet masses. The main limiting factor in sparse-field astrometry, besides photon noise, is the non-systematic dynamic distortions that arise from perturbations in the optical train. Even space optics suffer from dynamic distortions in the optical system at the sub-mu as level. To overcome this limitation we propose a diffractive pupil that uses an array of dots on the primary mirror creating polychromatic diffraction spikes in the focal plane, which are used to calibrate the distortions in the optical system. By combining this technology with a high-performance coronagraph, measurements of planetary systems orbits and masses can be obtained faster and more accurately than by applying traditional techniques separately. In this paper, we present the results of the combined astrometry and and high-contrast imaging experiments performed at NASA Ames Research Center as part of a Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions program. We demonstrated 2.38x10(-5) lambda/D astrometric accuracy per axis and 1.72x10(-7) raw contrast from 1.6 to 4.5 lambda/D. In addition, using a simple average subtraction post-processing we demonstrated no contamination of the coronagraph field down to 4.79x10(-9) raw contrast.