published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Results of visible to near-infrared spectrophotometric observations of 55 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are reported. The observing techniques, instrumentation, and method of data analysis are described. A new asteroid classification method that directly compares these NEA spectra with spectral features of meteorites is presented. Two major siliceous groups (having discernible "1-micron" absorptions) result from this method, OC-likes which match the spectra of ordinary chondrites and S-types. The dataset shows a preponderance of spectra consistent with ordinary chondrites (23 NEAs), as well as S-types (19), 2 with spectra consistent with black ordinary chondrites, 2 R-types, and 9 that show no 1-micron absorption.The spectral characteristics of the siliceous S-type and OC-like asteroids blend together, providing evidence that S-type asteroids are simply ordinary chondrites whose surface has been modified by weathering. This helps resolve the long standing question of the lack of main belt asteroids having spectra matching ordinary chondrite meteorites. Main belt asteroids have on average much older surfaces while NEAs that exhibit OC-like spectra have younger surfaces.It was found that fresh objects having spectra consistent with ordinary chondrites (1) occupy mostly highly eccentric Apollo orbits which encounter a strong collisional environment in the asteroid main-belt, (2) may have been recently injected into high eccentricity orbits, or (3) have suffered tidal disruption. S-type NEAs reside primarily in orbits that do not cross the asteroid main-belt. This orbit dependent trend is verified by using the larger NEA dataset of Binzel et al. (2004a).Nine NEAs from this survey exhibiting no 1-micron absorption can be associated with extinct comets, iron meteorites or enstatite meteorites. It is shown that most of these NEAs must be extinct comets, implying a considerably larger fraction of comets among the NEA population than previously thought. A correlation of these objects with low inclination orbits is found.This study finds that the NEA population is divided roughly as follows: ~40% fresh ordinary chondrites, ~35% S-types, ~20% extinct comet candidates, and ~5% in minor classes. This work may guide NEA mitigation planning should such an emergency arise.

Saturn's moon, Titan is a geomorphologically active planetary object, and its surface is influenced by multiple processes like impact cratering, fluvial and aeolian erosion, lacustrine processes, tectonics, cryovolcanism and mantling. Disentangling the processes that compete to shape Titan's landscape is difficult in the absence of global topography data. In this thesis, I utilize techniques in topographic statistics, fractal theory, study of terrestrial analogs and landscape evolution modeling to characterize Titan's topography and surface roughness and investigate the relative roles of surface processes in sculpting its landscape. I mapped the shorelines of 290 North Polar Titanian lakes using the Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar dataset. The fractal dimensions of the shorelines were calculated via the divider/ruler method and box-counting method, at length scales of (1-10) km and found to average 1.27 and 1.32, respectively. The inferred power-spectral exponent of Titan's topography (β) was found to be ≤ 2, which is lower than the values obtained from the global topography of the Earth or Venus. In order to interpret fractal dimensions of Titan's shorelines in terms of the surficial processes at work, I repeated a similar statistical analysis with 114 terrestrial analogous lakes formed by different processes, using C-band radar backscatter data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). I found different lake generation mechanisms on Earth produce 'statistically different' shorelines; however, no specific set of processes could be identified for forming Titanian lake basins. Using the Cassini RADAR altimetry data, I investigated Titan's global surface roughness and calculated median absolute slopes, average relief and Hurst exponent (H) for the surface of Titan. I detected a clear trend with latitude in these roughness parameters. Equatorial regions had the smallest slopes, lowest values of H and smallest intra-footprint relief, compared to the mid-latitudes and polar regions of Titan. I used steady state models of relief generation (tectonic activity) and relief reduction (diffusive mass wasting and advective bedrock channel erosion) to generate synthetic landscapes and simulate Titan's topography. I provided constraints on two environmental variables for Titan that influence surface roughness: diffusivity and erodibility coefficient.

This dissertation explores the three-dimensional coupling between radiative and dynamical processes in the atmospheres of eccentric extrasolar giant planets GJ436b, HAT-P-2b, and HD80606b. Extrasolar planets on eccentric orbits are subject to time-variable heating and probable non-synchronous rotation, which results in significant variations in global circulation and thermal patterns as a function of orbital phase. Atmospheric simulations for the low eccentricity (e=0.15) Neptune sized planet GJ436b reveal that when Neptune-like atmospheric compositions are assumed day/night temperature contrasts and equatorial jet speeds are significantly increased relative to models that assume a solar-like composition. Comparisons between our theoretical light curves and recent observations support a high metallicity atmosphere with disequilibrium carbon chemistry for GJ436b. The analysis of full-orbit light curve observations at 3.6 and 4.5 microns of the HAT-P-2 system reveal swings in the planet's temperature of more than 900 K during its significantly eccentric (e=0.5) orbit with a four to six hour offset between periapse passage and the peak of the planet's observed flux. Comparisons between our atmospheric model of HAT-P-2b and the observed light curves indicate an increased carbon to oxygen ratio in HAT-P-2b's atmosphere compared to solar values. Atmospheric simulations of the highly eccentric (e=0.9) HD80606b show that flash-heating events completely alter planetary thermal and jet structures and that assumptions about the rotation period of this planet could affect the shape of light curve observations near periapse. Our simulations of HD80606b also show the development an atmospheric shock on the nightside of the planet that is associated with an observable thermal signature in our theoretical light curves. The simulations and observations presented in this dissertation mark an important step in the exploration of atmospheric circulation on the more than 300 exoplanets known to possess significantly non-zero eccentricities.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-95). Also available in print.

This work is focused on the formation of terrestrial planets. To determine the behavior of planetary debris disks in the era of terrestrial planet formation, first we study 15 young clusters and associations with ages up to ~40 Myr. By adopting a threshold in relative excess at the phenomenological boundary between protoplanetary and debris disks, we find that the incidence of qualifying disks decays in the first 10 Myr, remains nearly constant between 10 and 25 Myr, and then continues to decline. Next, from the archival Spitzer data, we find that two disks around solar-like stars, ID8 in NGC 2547 and HD 23514, in the age range of the giant impact era have their 24 micron excesses varied on timescales of a few years, even though the stars are not variable in the optical. In the follow-up Spitzer observations in 2012 and 2013, a debris-producing impact in the terrestrial planet zone around the 35-million year-old solar analog star ID8 was detected in real time. We observed a substantial brightening of the debris disk at 3-5 micron, followed by a decay over a year, with quasi-periodic modulations of the disk flux. The behavior is consistent with the occurrence of a violent impact that produced vapor out of which a thick cloud of silicate spherules condensed that were ground into dust by collisions. At last, we extend the time-domain study to more extreme debris disks, which are likely indicative of recent and/or onging collisions of rocky objects. We use Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 micron time-series observations in 2012 and 2013 (extended to 2014 in one case) to monitor 5 more extreme debris disks. This makes the first systematic time-domain investigation of planetary impacts outside the solar system. Significant variations with timescales shorter than a year are detected in five out of the six extreme debris disks we have monitored. However, different systems show diverse sets of characteristics in the time domain, including long-term trends, disk temperature variations, and possible periodicity.

We present theoretical calculations for the evolution of highly-irradiated extrasolar giant planets. The value of the energy-limited escape rates are taken from Watson et al. (1981), Lammer et al. (2003) and Yelle (2004) which vary by two orders of magnitude. The lowest rate is from Watson et al., while the highest rate comes from Lammer et al., which predicts that all highly-irradiated planets are remnants of much larger planets. We find that for cases with lower mass loss rates, the tidal effects, such as the planet exceeding the Roche Lobe are more effective at removing mass than stellar radiation. We also compare our theories with observations to show observational evidence for mass loss.

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Bibliographical references: leaves 102-103.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

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