In the widely accepted core accretion model of planet formation, small rocky and/or icy bodies (planetesimals) accrete to form protoplanetary cores. Gas giant planets are believed to have solid cores that must reach a critical mass, ∼10 Earth masses (ME), after which there is rapid inflow of gas from the gas disk. In order to accrete the gas giants’ massive atmospheres, this step must occur within the gas disk’s lifetime (1 − 10 million years). Numerical simulations of solid body accretion in the outer Solar System are performed using two integrators. The goal of these simulations is to investigate the effects of important dynamical processes instead of specifically recreating the formation of the Solar System’s giant planets. The first integrator uses the Symplectic Massive Body Algorithm (SyMBA) with a modification to allow for planetesimal fragmentation. Due to computational constraints, this code has some physical limitations, specifically that the planetesimals themselves cannot grow, so protoplanets must be seeded in the simulations. The second integrator, the Lagrangian Integrator for Planetary Accretion and Dynamics (LIPAD), is more computationally expensive. However, its treatment of planetesimals allows for growth of potential giant planetary cores from a disk consisting only of planetesimals. Thus, this thesis’ preliminary simulations use the first integrator to explore a wider range of parameters while the main simulations use LIPAD to further investigate some specific processes. These simulations are the first use of LIPAD to study giant planet formation and they identify a few important dynamical processes affecting core formation. Without any fragmentation, cores tend to grow to ∼2ME. When planetesimal fragmentation is included, the resulting fragments are easier to accrete and larger cores are formed (∼4ME). But, in half of the runs, the fragments force the entire system to migrate towards the Sun. In other half, outward migration via scattering off a large number of planetesimal helps the protoplanets grow and survive. However, in a preliminary set of simulations including protoplanetary fragmentation, very few collisions are found to result in accretion so it is difficult for any cores to form. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-20 14:48:39.443

Stars are likely to form with non-zero initial angular momentum, and will consequently possess a substantial gaseous protostellar disc in the early phases of their evolution. At this early stage, the disc mass is expected to be comparable to the mass of the protostar. The disc’s self-gravity therefore plays an important role in the subsequent evolution of the system, regulating the accretion of matter onto the protostar, as well as being potentially capable of forming low mass stars and massive planets by disc fragmentation. The protostellar disc may later evolve into a protoplanetary disc, providing the feedstock for planet formation. Therefore, if the current stellar populations and exoplanetary systems are to be understood, an understanding of the evolution of protostellar discs is crucial, especially their earliest self-gravitating phases. I have used various methods of numerical simulation to probe the physics of self-gravitating protostellar discs and their constituents. When constructing a model for self-gravitating protostellar discs, including detailed thermodynamics and radiative transfer is essential. I have developed two distinct numerical techniques for incorporating radiative transfer into Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. The first allows the modelling of frequency-averaged radiative transfer during the SPH simulation, in effect approximating radiative SPH (RSPH) with only a marginal increase in runtime (around 6%). The second takes the output from SPH simulations, and creates synthetic, wavelength-dependent telescope images and spectra of SPH systems. This allows the direct construction of observables from SPH simulations, providing, for the first time, a direct connection between the output of SPH simulations and observations. I have used these numerical methods to analyse, in detail, the local angular momentum transport induced by self-gravity in protostellar discs, testing the robustness of the “pseudo-viscous” analytical approximation for local disc stresses. I confirm that semi-analytical disc modellers are justified in using the pseudo-viscous approximation in some cases, but I also outline the limits in which non-local transport effects causes the approximation to fail. Also, I have investigated the evolution of protostellar discs when perturbed by a secondary companion, in particular identifying whether such events will in general trigger a) a disc fragmentation event, or b) a stellar outburst event. For case a), I found no significant evidence that perturbation by a companion improves the possibility of disc fragmentation in compact discs - in case b), I found that stellar outburst events do indeed occur, but they are unlikely to be seen by observers due to their rare occurrence, as well as due to self-obscuration effects.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo abordar a modelagem da formação e migração de um núcleo sólido planetário . Para isso, foi utilizado um modelo de acreção de planetesimais, baseado no trabalho de Inaba et al. (2000), no qual a taxa de acreção média depende da inclinação e excentricidade dos planetesimais, obtidas através da situação de equilbrio entre a interação com o protoplaneta e o arrasto do gás (Fortier et al., 2013). Para complementar esse cenário, foi includa a migração de tipo I, que ocorre devido à interação do planeta com o disco de gás. O modelo analtico que descreve essa migração teve como base o trabalho de Tanaka et al. (2002). O perfil de densidade de gás e sólidos foi obtido com base em três modelos diferentes para o disco. O primeiro é o modelo clássico da Nebulosa Solar, no qual o perfil de densidade decai com r 3/2 ; o segundo é um modelo hbrido, que utiliza medidas observacionais da densidade superficial do gás (Andrews e Williams, 2005) e uma estimativa analtica para a densidade volumêtrica do gás; por fim, o terceiro modelo é um disco de acreção que utiliza a parametrização de Shakura e Sunyaev (1973) com constante. Com o uso desses três perfis diferentes para o disco, foi possvel explorar a variação dos parâmetros livres do modelo e a possibilidade de formação de núcleos sólidos, da ordem de 10M Terra , num tempo menor que o tempo de vida do disco, estimado como menor que 10 × 10^6 anos. Em geral, a migração de tipo I é muito rápida, de modo que o protoplaneta cai na estrela antes mesmo de adquirir massa suficiente para iniciar a acreção de gás. No entanto, a análise revelou, para o disco hbrido, a possibilidade de se obter massas próximas de 10MTerra , num tempo da ordem de 2 × 10^6 anos, em distâncias de até 3.5 UA. Conclui-se, então, que modelos de acreção mais completos, assim como a obtenção deperfis de densidade de gás e sólidos dos discos protoplanetários mais coerentes, podem explicar a formação de núcleos sólidos num tempo hábil para a formação de planetas gigantes, sem a necessidade de fatores numéricos que reduzam a taxa de migração de tipo I. / The aim of this paper is to model the planetary formation and migration of a solid core. Therefore, it was used a model of planetesimal accretion, based on the paper of Inaba et al. (2000), in which the average accretion tax depends on the inclination and eccentricity of that planetesimals. These parameters were obtained through the balance situation between the interaction with the protoplanet and gas draft (Fortier et al., 2013). In order to complete this scenario, the migration type I, which occurs due to an interaction of the planet with the gas disc, was included. The analytical model that describes this migration has its basis on (Tanaka et al., 2002). The density of solids and gas profile was based on three different models for the disc. The first one is a classical of Nebulosa Solar, in which the density profile varies r^3/2 , the second is a hybrid model that uses observational measures of the gas superficial density (Andrews et al., 2010) and an analytical formula for the gas volumetric density; at last, the third model is an accretion disc which uses the parameterization of (Shakura e Sunyaev, 1973) with constant. Using these three different disc profiles, it was possible to explore the variation of the model free parameters and the possibility of the solid cores formation with 10M Earth within time smaller than 10 × 10^6 years, which is the estimated limit lifetime of the disc. In general, migration type I is very fast, so that the protoplanet falls on the star before acquiring enough mass to begin the gas accretion. However, the analysis has revealed, for the hybrid disc, the possibility to obtain masses up to 10MEarth within time 2 × 10^6 , for distance up to 3.5 AU. In conclusion, more complete models of accretion as well as the more coherent density gas and solid profiles of the protoplanet obtained may explain the formation of solid coreswithin a useful time for the giant planets formation, not using numerical factors that reduce the migration type I tax.

Le sujet de cette thèse est la phase d'accrétion emballée du gaz lors de la formation des planètes géantes, au moyen de simulations hydrodynamiques. Une planète de la masse de Jupiter est simulée au sein d'un disque circumstellaire autour d'une étoile de masse solaire. Grâce aux grilles emboitées du code JUPITER, le voisinage de la planète est résolu suffisamment pour étudier le disque circumplanétaire. Des simulations 3D localement isothermes révèlent que l'accrétion est un processus fondamentalement tridimensionnel, avec 90% du gaz accrété verticalement à travers le sillon ouvert par la planète, via une circulation méridienne entre les disques circumstellaire et circumplanétaire. Le taux d'accrétion est mesuré à partir de simulations sans viscosité, en accord avec les conditions qui règnent dans l'environnement planétaire. On trouve que Jupiter doublerait sa masse en un demi million d'années durant cette phase emballée, ce qui est similaire au temps de dispersion du disque, et pourrait donc expliquer la rareté des exoplanètes très massives (plus de 3 masses de Jupiter). En ajoutant les effets thermiques au code Jupiter, nous avons réalisé des simulations radiatives, avec des températures plus réalistes. Celles-ci montrent que la température de la planète influence fortement les propriétés de la matière circum-planétaire : même une planète assez massive pour ouvrir un sillon ne peut former qu'une enveloppe planétaire supportée par la pression si sa température est élevée (~13000 K), comme une planète de faible masse. Au contraire, dans les simulations où la température au voisinage de la planète est bornée à 1000-2000 K, un disque circum-planétaire se forme. / This thesis is focusing on the runaway gas accretion phase of giant planet formation with hydrodynamic simulations. A Jupiter-mass planet is simulated embedded in a circumstellar disk around a Solar-mass star. Thanks to the JUPITER-code nested meshing technique, the planet vicinity is resolved with high resolution allowing to study the circumplanetary disk formed around the giant planet. Isothermal, 3-dimensional simulations revealed that the accretion is truly 3D process, with 90% of the gas accreted from the vertical direction through the planetary gap. This vertical influx is part of a meridional circulation between the circumstellar and circumplanetary disks. The accretion rate to planet was determined from inviscid simulation, in order to account for the presumably low viscosity environment in the forming planet’s vicinity. In this inviscid limit, the mass doubling time in the runaway phase can be as long as half a million years, competing with the gas dispersal timescale, hence providing a possible solution for the missing population of massive (>3 Jupiter-mass) giant planets. Incorporating the thermal effects into the JUPITER-code, radiative simulations with more realistic temperature information were carried out as well. These simulations revealed that the planetary temperature greatly determines the properties of the circumplanetary material. Even a gap-opening giant planet could only form a circumplanetary, pressure-supported envelope, if the planet temperature is high (~13,000 Kelvin), similarly to low-mass planets. In contrary, in the simulations were the central temperatures were capped at 1000-2000 Kelvins, circumplanetary disks were formed.

As the number of known exoplanetary systems has grown, it has become increasing apparent that our current understanding of planet formation is insufficient to explain the broad but distinct distributions of planets and planetary systems we observe. In particular, constructing a coherent model of planetary formation and migration within a circumstellar disc which is capable of producing both hot Jupiters or Solar System-like planetary system is high challenging. Resolved observations of where planets form and how they influence their parent discs provides essential information for tackling this important question. A promising technique for detecting close-in companions is Sparse Aperture Masking (SAM). The technique uses a mask to transform a single aperture telescope into a compact interferometric array capable of reliably detecting point sources at the diffraction limit or closer to a bright star with superior contrasts than extreme AO systems at the cost of smaller fields of view. Applying image reconstruction techniques to the interferometric information allows an observer to recover detailed structure in the circumstellar material. In this thesis I present work on the interpretation of SAM interferometry data on protoplanetary discs through the simulation of a number of scenarios expected to be commonly seen, and the application of this technique to a number of objects. Analysing data taken as part of a SAM survey of transitional and pre-transitional discs using the Keck-II/NIRC2 instrument, I detected three companion candidates within the discs of DM\,Tau, LkH\alpha\,330, and TW\,Hya, and resolved a gap in the disc around FP\,Tau as indicated by flux from the disc rim. The location of all three of the companions detected as part of the survey are positioned in interesting regions of their parent discs. The candidate, LkH\alpha\,330\,b is a potentially cavity opening companion due to its close radial proximity to the inner rim of the outer disc. DM\,Tau\,b is located immediately outside of a ring of dusty material largely responsible for the NIR comment of the disc SED, similar to TW\,Hya\,b located in a shallow gap in the dust disc outside another ring of over-dense dusty material which bounds a deep but narrow gap. Both of these companion candidates maybe migrating cores which are feeding from the enriched ring of material. I conducted a more extensive study of the pre-transitional disc, V1247\,Ori, covering three epochs and the H-, K- and L-wavebands. Complementary observations with VLT/SPHERE in H\alpha and continuum plus SMA observations in CO (2-1) and continuum were performed. The orientation and geometry of the outer disc was recovered with the SMA data and determine the direction of rotation. We image the inner rim of the outer disc in L-band SAM data, recovering the rim in all three epochs. Combining all three data sets together we form a detailed image of the rim. In H- and K-band SAM data we observe the motion of a close-in companion candidate. This motion was found to be too large to be adequately explained through a near-circular Keplerian orbit within the plane of the disc around the central star. Hence an alternate hypothesis had to be developed. I postulated that the fitted position of the companion maybe influenced by the emission from the disc rim seen in the L-band SAM data. I constructed a suite of model SAM data sets of a companion and a disc rim and found that under the right conditions the fitted separation of a companion will be larger than the true separation. Under these conditions we find the motion of the companion candidate to be consistent with a near-circular Keplerian orbit within the plane of the disc at a semi-major axis of \sim6\,au. The H\alpha data lack the necessary resolution to confirm the companion as an accreting body, but through the high contrast sensitivities enabled by the state of the art SPHERE instrument I was able to rule out any other accreting body within the gap, unless deeply embedded by the sparse population of MIR emitting dust grains previously inferred to reside within the gap. Through the combination of SAM and SMA data we constrain the 3-D orientation of the disc, and through multi-wavelength SAM observation identify a close-in companion potentially responsible for the gap clearing and asymmetric arm structures seen in previous observations of this target. During my PhD I have contributed to the field of planet formation through the identification of four new candidate protoplanets observed in the discs of pre-main sequence stars. To do so I have quantified the confidence levels of companion fits to SAM data sets and formed synthetic data from models of asymmetric structures seen in these discs. I have described for the first time the effects of extended sources of emission on the fitted results of companion searches within interferometric data sets. I have combined SAM data sets from two separate telescopes with different apertures and masks to produce reconstructed image of an illuminated disc rim with superior uv-coverage. I have used the expertise I have developed in this field to contribute to a number of other studies, including the study of the young star TYC\,8241\,2652\,1, resulting in the rejection of a sub-stellar companion as the cause of the rapid dispersal of the star`s disc. The companion candidates I have identified here should be followed up to confirm their presence and nature as accreting protoplanets. Objects such as these will provide the opportunity for more detailed study of the process of planet formation in the near future with the next generation of instruments in the JWST and E-ELT.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo abordar a modelagem da formação e migração de um núcleo sólido planetário . Para isso, foi utilizado um modelo de acreção de planetesimais, baseado no trabalho de Inaba et al. (2000), no qual a taxa de acreção média depende da inclinação e excentricidade dos planetesimais, obtidas através da situação de equilbrio entre a interação com o protoplaneta e o arrasto do gás (Fortier et al., 2013). Para complementar esse cenário, foi includa a migração de tipo I, que ocorre devido à interação do planeta com o disco de gás. O modelo analtico que descreve essa migração teve como base o trabalho de Tanaka et al. (2002). O perfil de densidade de gás e sólidos foi obtido com base em três modelos diferentes para o disco. O primeiro é o modelo clássico da Nebulosa Solar, no qual o perfil de densidade decai com r 3/2 ; o segundo é um modelo hbrido, que utiliza medidas observacionais da densidade superficial do gás (Andrews e Williams, 2005) e uma estimativa analtica para a densidade volumêtrica do gás; por fim, o terceiro modelo é um disco de acreção que utiliza a parametrização de Shakura e Sunyaev (1973) com constante. Com o uso desses três perfis diferentes para o disco, foi possvel explorar a variação dos parâmetros livres do modelo e a possibilidade de formação de núcleos sólidos, da ordem de 10M Terra , num tempo menor que o tempo de vida do disco, estimado como menor que 10 × 10^6 anos. Em geral, a migração de tipo I é muito rápida, de modo que o protoplaneta cai na estrela antes mesmo de adquirir massa suficiente para iniciar a acreção de gás. No entanto, a análise revelou, para o disco hbrido, a possibilidade de se obter massas próximas de 10MTerra , num tempo da ordem de 2 × 10^6 anos, em distâncias de até 3.5 UA. Conclui-se, então, que modelos de acreção mais completos, assim como a obtenção deperfis de densidade de gás e sólidos dos discos protoplanetários mais coerentes, podem explicar a formação de núcleos sólidos num tempo hábil para a formação de planetas gigantes, sem a necessidade de fatores numéricos que reduzam a taxa de migração de tipo I. / The aim of this paper is to model the planetary formation and migration of a solid core. Therefore, it was used a model of planetesimal accretion, based on the paper of Inaba et al. (2000), in which the average accretion tax depends on the inclination and eccentricity of that planetesimals. These parameters were obtained through the balance situation between the interaction with the protoplanet and gas draft (Fortier et al., 2013). In order to complete this scenario, the migration type I, which occurs due to an interaction of the planet with the gas disc, was included. The analytical model that describes this migration has its basis on (Tanaka et al., 2002). The density of solids and gas profile was based on three different models for the disc. The first one is a classical of Nebulosa Solar, in which the density profile varies r^3/2 , the second is a hybrid model that uses observational measures of the gas superficial density (Andrews et al., 2010) and an analytical formula for the gas volumetric density; at last, the third model is an accretion disc which uses the parameterization of (Shakura e Sunyaev, 1973) with constant. Using these three different disc profiles, it was possible to explore the variation of the model free parameters and the possibility of the solid cores formation with 10M Earth within time smaller than 10 × 10^6 years, which is the estimated limit lifetime of the disc. In general, migration type I is very fast, so that the protoplanet falls on the star before acquiring enough mass to begin the gas accretion. However, the analysis has revealed, for the hybrid disc, the possibility to obtain masses up to 10MEarth within time 2 × 10^6 , for distance up to 3.5 AU. In conclusion, more complete models of accretion as well as the more coherent density gas and solid profiles of the protoplanet obtained may explain the formation of solid coreswithin a useful time for the giant planets formation, not using numerical factors that reduce the migration type I tax.

In this thesis I discuss probes of small spatial scales around young stars and protostars and around the supermassive black hole at the galactic center. I begin by describing adaptive optics-fed infrared spectroscopic studies of nascent and newborn binary systems. Binary star formation is a significant mode of star formation that could be responsible for the production of a majority of the galactic stellar population. Better characterization of the binary formation mechanism is important for better understanding many facets of astronomy, from proper estimates of the content of unresolved populations, to stellar evolution and feedback, to planet formation. My work revealed episodic accretion onto the more massive component of the pre-main sequence binary system UY Aur. I also showed changes in the accretion onto the less massive component, revealing contradictory indications of the change in accretion rate when considering disk-based and shock-based tracers. I suggested two scenarios to explain the inconsistency. First, increased accretion should alter the disk structure, puffing it up. This change could obscure the accretion shock onto the central star if the disk is highly inclined. Second, if accretion through the disk is impeded before it makes it all the way onto the central star, then increased disk tracers of accretion would not be accompanied by increased shock tracers. In this case mass must be piling up at some radius in the disk, possibly supplying the material for planet formation or a future burst of accretion. My next project focused on characterizing the atmospheres of very low-mass companions to nearby young stars. Whether these objects form in an extension of the binary-star formation mechanism to very low masses or they form via a different process is an open question. Different accretion histories should result in different atmospheric composition, which can be constrained with spectroscopy. I showed that 3-4 μm spectra of a sample of these objects with effective temperatures greater than 1500 K are similar to the spectra of older more massive brown dwarfs at the same temperature, in contrast to objects at 1000 K that exhibit distinct L-band SEDs. The oldest object in my sample of young companions, 50 My old CD-35 2722 B, appears redder than field dwarfs with similar spectral type based on 1-2.5 μm spectra. This could indicate reduced cloud opacity compared to field dwarfs at the same temperature. I also present work to better understand the supermassive blackhole at the center of our Galaxy. Astrometric monitoring of stellar orbits about the blackhole have been used to sketch the gravitational potential, revealing 4 x 10⁶ M_⊙ within a radius of 40 AU. Further constraints on the gravitational potential, and the detection of post-Newtonian effects on the stellar orbits, will require improved astrometric precision. Currently confusion noise in the crowded central cluster limits astrometric precision. Increased spatial resolution can alleviate confusion noise. Dual field phase referencing on large-aperture infrared interferometers provides the sensitivity needed to observe the Galactic center, providing the fastest route to increased spatial resolution. I present simulations of dual-field phase referencing performance with the Keck Interferometer and with the VLTI GRAVITY instrument, to describe the potential contributions each could make to Galactic center stellar astrometry. I demonstrate that the near-future GRAVITY instrument at the VLTI will have a large impact on the ability to precisely track the paths of stars orbiting there, as long as a star with K-band apparent magnitude less than 20 exists within 70 milliarcseconds of the blackhole. Many of the stars orbiting the blackhole are in a post-main sequence wind phase. The wind from these stars is feeding an accretion flow falling onto the blackhole. This flow is radiatively inefficient, producing only 10⁻⁸ times the Eddington limit. Thus our relative proximity to the center of our own Galaxy, provides the opportunity to study a low-luminosity accretion mode that would be difficult or impossible to observe in more remote galaxies. Variable emission from the accretion flow arises from very deep within the flow and could be used to reveal the physics of the accretion process. Characterizing the variability is challenging because all wavelength regimes from radio through X-ray are affected by the process(es) that gives rise to the variations. I report observations of variability at wavelengths that are difficult or challenging to observe from the ground using the SPIRE instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory. My work provides the first constraints on the flux of the accretion flow at 250 μm. Variations at 500, 350, and 250 μm observed with Herschel exhibit typical amplitudes similar to the variations observed at 1300 μm from the ground, but the amplitude distribution of flux variations observe with Herschel does not exhibit a tail to large amplitudes that is seen at 1300 μm. This could suggest a connection between large-amplitude mm/submillimeter variations and X-ray activity, since no increased X-ray activity was observed during our Herschel monitoring.

abstract: An exhaustive parameter study involving 133 dynamic crystallization experiments was conducted, to investigate the validity of the planetary embryo bow shock model by testing whether the cooling rates predicted by this model are consistent with the most dominant chondrule texture, porphyritic. Results show that using coarse-grained precursors and heating durations ≤ 5 minutes at peak temperature, porphyritic textures can be reproduced at cooling rates ≤ 600 K/hr, rates consistent with planetary embryo bow shocks. Porphyritic textures were found to be commonly associated with skeletal growth, which compares favorably to features in natural chondrules from Queen Alexandra Range 97008 analyzed, which show similar skeletal features. It is concluded that the experimentally reproduced porphyritic textures are consistent with those of natural chondrules. This work shows heating duration is a major determinant of chondrule texture and the work further constrains this parameter by measuring the rate of chemical dissolution of relict grains. The results provide a robust, independent constraint that porphyritic chondrules were heated at their peak temperatures for ≤ 10 minutes. This is also consistent with heating by bow shocks. The planetary embryo bow shock model therefore remains a viable chondrule mechanism for the formation of the vast majority of chondrules, and the results presented here therefore strongly suggest that large planetary embryos were present and on eccentric orbits during the first few million years of the Solar System’s history. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Geological Sciences 2018

Chondritic meteorites are undifferentiated fragments of asteroids that contain the oldest solids formed in our Solar System. Their primitive, solar-like chemical compositions indicate that they experienced very little processing following accretion to their parent bodies. As such, they retain the best records of chemical and physical processes active in the protoplanetary disk during planet formation. Chondritic meteorites are depleted relative to the sun in volatile elements such as S and O. In addition to being important components of organic material, these elements exert a strong influence on the behavior of other more refractory species and the composition of planets. Understanding their distribution is therefore of key interest to the scientific community. While the bulk abundance of volatile elements in solid phases present in meteorites is below solar values, some meteorites record volatile-rich gas phases. The Rumuruti (R) chondrites record environments rich in both S and O, making them ideal probes for volatile enhancement in the early Solar System. Disentangling the effects of parent-body processing on pre-accretionary signatures requires unequilibrated meteorite samples. These samples are rare in the R chondrites. Here, I report analyses of unequilibrated clasts in two thin sections from the same meteorite, PRE 95404 (R3.2 to R4). Data include high resolution element maps, EMP chemical analyses from silicate, sulfide, phosphate, and spinel phases, SIMS oxygen isotope ratios of chondrules, and electron diffraction patterns from Cu-bearing phases. Oxygen isotope ratios and chondrule fO2 levels are consistent with type II chondrules in LL chondrites. Chondrule-sized, rounded sulfide nodules are ubiquitous in both thin sections. There are multiple instances of sulfide-silicate relationships that are petrologically similar to compound chondrules, suggesting that sulfide nodules and silicate chondrules formed as coexisting melts. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of phosphate inclusions and Cu-rich lamellae in both sulfide nodules and sulfide assemblages within silicate chondrules. Thermodynamic analyses indicate that sulfide melts reached temperatures up to 1138 °C and fS2 of 2 x 10^(-3) atm. These conditions require total pressures on the order of 1 atm, and a dust- or ice-rich environment. Comparison with current models suggest that either the environmental parameters used to model chondrule formation prior to planetesimal formation should be adjusted to meet this pressure constraint, or R chondrite chondrules may have formed through planetesimal bow shocks or impacts. The pre-accretionary environment recorded by unequilibrated R chondrites was therefore highly sulfidizing, and had fO2 higher than solar composition, but lower than the equilibrated R chondrites.Chalcopyrite is rare in meteorites, but forms terrestrially in hydrothermal sulfide deposits. It was previously reported in the R chondrites. I studied thin sections from PRE 95411 (R3 or R4), PCA 91002 (R3.8 to R5), and NWA 7514 (R6) using Cu X-ray maps and EMP chemical analyses of sulfide phases. I found chalcopyrite in all three samples. TEM electron diffraction data from a representative assemblage in PRE 95411 are consistent with this mineral identification. TEM images and X-ray maps reveal the presence of an oxide vein. A cubanite-like phase was identified in PCA 91002. Electron diffraction patterns are consistent with isocubanite. Cu-rich lamellae in the unequilibrated clasts of PRE 95404 are the presumed precursor materials for chalcopyrite and isocubanite. Diffraction patterns from these precursor phases index to bornite. I hypothesize that bornite formed during melt crystallization prior to accretion. Hydrothermal alteration on the parent body by an Fe-rich aqueous phase between 200 and 300°C resulted in the formation of isocubanite and chalcopyrite. In most instances, isocubanite may have transformed to chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite at temperatures below 210°C. This environment was both oxidizing and sulfidizing, suggesting that the R chondrites record an extended history of volatile-rich interaction. These results indicate that hydrothermal alteration of sulfides on the R chondrite parent body was pervasive and occurred even in low petrologic types. This high temperature aqueous activity is distinct from both the low temperature aqueous alteration of the carbonaceous chondrites and the high temperature, anhydrous alteration of the ordinary chondrites.

abstract: Planets are generally believed to form in protoplanetary disks within a few million years (Myr) to several hundred Myr. But planetary embryos or protoplanets likely exist before disk gas dissipates (in three to ten Myr), capturing H2 -rich primary atmospheres from the nebula. Exploring these primordial atmospheres of planets provides a pathway to understanding the origins and the diversity of planets in the solar system and beyond. In this dissertation, I studied the primary atmospheres by modeling their formation, their impacts on planet formation, and determining methods to characterize them on exoplanets. First, I numerically investigated the flow structures and dynamics of the primary atmospheres accreted on Earth-sized planets with eccentric orbits. Such planets can generate atmosphere-stripping bow shocks, as their relative velocities to the gas are generally supersonic. The atmospheres are three to four orders of magnitude less massive than those of planets with circular orbits. Hydrodynamic simulations also revealed large-scale recycling gas flow in the post-shock regions. This study provides important insights into the impacts of migration and scattering on primary atmospheres. Second, I looked into how the presence of the primary atmosphere affects the trajectories of chondrule precursors passing through a planetary bow shock. To determine what magnetic fields chondrules were exposed to as they cooled below their Curie points, I computed the gas properties and magnetic diffusion rates in the bow shock region of a planet with and without the primary atmosphere. I concluded that, if melted in planetary bow shocks, most chondrules were cooled in the far downstream and they probably recorded the background nebular field. Last, I studied the characterization of cloudy primary atmospheres on exoplanets using a Bayesian retrieval approach. I focused on obtaining bulk cloud properties and the impact of clouds on constraining various atmospheric properties through transmission spectroscopy using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Most key atmospheric and cloud inferences can be well constrained in the wavelength range (0.6 – 11 µ m) but there are different optimal wavelengths for constraining atmosphere or cloud parameters. Other results including degeneracies among cloud parameters can also serve as a guideline for future observers. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Astrophysics 2020