Effects of the stellar wind on the Ly α transit of close-in planets

ABSTRACT We use 3D hydrodynamics simulations followed by synthetic line profile calculations to examine the effect increasing the strength of the stellar wind has on observed Ly α transits of a hot Jupiter (HJ) and a warm Neptune (WN). We find that increasing the stellar wind mass-loss rate from 0 (no wind) to 100 times the solar mass-loss rate value causes reduced atmospheric escape in both planets (a reduction of 65 per cent and 40 per cent for the HJ and WN, respectively, compared to the ‘no wind’ case). For weaker stellar winds (lower ram pressure), the reduction in planetary escape rate is very small. However, as the stellar wind becomes stronger, the interaction happens deeper in the planetary atmosphere, and, once this interaction occurs below the sonic surface of the planetary outflow, further reduction in evaporation rates is seen. We classify these regimes in terms of the geometry of the planetary sonic surface. ‘Closed’ refers to scenarios where the sonic surface is undisturbed, while ‘open’ refers to those where the surface is disrupted. We find that the change in stellar wind strength affects the Ly α transit in a non-linear way (note that here we do not include charge-exchange processes). Although little change is seen in planetary escape rates (≃ 5.5 × 1011 g s−1) in the closed to partially open regimes, the Ly α absorption (sum of the blue [−300, −40 km s−1] and red [40, 300 km s−1] wings) changes from 21 to 6 per cent as the stellar wind mass-loss rate is increased in the HJ set of simulations. For the WN simulations, escape rates of ≃ 6.5 × 1010 g s−1 can cause transit absorptions that vary from 8.8 to 3.7 per cent, depending on the stellar wind strength. We conclude that the same atmospheric escape rate can produce a range of absorptions depending on the stellar wind and that neglecting this in the interpretation of Ly α transits can lead to underestimation of planetary escape rates.

Characteristic path analysis of confinement influence on steady two-dimensional detonation propagation

Steady detonation in multi-dimensional flow is controlled by the chemical energy release that occurs in a subsonic elliptic flow region known as the detonation driving zone (DDZ). It is the region encompassing the detonation shock and sonic flow locus (in the frame of the detonation shock). A detonation that is strongly confined by material surrounding the explosive has the shock and sonic locus separated at the material interface. Information about the material boundary is traditionally believed to influence the DDZ structure via the subsonic flow on the boundary ahead of the sonic locus. A detonation that is weakly confined has the detonation shock and sonic locus intersecting at the material boundary. The sonic nature of the flow at the intersection point on the boundary is believed to isolate the DDZ structure from the material properties of the confinement. In this study, we examine the paths of characteristics propagating information about the confinement through the supersonic hyperbolic flow region that exists beyond the sonic locus, and determine whether these paths may impinge on the sonic locus and consequently influence the DDZ structure. Our configuration consists of a solid wall boundary deflected through a specified angle on detonation shock arrival, so that the streamline turning angle of the wall at the explosive edge is unambiguously defined. By varying the wall deflection angle from small through large values, we can systematically capture the evolution of the DDZ structure and the characteristic flow regions that influence its structure for strongly to weakly confined detonations. In all strong and weak confinement cases examined, we find that a subset of characteristics from the supersonic flow regions always impinge on the sonic locus. Limiting characteristics are identified that define the boundary between characteristics that impinge on the sonic surface and those that propagate information downstream of the sonic surface. In combination with an oblique-shock polar analysis, we show that the effects on the DDZ of characteristic impingement can be significant.

The Sonic Surface in the Inter-Blade Channel of the Last Stage Rotor Wheel in the Steam Turbine of Large Output

The paper deals with sonic surface in a modern turbine wheel consisting of non-prismatic ultra long blades. The whole inter-blade channel is choked. Different positions and shapes of the sonic line in particular cross-sections along the span are observed. The sensitivity of sonic line formation to small changes of effective shape of the inter-blade channel in the root section and the influence of inlet angle, stagger angle and pitch/chord ratio in the tip section are discussed. The problematic of sonic line development in the case of supersonic inlet flow filed is also described. The presented work is based on results of theoretical, experimental and numerical approaches.

Effect of spatial discretization of energy on detonation wave propagation

Detonation propagation in the limit of highly spatially discretized energy sources is investigated. The model of this problem begins with a medium consisting of a calorically perfect gas with a prescribed energy release per unit mass. The energy release is collected into sheet-like sources that are embedded in an inert gas that fills the spaces between them. The release of energy in the first sheet results in a planar blast wave that propagates to the next source, which is triggered after a prescribed delay, generating a new blast, and so forth. The resulting wave dynamics as the front passes through hundreds of such sources is computationally simulated by numerically solving the governing one-dimensional Euler equations in the laboratory-fixed reference frame. Two different solvers are used: one with a fixed uniform grid and the other using an unstructured, adaptively refined grid enabling the limit of highly concentrated, spatially discrete sources to be examined. The two different solvers generate consistent results, agreeing within the accuracy of the measured wave speeds. The average wave speed for each simulation is measured once the wave propagation has reached a quasi-periodic solution. The effect of source delay time, source energy density, specific heat ratio and the spatial discreteness of the sources on the wave speed is studied. Sources fixed in the laboratory reference frame versus sources that convect with the flow are compared. Simulations using an Arrhenius-rate-dependent energy release are performed as well. The average wave speed is compared to the ideal Chapman–Jouguet (CJ) speed of the equivalent homogenized media. Velocities in excess of the CJ speed are found as the sources are made increasingly discrete, with the deviation above CJ being as great as 15 %. The deviation above the CJ value increases with decreasing values of specific heat ratio $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}$. The total energy release, delay time and whether the sources remain laboratory-fixed or are convected with the flow do not have a significant influence on the deviation of the average wave speed away from CJ. A simple, ad hoc analytic model is proposed to treat the case of zero delay time (i.e. source energy released at the shock front) that exhibits qualitative agreement with the computational solutions and may explain why the deviation from CJ increases with decreasing $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FE}$. When the sources are sufficiently spread out so as to make the energy release of the media nearly continuous, the classic CJ solution is obtained for the average wave speed. Such continuous waves can also be shown to have a time-averaged structure consistent with the classical Zel’dovich–von Neumann–Döring (ZND) structure of a detonation. In the limit of highly discrete sources, temporal averaging of the wave structure shows that the effective sonic surface does not correspond to an equilibrium state. The average state of the flow leaving the wave in this case does eventually reach the equilibrium Hugoniot, but only after the effective sonic surface has been crossed. Thus, the super-CJ waves observed in the limit of highly discretized sources can be understood as weak detonations due to the non-equilibrium state at the effective sonic surface. These results have implications for the validity of the CJ criterion as applied to highly unstable detonations in gases and heterogeneous detonations in condensed phase and multiphase media.

Shock Wave Instability in a Channel with an Expansion Corner

2D and 3D transonic flows in a channel of variable cross-section are studied numerically using a solver based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The flow velocity is supersonic at the inlet and outlet of the channel. Between the supersonic regions, there is a local subsonic region whose upstream boundary is a shock wave, whereas the downstream boundary is a sonic surface. The sonic surface gives rise to an instability of the shock wave position in the channel. Computations reveal a hysteresis in the shock position versus the inflow Mach number. A dependence of the hysteresis on the velocity profile given at the inlet is examined.

Hits and misses: crafting a pop single for the top-40 market in the 1960s

The art of crafting successful pop singles can be a hit and miss affair, and this essay addresses the notion of hits and misses through a consideration of ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. In September 1963, Bacharach produced the first version of the song with Richard Chamberlain, but the recording was, and still is, considered an artistic failure, as was the version Bacharach produced with Dionne Warwick a year later. It was not until Richard and Karen Carpenter recorded the song in 1970, without input from Bacharach, that the full potential of ‘Close to You’ was realised. But what made the two Bacharach versions miss the mark, while the Carpenters, to use Bacharach's words, ‘nailed it’? If one identifies the elements of a recording's sonic surface that contribute to its success, the deficiencies of Bacharach's misses become as readily apparent as the strategies The Carpenters employed to score a hit. Specifically, this essay considers how groove, instrumentation, melodic style, tempo, manner of performance (both vocal and instrumental), and the disposition of the song's sections (verses and bridge) generate an expressive flow that either enhances (The Carpenters) or diminishes (Bacharach) the emotional impact of the story told in the lyrics.