Related papers: Interior Structure of Water Planets: Implications …
The increasing precision of planetary mass and radius observations is bringing major questions about the structure and formation of planets--such as the nature of the radius valley and origin of super-Mercuries--within reach, demanding the…
Recent JWST observations of the sub-Neptune GJ 1214 b suggest that it hosts a high-metallicity (>100x solar), hazy atmosphere. Emission spectra of the planet show molecular absorption features, most likely due to atmospheric H2O. In light…
Short-period and low-mass water-rich planets are subject to strong irradiation from their host star, resulting in hydrospheres in supercritical state. In this context, we explore the role of irradiation on small terrestrial planets that are…
The evolution and structure of sub-Neptunes may be strongly influenced by interactions between the outer gaseous envelope of the planet and a surface magma ocean. However, given the wide variety of permissible interior structures of these…
Sub-Neptune planets, with no analogue in our solar system, provide a wealth of information about exoplanet diversity, formation & evolution, and habitability. Their robust characterisation requires the coupling of physically informed…
We discuss our current understanding of the interior structure and thermal evolution of giant planets. This includes the gas giants, such as Jupiter and Saturn, that are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, as well as the "ice…
Materials at high pressures and temperatures are of great interest for planetary science and astrophysics, warm dense matter physics, and inertial confinement fusion research. Planetary structure models rely on our understanding of the…
Probing the interiors of the gas giant planets in our Solar System is not an easy task. It requires a set of accurate measurements combined with theoretical models that are used to infer the planetary composition and its depth dependence.…
Sub-Neptune planets, with sizes and masses between those of Earth and Neptune, dominate the exoplanet population. Sub-Neptunes are expected to be the most diverse family of the exoplanet population, potentially including rocky gas dwarfs,…
We present a new framework for constructing agnostic and yet physical models for planetary interiors and apply it to Uranus and Neptune. Unlike previous research that either impose rigid assumptions or rely on simplified empirical profiles,…
Exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs present a valuable opportunity for their detection and atmospheric characterisation. This is evident from recent inferences of H$_2$O in such atmospheres, including that of the habitable-zone exoplanet K2-18b.…
The recent JWST detections of carbon-bearing molecules in a habitable-zone sub-Neptune have opened a new era in the study of low-mass exoplanets. The sub-Neptune regime spans a wide diversity of planetary interiors and atmospheres not…
Exoplanets with substantial Hydrogen/Helium atmospheres have been discovered in abundance, many residing extremely close to their parent stars. The extreme irradiation levels these atmospheres experience causes them to undergo hydrodynamic…
Planets with 2 $R_{\oplus}$ < $R$ < 3 $R_{\oplus}$ and orbital period $<$100 d are abundant; these sub-Neptune exoplanets are not well understood. For example, $Kepler$ sub-Neptunes are likely to have deep magma oceans in contact with their…
The atmospheric chemical composition of a hot Jupiter can lead to insights into where in its natal protoplanetary disk it formed and its subsequent migration pathway. We use a 1-D chemical kinetics code to compute a suite of models across a…
Future direct-imaging exoplanet missions such as WFIRST/AFTA, Exo-C, and Exo-S will measure the reflectivity of exoplanets at visible wavelengths. The exoplanets to be observed will be located further away from their parent stars than is…
The observed masses and radii of sub-Neptunes are typically explained by the gas dwarf and the water world scenarios. While their evolutionary history on a population level has been proposed as a method to distinguish between these…
We present a novel python-based 1D sub-Neptune evolution model that emphasizes the thermal evolution and potential solidification of the rock/iron core and the structure of the radiative atmosphere. This model explores planetary structure…
Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes have been found simultaneously in multiplanetary systems, suggesting that they are appropriate to study composition and formation within the same environment. We perform a homogeneous interior structure…
Some super Earths and mini Neptunes will likely have thick atmospheres that are not H2-dominated. We have developed a photochemistry-thermochemistry kinetic-transport model for exploring the compositions of thick atmospheres on super Earths…