The recently adopted Ariel ESA mission will measure the atmospheric composition of a large number of exoplanets. This information will then be used to better constrain planetary bulk compositions. While the connection between the composition of a planetary atmosphere and the bulk interior is still being investigated, the combination of the atmospheric composition with the measured mass and radius of exoplanets will push the field of exoplanet characterisation to the next level, and provide new insights of the nature of planets in our galaxy. In this white paper, we outline the ongoing activities of the interior working group of the {\it Ariel} mission, and list the desirable theoretical developments as well as the challenges in linking planetary atmospheres, bulk composition and interior structure.
@article{arxiv.2103.08481,
title = {Ariel Planetary Interiors White Paper},
author = {Ravit Helled and Stephanie Werner and Caroline Dorn and Tristan Guillot and Masahiro Ikoma and Yuichi Ito and Mihkel Kama and Tim Lichtenberg and Yamila Miguel and Oliver Shorttle and Paul J. Tackley and Diana Valencia and Allona Vazan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.08481},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy