Attraction between the atoms of a Bose–Einstein condensate renders it unstable to collapse, although a condensate with a limited number of atoms1 can be stabilized2 by confinement in an atom trap. However, beyond this number the condensate collapses3,4,5. Condensates constrained to one-dimensional motion with attractive interactions are predicted to form stable solitons, in which the attractive forces exactly compensate for wave-packet dispersion1. Here we report the formation of bright solitons of 7Li atoms in a quasi-one-dimensional optical trap, by magnetically tuning the interactions in a stable Bose–Einstein condensate from repulsive to attractive. The solitons are set in motion by offsetting the optical potential, and are observed to propagate in the potential for many oscillatory cycles without spreading. We observe a soliton train, containing many solitons; repulsive interactions between neighbouring solitons are inferred from their motion.

Formation and propagation of matter-wave soliton trains

Jupiter and Saturn formed in a few million years from a gas-dominated protoplanetary disk, and were susceptible to gas-driven migration of their orbits on timescales of only approximately 100,000 years. Hydrodynamic simulations show that these giant planets can undergo a two-stage, inward-then-outward, migration. The terrestrial planets finished accreting much later and their characteristics, including Mars' small mass, are best reproduced by starting from a planetesimal disk with an outer edge at about one astronomical unit from the Sun (1 AU is the Earth-Sun distance). Here we report simulations of the early Solar System that show how the inward migration of Jupiter to 1.5 AU, and its subsequent outward migration, lead to a planetesimal disk truncated at 1 AU; the terrestrial planets then form from this disk over the next 30-50 million years, with an Earth/Mars mass ratio consistent with observations. Scattering by Jupiter initially empties but then repopulates the asteroid belt, with inner-belt bodies originating between 1 and 3 AU and outer-belt bodies originating between and beyond the giant planets. This explains the significant compositional differences across the asteroid belt. The key aspect missing from previous models of terrestrial planet formation is the substantial radial migration of the giant planets, which suggests that their behaviour is more similar to that inferred for extrasolar planets than previously thought.

A low mass for Mars from Jupiter's early gas―driven migration

The formation of planetesimals, the kilometer-sized planetary precursors, is still a puzzling process. Considerable progress has been made over the past years in the physical description of the first stages of planetesimal formation, owing to extensive laboratory work. This review examines the experimental achievements and puts them into the context of the dust processes in protoplanetary disks. It has become clear that planetesimal formation starts with the growth of fractal dust aggregates, followed by compaction processes. As the dust-aggregate sizes increase, the mean collision velocity also increases, leading to the stalling of the growth and possibly to fragmentation, once the dust aggregates have reached decimeter sizes. A multitude of hypotheses for the further growth have been proposed, such as very sticky materials, secondary collision processes, enhanced growth at the snow line, or cumulative dust effects with gravitational instability. We will also critically review these ideas.

/pdf/the-growth-mechanisms-of-macroscopic-bodies-in-3gmwom4rl0.pdf

The Growth Mechanisms of Macroscopic Bodies in Protoplanetary Disks

The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.

/pdf/comet-81p-wild-2-under-a-microscope-4udr8g9spl.pdf

Comet 81P/Wild 2 under a microscope.

▪ Abstract Our understanding of the evolution of organic molecules, and their voyage from molecular clouds to the early solar system and Earth, has changed dramatically. Incorporating recent observ...

/pdf/organic-molecules-in-the-interstellar-medium-comets-and-14nzw41xt5.pdf

Organic Molecules in the Interstellar Medium, Comets, and Meteorites: A Voyage from Dark Clouds to the Early Earth

We studied icy CH4 and its mixtures with N2 (temperature 16-40 K), using near-IR transmittance spectroscopy (1.0-3.6 μm), and monitoring the film growth using interference patterns of two lasers. We measured peak position, full width at half-maximum, and strengths of the methane bands, and density and real refractive index of the icy films. Results confirm and extend but also partially contradict previous studies on similar mixtures. Experimental data can be applied to interpret observations of solar system (trans-Neptunian objects) and interstellar ices, where methane and nitrogen are believed to be present. We predict the optical depths of two methane NIR bands in the line of sight of some dense molecular clouds.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/591509/pdf

Integrated Near-Infrared Band Strengths of Solid CH4 and Its Mixtures with N2

Evolution of icy surfaces : an experimental approach

We present the results of UV irradiation with Lyα photons of carbon grains with a water ice cap at 11 K. Formation of CO and CO2 molecules takes place during irradiation. An estimation of the formation cross section of these molecules by Lyα photons has been obtained from the intensity increase of their infrared stretching bands as a function of the photon fluence. The fraction of carbon in the grains converted to CO and CO2 by UV photons is 0.06 and 0.05, respectively. The spectral profile of the CO stretching feature and that of the CO2 bending mode indicate a polar environment for these molecules. On the basis of the present laboratory results and those obtained in previous work on ion irradiation of similar samples, it has been possible to estimate the contribution of polar CO and CO2 produced on carbon grains by energetic processing to the observed column densities of these molecules for dense clouds whose visual extinction is known. A significant amount of polar CO and CO2 is produced through the mechanism we have studied. Furthermore, we have found that the laboratory profile of the bending band of CO2 produced on carbon grains is compatible with that observed toward the field star Elias 16.

Synthesis of CO and CO2 Molecules by UV Irradiation of Water Ice-covered Hydrogenated Carbon Grains

In this paper we present a Raman study of pure CH4 ,H 2O:CH4:N2 and CH3OH:N2 frozen films before and after ion irradiation at 12 K, 100 K and 300 K. By means of Raman spectroscopy, we monitor the structural evolution of each film, whose chemical and physical properties are deeply modified by the interaction with the ion beam. For the two methane containing samples, Raman spectra show that the initial ice is partially converted into a refractory residue, which under further irradiation evolves towards an amorphous carbon (AC) with a band near 1560 cm 1 (G line) and a shoulder at about 1360 cm 1 (D line). No evidence of the AC Raman band is seen in the spectra of the methanol-containing mixture. By means of Lorentzian fits, we have determined the specific parameters of the AC band (G and D line peak positions, widths and relative intensities) in our spectra after ion irradiation and we have compared them with the corresponding parameters of the band as observed in the spectra of 11 IDPs (Interplanetary Dust Particles). Here we present the experimental results and discuss their contribution to our knowledge of the origin and evolution of IDPs.

https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2004/05/aah4537.pdf

Maria Elisabetta Palumbo

Papers

Integrated Near-Infrared Band Strengths of Solid CH4 and Its Mixtures with N2

Evolution of icy surfaces : an experimental approach

Synthesis of CO and CO2 Molecules by UV Irradiation of Water Ice-covered Hydrogenated Carbon Grains

A Raman study of ion irradiated icy mixtures

A Raman study of ion irradiated icy mixtures