abstract: The only elements that were made in significant quantity during the Big Bang were hydrogen and helium, and to a lesser extent lithium. Depending on the initial mass of a star, it may eject some or all of the unique, newly formed elements into the interstellar medium. The enriched gas later collapses into new stars, which are able to form heavier elements due to the presence of the new elements. When we observe the abundances in a stellar regions, we are able to glean the astrophysical phenomena that occurred prior to its formation. I compile spectroscopic abundance data from 49 literature sources for 46 elements across 2836 stars in the solar neighborhood, within 150 pc of the Sun, to produce the Hypatia Catalog. I analyze the variability of the spread in abundance measurements reported for the same star by different surveys, the corresponding stellar atmosphere parameters adopted by various abundance determination methods, and the effect of normalizing all abundances to the same solar scale. The resulting abundance ratios [X/Fe] as a function of [Fe/H] are consistent with stellar nucleosynthetic processes and known Galactic thin-disk trends. I analyze the element abundances for 204 known exoplanet host-stars. In general, I find that exoplanet host-stars are not enriched more than the surrounding population of stars, with the exception of iron. I examine the stellar abundances with respect to both stellar and planetary physical properties, such as orbital period, eccentricity, planetary mass, stellar mass, and stellar color. My data confirms that exoplanet hosts are enriched in [Fe/H] but not in the refractory elements, per the self-enrichment theory for stellar composition. Lastly, I apply the Hypatia Catalog to the Catalog of Potentially Habitable Stellar Systems in order to investigate the abundances in the 1224 overlapping stars. By looking at stars similar to the Sun with respect to six bio-essential elements, I created maps that have located two ``habitability windows'' on the sky: (20.6hr, -4.8deg) and (22.6hr, -48.5deg). These windows may be of use in future targeted or beamed searches. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Astrophysics 2012

abstract: I present a catalog of 1,794 stellar evolution models for solar-type and low-mass stars, which is intended to help characterize real host-stars of interest during the ongoing search for potentially habitable exoplanets. The main grid is composed of 904 tracks, for 0.5-1.2 M_sol at scaled metallicity values of 0.1-1.5 Z_sol and specific elemental abundance ratio values of 0.44-2.28 O/Fe_sol, 0.58-1.72 C/Fe_sol, 0.54-1.84 Mg/Fe_sol, and 0.5-2.0 Ne/Fe_sol. The catalog includes a small grid of late stage evolutionary tracks (25 models), as well as a grid of M-dwarf stars for 0.1-0.45 M_sol (856 models). The time-dependent habitable zone evolution is calculated for each track, and is strongly dependent on stellar mass, effective temperature, and luminosity parameterizations. I have also developed a subroutine for the stellar evolution code TYCHO that implements a minimalist coupled model for estimating changes in the stellar X-ray luminosity, mass loss, rotational velocity, and magnetic activity over time; to test the utility of the updated code, I created a small grid (9 models) for solar-mass stars, with variations in rotational velocity and scaled metallicity. Including this kind of information in the catalog will ultimately allow for a more robust consideration of the long-term conditions that orbiting planets may experience. In order to gauge the true habitability potential of a given planetary system, it is extremely important to characterize the host-star's mass, specific chemical composition, and thus the timescale over which the star will evolve. It is also necessary to assess the likelihood that a planet found in the "instantaneous" habitable zone has actually had sufficient time to become "detectably" habitable. This catalog provides accurate stellar evolution predictions for a large collection of theoretical host-stars; the models are of particular utility in that they represent the real variation in stellar parameters that have been observed in nearby stars. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Astrophysics 2017

Esta dissertação de mestrado apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que buscou verificar se as normas vigentes no Brasil para os alojamentos dos tripulantes de navios mercantes são efetivas em propiciar boas condições de habitabilidade e segurança. O processo utilizado para esta verificação foi o de comparar tais normas com recomendações e determinações de diversas fontes. A opção por este objeto de pesquisa se justifica uma vez que atualmente, após mais de duas décadas de decadência da indústria naval e da frota mercante brasileiras, há um grande número de navios em construção. Além disso, a vida útil dos navios é de aproximadamente trinta anos, o que significa que a inadequação das normas segundo as quais são construídos implicaria em consequências de longo prazo e difíceis de serem revertidas, em função da complexidade dos navios. Por outro lado, a Organização Marítima Internacional e outras fontes citam o projeto dos alojamentos como um dos fatores que podem influenciar no aumento do número de casos e na intensidade da fadiga entre os tripulantes, com reflexos na incidência de erros humanos e, consequentemente, de acidentes marítimos. Um indicador da existência de deficiências na configuração dos espaços de alojamento é o número de acidentes pessoais neles ocorridos, relativamente alto quando comparado com o das áreas de trabalho e operação da embarcação, onde o risco de acidentes é consideravelmente maior. A confrontação das normas vigentes no Brasil com recomendações e determinações das diversas fontes consultadas evidenciou que estas admitem condições mais desfavoráveis do que as aceitas para embarcações destinadas a fins especiais e em navios de algumas marinhas de guerra. Ademais, sua análise revelou que não especificam os níveis considerados apropriados ao conforto térmico, acústico, iluminação e vibrações, o que indica que estão desatualizadas e aponta para a necessidade de sua revisão com base em estudos atuais. / This Master\'s dissertation presents the results of research which seeks to establish whether the prevailing standards for crew accommodation in merchant shipping in Brazil is effective in providing good conditions of habitability and safety. The verification process used was to compare such standards with recommendations and requirements from several different sources. The justification for this choice of research is that following more than two decades of decline in the shipbuilding sector and the Brazilian merchant navy, there are now a large number of ships once more under construction in indigenous shipyards. Since ships have a useful life of approximately thirty years, this means failure to adhere to construction standards would imply long term consequences, difficult to revert in the light of the complexity of vessels. Conversely, the International Maritime Organization as well as other sources, cites the onboard accommodation project as one of the factors that can impact the number of cases of fatigue and its intensity among crew members. This in turn is reflected in the level of human error and consequently, maritime accidents. One indicator of deficiencies in accommodation configuration is the number of personal accidents that occur in them, relatively high compared with onboard working and operational areas where risk of accidents is considerably greater. The comparison of the prevailing standards in Brazil with recommendations and requirements of several sources which have been consulted, revealed that these tolerate conditions which are less favorable than those acceptable in special purpose vessels and in the ships of some navies. Additionally, comparison showed that standards prevailing in Brazil fail to specify the levels deemed appropriate for thermal and acoustic comfort, lighting and vibration. The indication is that such are out-of-date - pointing to a need for review based on current studies.

Certos ambientes subterrâneos da Terra possuem acumulados, naturalmente, compostos de radionuclídeos de longa vida, como 238U, 232Th 40K, próximo à presença de água líquida. O mesmo é esperado que aconteça em corpos planetários, no Sistema Solar, que possua quantidades apreciáveis de água. Nestes ambientes radioativos naturais, a radiólise da água produz espécies químicas e desequilíbrios químicos importantes para a vida. Apesar da proposta do decaimento radioativo como fonte alternativa de energia para sistemas vivos existir há mais de trinta anos, isto se mostrou realmente concreto após descoberta de um ecossistema peculiar cuja sobrevivência é dependente de espécies químicas produzidas por radiólise aquosa. Neste trabalho, avaliamos e quantificamos os desequilíbrios químicos gerados localmente pela radiólise aquosa e a possível contribuição destes para a emergência da vida, tendo como referência os estudos em ambientes de fontes hidrotermais alcalinas, consideradas promissores ambientes para esse evento. Também foram avaliados seus efeitos na habitabilidade de possíveis ambientes análogos na lua gelada Europa. Procuramos quantificar a diversidade química formada nessas condições e a associar aos desequilíbrios parâmetros termodinâmicos. As estimativas realizadas para ambientes radioativos na Terra primitiva apontaram para a similaridade entre o desequilíbrio causado por radiólise aquosa e o encontrado em fontes hidrotermais alcalinas. Confirmando e detalhando a análise preliminar que motivou o trabalho. Não obstante, considerando Europa, chegamos a valores de densidade de células do extremófilo Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator que sobreviveriam em um conjunto de candidatos a análogos geológicos de possível ambiente radioativo na lua gelada. A partir deste estudo pudemos analisar o potencial para a emergência da vida e de protometabolismos nestes ambientes radioativos naturais na Terra primitiva, bem como levantar parâmetros mensuráveis para futuras missões espaciais que buscam vida ou habitabilidade em Europa. / Certain subterranean environments of the Earth has naturally accumulated compounds of longlived radionuclides, such as 238U, 232Th 40K, near the presence of liquid water. The same is estimated in wet planetary bodies in the Solar System. In these natural radioactive environments, water radiolysis produces chemical species and chemical disequilibria, which are important for life. Although the proposal of radioactive decay as an alternative source of energy for deep biospheres has existed for more than thirty years, this proved to be really feasible after the discovery of a peculiar ecosystem whose survivor is dependent on chemical species produced by water radiolysis. In this work, we evaluate and quantify the chemical disequilibria generated locally by water radiolysis and the possible contribution of these to the emergence of life, having as reference the studies alkaline hydrothermal vents, which is considered highly promising environment for this event. It is also evaluated their effects on the habitability of possible analogous environments on the Jupiter icy moon Europa. It was aimed to quantify the chemical diversity formed under these conditions and to calculate disequilibria using thermodynamic parameters. The estimates made for natural radioactive environments in early Earth pointed to the similarity between the disequilibrium caused by water radiolysis and those found in alkaline hydrothermal vents. What confirms and details the preliminary analysis that motivated this work. In addition, it was calculated values for cell density of the Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator extremophile, that would survive in Europa comparable to the in situ analysis of some terrestrial radioactive environments, using a set of possible scenarios for possible local natural radioactive environments. From this study, we were able to analyze the potential for the emergence of life and protometabolisms in these natural radioactive environments in early Earth, as well as to provide measurable parameters for future space missions that seek for life or habitability in Europa.

Avec la découverte d'anciens réseaux de rivières sur Mars et la détection de planètes telluriques tempérées autour d'étoiles voisines, nous disposons à présent d'un terrain de jeu formidable pour explorer si la vie est abondante ou rare dans l'Univers. Mon travail de thèse vise à mieux comprendre les conditions dans lesquelles une planète peut maintenir de l'eau liquide - substrat essentiel de la vie - à sa surface. À l'aide de modèles numériques de climat 3-D, et de calculs et mesures spectroscopiques, j'ai mené pendant ma thèse deux enquêtes. Premièrement, j'ai exploré les climats passés de Mars, pour comprendre comment se sont formées les énigmatiques rivières martiennes. À part la Terre, Mars est la seule planète qui a été habitable, mais nous ne savons toujours pas pourquoi. J'ai montré que les évènements extrêmes (formation des vallées de débâcle, impacts de météorites) qui ont pourtant profondément marqué la surface de Mars ne peuvent pas expliquer à eux seuls la formation de ces réseaux fluviaux. Mes travaux de thèse ont également permis d'établir que la présence de gaz à effet de serre réduits (hydrogène, méthane) offre une solution alternative prometteuse. Deuxièmement, j'ai étudié les atmosphères possibles des exoplanètes solides et tempérées, notamment celles orbitant autour de petites étoiles comme Proxima et TRAPPIST-1. J'ai montré que certaines de ces planètes ont des caractéristiques très favorables à la présence d'eau liquide en surface. Ce résultat est d'autant plus prometteur qu'il sera possible - comme démontré dans ma thèse pour le cas de la planète Proxima b - de caractériser l'atmosphère de ces planètes avec les futurs télescopes JWST et ELTs. / Ancient rivers and lakes discovered on Mars. Numerous temperate, Earth-sized exoplanets detected around nearby stars. Thanks to ground and space-based telescope observations and Solar System exploration missions, we now have a fantastic playground to explore how prevalent life is in the Universe. The main goal of my thesis work is to better understand the conditions necessary for a planet to maintain liquid water - a primary building block for life - on its surface. Using 3-D numerical climate models, as well as spectroscopic calculations and measurements, I conducted two major investigations during my thesis. First, I explored the environments of ancient Mars at multiple epochs in order to understand the conditions in which the enigmatic Martian rivers were carved. Apart from Earth, Mars is the only planet that has been habitable, but we don't know why. I showed that extreme events (outflow channel formation, meteoritic impacts) that scarred the surface of Mars cannot explain the formation of these valley networks. Nonetheless, I showed that the presence of reducing greenhouse gases such as hydrogen and methane offers a promising alternative solution. Secondly, I studied the possible atmospheres of solid, temperate exoplanets, with a particular focus on those orbiting small stars such as Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1. I showed that some of these planets have characteristics that are highly favourable to the presence of liquid water on their surface. This result is really promising as it will be soon become possible - as demonstrated in my thesis for Proxima b - to characterize the atmosphere of these planets with the future JWST and ELTs astronomical observatories.

ROCKE-3D is a contemporary Global Circulation Model allowing research into the complex processes behind the climate of planets. Using ROCKE-3D one can construct a model coupling atmosphere, land, and ocean revealing how the climate of a planet evolves over time. When constructing a model using ROCKE-3D, 2 different types of oceans can be used, one shallow without horizontal heat transfer and one fully coupled dynamic ocean. Simulations created using the different ocean types give rise to different results. In this project, the fractional habitability of the model 'planets' will be calculated using various methods in order to evaluate the differences between ocean types in ROCKE-3D simulations. There is also a hope to better understand how parameters such as rotation period and insolation, are affected when using different ocean types. The results show a large difference in predicted habitability fraction using two approximations for the ocean heat transport indicating that the Qflux approximation produces unrealistic models and should be avoided. / ROCKE-3D är en modern Global Circulation Model som tillåter forskning in i de komplexa processer som bygger planeters klimat. Vid användning av ROCKE-3D kan modeller som kopplar atmosfärer, land och hav konstrueras, detta kan avslöja hur en planets klimat utvecklas över tid. När en model konstrueras med ROCKE-3D kan 2 olika typer av hav användas, ett utan horisontell värmeöverföring som kallas för ett "Qflux" hav och ett fullt kopplat dynamiskt hav. Simulationer skapade med de olika havstyperna ger skillnad i resultat. I det här projektet, beräknas modell-planeternas fractional habitability för att evaluera skillnaden mellan havstyp i ROCKE-3D simulationer. Det finns även ett hopp för en bättre förståelse av hur parametrar, rotationsperiod och solinstrålning, påverkar när det är att föredra användningen av en viss havstyp. Resultaten visar att skillnaden i ""fractional habitability" mellan simulationer skapta med de 2 havstyperna minskar när solinstrålningen ökar, vilket visar att användandet av ett "Qflux" hav i skapandet av simulationer vid låg solinstrålning borde avrådas.

To explore the question of how race and design are related, I have developed a set of analysis strategies, involving props that are investigating objecthood and subjectivity. I use prototyping techniques and sketching in full scale. The design process contains three main investigation packages that ran parallel and was intertwined with each other, and resulted in a staged planetarian habitability (Mbembe, 2020) that communicates how to decolonize the African objects.  The objective of this project was to investigate how to make stories about African design as well as identify how an African spatial design practice could unfold. The myth building around race is a successful practice even today. Therefore, it is necessary for each generation to undo these myths. The project resulted in objects and a spatial installation that render tangible, new ideals about modernity and design in relation to race.

Life on Earth likely began as an RNA world, where cell-free or compartmentalized ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules dominated as the replicating and evolving lifeforms prior to the emergence of DNA- and protein-based life. The focus of this thesis is on when and how this RNA world emerged. We use astrophysical and geophysical studies to constrain when the Earth was habitable, and biosignature studies to constrain when the Earth was inhabited. From this we obtain a time interval for the emergence of life. Considering all these constraints, we find that the Earth was habitable as early as 4.5 Ga, or as late as 3.9 Ga, depending on whether the early influx of asteroids inhibited life from emerging. The time that the Earth was inhabited is more precisely constrained to 3.7 Ga. This suggests life emerged within 800 Myr, and possibly in < 200 Myr. Between 4.5–3.7 Ga, the continental crust was slowly rising up from the global ocean, providing dry land on which warm little ponds could form. We develop the theory for the emergence of RNA polymers in these pond environments, whose wet-dry cycles promote polymerization. RNA is comprised of chains of nucleotides, and the latter is made up of ribose, phosphate, and a characteristic nucleobase. We numerically model the survival and evolution of nucleobases in warm little ponds from meteorite and interplanetary dust sources. The wet-dry cycles of our ponds are controlled by precipitation, evaporation, and seepage. The nucleobase sinks include photodissociation, seepage, and hydrolysis. Nucleobase and nucleotide seepage is efficient, therefore nucleotides and RNA molecules must have emerged rapidly (< a few years) in order to avoid falling through pores at the base of the pond. We find that meteorites, not interplanetary dust particles, are the dominant source of nucleobases used for RNA synthesis. Finally, under these conditions, we find that first RNA polymers likely emerged before 4.17 Ga. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Atmospheres play an important role in the habitability of a planet, so understanding and modelling them is an important step in the search for life on other planets. This thesis presents a 1D frequency-dependent radiative-convective code that was written to help determine the temperature-pressure structure of potentially-habitable exoplanets. This code pairs with a chemistry model to determine the chemical composition of these planets' atmospheres. This code is applied to the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. The initial atmospheric compositions of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are determined through planet formation history and considered for both outgassed and accreted atmospheres. An interesting result is found when running these initial atmospheric compositions through the chemistry model: when the atmosphere equilibrates, it can change its C/O ratio from equal to that found in the accreted or outgassed volatiles to something lower, because, in temperate conditions, CO$_2$ is favoured over CO. This has the consequence that observed C/O ratios in terrestrial atmospheres cannot be relied on to infer the C/O ratio of the protoplanetary disc in which the planet formed. The initial results of atmospheric modelling for TRAPPIST-1 planets indicate that these planets are likely to have relatively warmer upper atmospheres due to the fact that their host star emits primarily in the infrared, and a portion of this radiation is then absorbed as it enters the top of the atmosphere. These initial results have not been seen in previous work. These initial results are the beginning of a database of potential atmospheres on the TRAPPIST-1 planets. It is hoped that these atmospheres can be compared with observations from future observing missions like the James Webb Space Telescope to help constrain the surface conditions of these potentially-habitable planets and ultimately, to help in the search for life. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Um Atlas Digital é um atlas que foi concebido através de técnicas computacionais e que, consequentemente, pode ser acessado através de um computador. Estruturado em um ambiente gráfico, além dos mapas, pode-se contar também com textos, fotografias, dados estatísticos, gráficos e tabelas. Por estar em meio digital existe a possibilidade de utilização de uma expressiva gama de temas, formatos e escalas. Nesta dissertação apresenta-se um protótipo de Atlas Digital como uma colaboração ao Sistema de Informação Municipal SIM, para o município de São João de Meriti, RJ. O referido SIM, que tem como meta os serviços municipais, visa atender ao próprio município, ao cidadão e a outros interessados na cidade, sendo as suas informações fundamentais para a melhoria da gestão das prefeituras. A pesquisa foi direcionada para o tema da habitabilidade, que consiste num conjunto de condições voltadas para a construção de habitat saudável, abrangendo temas físicos, psicológicos, sociais, culturais e ambientais. Dentro do tema habitabilidade, foram trabalhados os subtemas relativos a infraestrutura de abastecimento de água, esgoto, coleta de lixo, saúde e educação, esses subtemas foram confrontados entre si para uma comparação entre os bairros do município. O SIM e a habitabilidade são contemplados no plano diretor da cidade e representa uma grande parte da sustentação teórica da dissertação. A modelagem e implementação do protótipo do Atlas Digital foram feitas com auxílio de softwares gratuitos, sendo possível acessar mapas temáticos e outras informações sobre São João de Meriti / A Digital Atlas is an atlas that has been designed using computational techniques and that, consequently, can be accessed through a computer. It was structured in a graphical environment, in addition to maps, we can also count on texts, photographs, statistics, graphs and tables. In a the digital environment, there is the possibility of using an impressive range of topics, formats and scales. This dissertation presents a prototype of the Digital Atlas as collaboration to the Municipal Information System - MIS of the city of São João de Meriti, RJ. This SIM, aims to municipal services, serving the same town, the citizens and other stakeholders in the city and its key information are for improving the management of town halls. The research was directed towards the issue of habitability, which consists of a set of conditions aimed at building healthy habitat, covering topics physical, psychological, social, cultural and environmental. Inside the housing theme, subthemes were worked on the infrastructure of water supply, sewage, garbage collection, health and education, these sub-themes were compared among themselves for a comparison between the districts of the municipality. The modeling and implementation of the prototype Digital Atlas was made with free software, where the access to thematic maps and other information about São João de Meriti are possible.