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On the Formation, Evolution, and Destruction of Minor Planetary Bodies

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On the Formation, Evolution, and Destruction of Minor Planetary Bodies UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences Department of Physics & Astronomy ON THE FORMATION, EVOLUTION, AND DESTRUCTION OF MINOR PLANETARY BODIES Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London by Thomas G. Wilson Supervisors: Examiners: Prof. Jonathan C. Rawlings Prof. Geraint Jones Dr. Jay Farihi Dr. Steven Parsons Prof. Bruce M. Swinyard November 4, 2019 To mum. I, Thomas G. Wilson, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Abstract Minor planetary bodies can provide information on the history and future of planetary systems, from formation conditions in the Solar nebula to destruction processes of planets. Comets have long been heralded as pristine objects from the formation of the Solar System. Indeed, it is possible to infer the nature of the formation conditions of the So- lar System by studying comets. In this thesis, an astrochemical model is used to derive potential initial Solar System conditions from Rosetta data. Importantly, there is a funda- mental question not yet concretely answered: are the observed compositions indicative of formation conditions or evolutionary processes? Isomeric ratios can be useful as they may not vary since formation. However, recent results suggest that the water ortho-to-para ratio cannot be used to trace formation conditions, but may be used to probe cometary comae. This thesis presents Herschel observations of four comets and discusses how the observed non-typical water ortho-to-para ratios can help the understanding of evolutionary processes in comets. In addition to probing the Solar System, studying minor planetary bodies around white dwarfs can reveal the fate of these bodies. The evidence of white dwarf planetary systems have been known for a few decades and is inferred by atmospheric metals or circumstellar dust disks. By searching for destroyed planetesimals via these indicators, planetary system architectures, dynamics, and frequency can be inferred. A study of the largest, unbiased Spitzer and Hubble survey of white dwarfs to search for evidence of planetary systems is reported. Circumstellar disks have been thought of as static, however recent results have shown flux variations. In this thesis, a study of all white dwarfs debris disks using Spitzer and WISE data is detailed. Via observations over the longest baseline to date, it is possible to shed light on the destruction processes in these dynamical environments. Impact Statement In the work presented in this thesis I have conducted research into all stages of the life of minor planetary bodies. These studies have advanced multiple aspects of planetary science in the Solar System and in exoplanetary systems, and taken as a whole aims to continue a unified thinking of planetary systems regardless of Solar or exoplanetary. The work presented here aims to further our understanding of planetary systems and answer fundamental questions such as \How do planetary systems form and evolve?" that may lead to a better understanding about \What are conditions necessary for an Earth-like planet to form and for life to develop?" As a part of the study of planetary system and minor planetary body formation a physical and chemical model of the collapse from a molecular cloud to the proto-Solar and protoplanetary disk was developed. I utilised this model to infer the initial conditions of the Solar System and the chemical and physical evolution during the collapse phase via comparison with molecular abundance seen in comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko. This model has the potential to be used by the community for further work aiming to study planetary system formation from cometary observations. The evolution of minor planetary bodies was investigated via the water isomeric, ortho- to-para, ratio in four Solar System comets. During this project I developed a radiative transfer code, crete, to simulate the cometary comae for comparison with the observa- tions. This model has subsequently been published for use by the community for further analysis of volatiles in comets. In this study the lowest cometary ortho-to-para ratios ever seen were determined. These results have provided evidence that this isomeric ratio may not be used to determine comet formation location, but rather could potentially be used to research cometary coma. 9 On the topic of the destruction of minor planetary bodies I have analysed observations of 236 white dwarfs in order to detect destroyed planetesimals and to determine the un- biased planetary system frequency around single stars and, for the first time, in binary systems. It is possible to infer planetary system architecture and it is shown that in bi- naries, the companion to the white dwarf is unlikely to be the cause of the gravitational perturbation that eventually leads to the destruction of the planetary body. Furthermore, I conducted analysis of all known planetary debris disks around white dwarfs in order to study variation of the disks that formed from the destroyed planetesimals. For the first time disk colour variation was detected meaning that the temperature or location of the dust is changing. Detailed modelling of this variation could lead to understanding of the structure and evolution of these planetary debris disks. Outside of academia, research into planetary science are of definite interest to the general public due to the fundamental questions it asks about the nature of planets and life. To stoke this interest, and to inspire the next generation of scientists, I have conducted outreach disseminating these results on multiple occasions to audiences with a broad range of backgrounds. Acknowledgements Over the course of the PhD I have been fortunate to work with and be supported by many people both at UCL and the ING. Firstly, I would like to thank Bruce Swinyard for taking me under his wing, teaching me a lot, and providing very good supervision during the limited time we worked together. I'd like to also thank Jonathan Rawlings for his support and encouragement for the length of the PhD, and for his help with the thesis. I want to thank Jay Farihi for providing me with many research and observing opportunities and avenues to explore. Furthermore, I would like to thank Ian Howarth and Serena Viti for many very supportive and invaluable discussions over the course of the PhD that helped greatly in many aspects. Lastly, I'd like to thank Ovidiu Vaduvescu for his involvement and support during my time at the ING, and for inviting me to contribute in the EURONEAR collaboration and the discovery of NEAs. A considerable thanks goes to Mum for her vast support and encouragement over the decades. A lot of work went into obtaining the PhD both during my time at UCL and the ING, and prior to it, and none of it would have been possible without her support. Thanks also go to my brother and sister for at least listening to me rant on about whatever physics or astrophysics idea had enthused me that week. While friends come and go, I want to thank all of them for keeping me sane and giving me great memories over the past half a decade and before. Finally, I'd like to thank Ingrid for all her help and support during the final years of the PhD, without which it would have been much more stressful. One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight, for a very long time, of the shore. Andr´ePaul Guillaume Gide (1925) Contents Table of Contents 13 List of Figures 17 List of Tables 21 1 Introduction 23 1.1 A Review of Comets and Cometary Volatiles . 24 1.1.1 An Introduction to Comet Research . 25 1.1.2 Cometary Observations . 26 1.1.3 Chemical Composition of Comets . 32 1.1.4 Ortho-to-Para Ratio Introduction . 37 1.1.5 Cometary Comae Modelling using Radiative Transfer . 42 1.2 A Review of White Dwarf Debris Disks . 48 1.2.1 Introduction to White Dwarf Planetary Systems . 48 1.2.2 White Dwarf Atmospheric Metals and Circumstellar Debris Disks . 52 1.2.3 Dynamical Studies of Disk Formation and Evolution . 57 1.2.4 The Frequency of White Dwarf Planetary Systems . 63 1.2.5 Circumstellar Debris Disk Variability . 66 2 Formation Conditions of 02 in Comets 71 2.1 Introduction . 71 2.1.1 The Rosetta Mission . 72 2.1.2 Volatiles in 67P . 72 2.2 Rosetta Observations of Molecular Ratios in 67P . 74 13 14 Contents 2.3 A Chemical and Physical Model of the Formation of the Solar System . 76 2.3.1 The Chemical Model . 77 2.3.2 The Physical Collapse Model . 78 2.4 Results . 80 2.4.1 Initial Study . 80 2.4.2 Comparison between the Observed and Modelled Abundance Ratios 81 2.4.3 Evolution of Physical and Chemical Conditions, and Molecular Abun- dances . 83 2.5 Summary and Conclusions . 83 3 Observations of Non-Typical Cometary H2O Ortho-to-Para Ratios 87 3.1 Introduction . 87 3.1.1 Cometary Observables . 88 3.1.2 Water Molecular Structure and Ortho-to-Para Ratio Introduction . 89 3.1.3 Ortho-to-Para Ratio Variation via Nuclear-Spin Conversion . 90 3.1.4 Ortho-to-Para Ratio Interpretation in Comets . 91 3.2 Observations . 92 3.2.1 103P/Hartley 2 . 94 3.2.2 10P/Tempel 2 . 94 3.2.3 45P/Honda−Mrkos−Pajduˇs´akov´a . 95 3.2.4 C/2009 P1 (Garradd) . 95 3.3 Data Analysis and Results . 95 3.3.1 Radiative Transfer Model . 95 3.3.2 Empirical Ortho-to-Para Ratios . 98 3.3.3 Water Production Rates .
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