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1. Measured spin–orbit alignment of ultra-short-period super-Earth 55 Cancri e

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01837-2  

   Zhao, Lily L.; Kunovac, Vedad; Brewer, John M.; Llama, Joe; Millholland, Sarah C.; Hedges, Christina; Szymkowiak, Andrew E.; Roettenbacher, Rachael M.; Cabot, Samuel H.; Weiss, Sam A.; et al (December 2022, Nature Astronomy)

   A planet’s orbital alignment places important constraints on how a planet formed and consequently evolved. The dominant formation pathway of ultra-short-period planets (P < 1 day) is particularly mysterious as such planets most likely formed further out, and it is not well understood what drove their migration inwards to their current positions. Measuring the orbital alignment is difficult for smaller super-Earth/sub-Neptune planets, which give rise to smaller amplitude signals. Here we present radial velocities across two transits of 55 Cancri (Cnc) e, an ultra-short-period super-Earth, observed with the Extreme Precision Spectrograph. Using the classical Rossiter–McLaughlin method, we measure 55 Cnc e’s sky-projected stellar spin–orbit alignment (that is, the projected angle between the The star 55 Cancri (Cnc) A hosts five known exoplanets with minimum mass estimates ranging from approximately 8M⊕ to 3MJup and periods less than one day to nearly 20 years1–4. Of particular interest has been 55 Cnc e, one of the most massive known ultra-short-period planets (USPs) and the only planet around 55 Cnc found to transit5,6. It has an star’s spin axis and the planet’s orbit normal—will shed light on the formation and evolution of USPs, especially in the case of compact, multiplanet systems. It has been shown that USPs form a statistically distinct popula- tion of planets9 that tend to be misaligned with other planetary orbits in their system10. This suggests that USPs experience a unique migra- tion pathway that brings them close in to their host stars. This inward migration is most likely driven by dissipation due to star–planet tidal interactions that result from either non-zero eccentricities11,12 or plan- etary spin-axis tilts13. orbital period of 0.7365474 +1.3 × 10−6 days, a mass of 7.99 ± 0.33M −1.4 × 10−6 ⊕ and a radius of 1.853 +0.026 R⊕ (refs. 7,8). A precise measure of the −0.027 stellar spin–orbit alignment of 55 Cnc e—the angle between the host planet’s orbital axis and its host star’s spin axis) to be λ = 10 +17∘ with an +14∘ −20∘ unprojected angle of ψ = 23 −12∘. The best-fit Rossiter–McLaughlin model to the Extreme Precision Spectrograph data has a radial velocity semi- amplitude of just 0.41 +0.09 m s−1. The spin–orbit alignment of 55 Cnc e −0.10 favours dynamically gentle migration theories for ultra-short-period planets, namely tidal dissipation through low-eccentricity planet–planet interactions and/or planetary obliquity tides. 

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2. Constraining the Thickness of TRAPPIST-1 b’s Atmosphere from Its JWST Secondary Eclipse Observation at 15 μm

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ace03b  

   Ih, Jegug; Kempton, Eliza M.-R.; Whittaker, Emily A.; Lessard, Madeline (July 2023, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract Recently, the first JWST measurement of thermal emission from a rocky exoplanet was reported. The inferred dayside brightness temperature of TRAPPIST-1 b at 15 μ m is consistent with the planet having no atmosphere and therefore no mechanism by which to circulate heat to its nightside. In this Letter, we compare TRAPPIST-1 b's measured secondary eclipse depth to predictions from a suite of self-consistent radiative-convective equilibrium models in order to quantify the maximum atmospheric thickness consistent with the observation. We find that plausible atmospheres (i.e., those that contain at least 100 ppm CO 2 ) with surface pressures greater than 0.3 bar are ruled out at 3 σ , regardless of the choice of background atmosphere, and a Mars-like thin atmosphere with surface pressure 6.5 mbar composed entirely of CO 2 is also ruled out at 3 σ . Thicker atmospheres of up to 10 bar (100 bar) are consistent with the data at 1 σ (3 σ ) only if the atmosphere lacks any strong absorbers across the mid-IR wavelength range—a scenario that we deem unlikely. We additionally model the emission spectra for bare-rock planets of various compositions. We find that a basaltic, metal-rich, and Fe-oxidized surface best matches the measured eclipse depth to within 1 σ , and the best-fit gray albedo is 0.02 ± 0.11. We conclude that planned secondary eclipse observations at 12.8 μ m will serve to validate TRAPPIST-1 b's high observed brightness temperature, but are unlikely to further distinguish among the consistent atmospheric and bare-rock scenarios. 

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3. Critical Heat Flux Enhancement on Cylindrical Tubes With Circumferential Micro-Channels During Saturated Pool Boiling of Water

   https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2022-95846  

   Hernandez Rodriguez, Omar; Rahman, Md Mahamudur (October 2022, American Society of Mechanical Engineers)

   Abstract This work presents the experimental characterization of pool boiling heat transfer enhancement on cylindrical tubes with circumferential micro-channels using saturated water at atmospheric pressure as the working fluid. Three engineered copper tubes with 300 μm, 600 μm and 900 μm fin width and a fixed 400 μm channel width with 410 μm channel depth were machined using CNC. To compare the boiling enhancement on engineered tubes, one plain copper tube was used as the reference heater. The active heating area on the cylindrical tubes had a dimension of 9.5 mm outer diameter and 10.5 mm length. A custom-built cylindrical heater was designed using a nichrome wire coil of 30 AWG with a resistance of 19.57 Ω/inch of coil to provide joule heating to the cylindrical tubes. The electrical wire was insulated from the copper heater using a thin layer of alumina paste. The saturated pool boiling tests up to critical heat flux (CHF) were conducted at atmospheric pressure. While an approximate CHF of ∼70 W/cm2 was achieved for the plain copper tube, the cylindrical tube with microchannel geometry showed a CHF range of 131–144 W/cm2 that corresponds to 87%–100% enhancement as compared to plain cylindrical tube. 

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4. Exploring toroidal anvil profiles for larger sample volumes above 4 Mbar

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61861-2  

   Zurkowski, Claire C; Yang, Jing; Miozzi, Francesca; Vitale, Suzy; O’Bannon, Earl F; Jenei, Zsolt; Chariton, Stella; Prakapenka, Vitali; Fei, Yingwei (December 2024, Scientific Reports)

   Abstract With the advent of toroidal and double-stage diamond anvil cells (DACs), pressures between 4 and 10 Mbar can be achieved under static compression, however, the ability to explore diverse sample assemblies is limited on these micron-scale anvils. Adapting the toroidal DAC to support larger sample volumes offers expanded capabilities in physics, chemistry, and planetary science: including, characterizing materials in soft pressure media to multi-megabar pressures, synthesizing novel phases, and probing planetary assemblages at the interior pressures and temperatures of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. Here we have continued the exploration of larger toroidal DAC profiles by iteratively testing various torus and shoulder depths with central culet diameters in the 30–50 µm range. We present a 30 µm culet profile that reached a maximum pressure of 414(1) GPa based on a Pt scale. The 300 K equations of state fit to ourP–Vdata collected on gold and rhenium are compatible with extrapolated hydrostatic equations of state within 1% up to 4 Mbar. This work validates the performance of these large-culet toroidal anvils to > 4 Mbar and provides a promising foundation to develop toroidal DACs for diverse sample loading and laser heating. 

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5. Crustal Thickening of the Northern Central Andean Plateau Inferred From Trace Elements in Zircon

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096443  

   Sundell, Kurt E.; George, Sarah W. M.; Carrapa, Barbara; Gehrels, George E.; Ducea, Mihai N.; Saylor, Joel E.; Pepper, Martin (February 2022, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract The timing of crustal thickening in the northern Central Andean Plateau (CAP), at 13–20°S, and its relationship to surface uplift is debated. Zircon qualitatively records crustal thickness as its trace element chemistry is controlled by the growth of cogenetic minerals and relative uptake of light and heavy Rare Earth Elements. Jurassic to Neogene zircons from volcanic rocks, sandstones, and river sediments reveal shifts in trace element ratios suggesting major crustal thickening at 80–55 Ma and 35–0 Ma, coincident with high‐flux magmatism. An intervening magmatic lull due to shallow subduction obscures the magmatic record from 55 to 35 Ma during which thickening continued via crustal shortening. Protracted thickening since the Late Cretaceous correlates with early elevation gain of the CAP western margin, but contrasts with Miocene establishment of near modern elevation in the northern CAP and the onset of hyperaridity along the Pacific coast, highlighting their complex spatial and temporal relationship. 

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