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Atmospheric observations of mini-Neptunes orbiting M-dwarfs are beginning to provide constraints on their chemical and thermal properties, while also providing clues about their interiors and potential surfaces. With their relatively large…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2020-12-09 Anjali A. A. Piette , Nikku Madhusudhan

Sub-Neptunes represent the largest exoplanet demographic, yet their bulk compositions remain poorly understood. Recent studies suggested that only very cold planets, such as Uranus and Neptune, could experience stratification of volatiles…

Hydrogen, helium, silicates, and iron are key building blocks of rocky and gas-rich planets, yet their chemical interactions remain poorly constrained. Using first-principles molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration, we quantify…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-10-30 Akash Gupta , Haiyang Luo , Jie Deng , Adam Burrows

Data suggest that most rocky exoplanets with orbital period $p$ $<$ 100 d ("hot" rocky exoplanets) formed as gas-rich sub-Neptunes that subsequently lost most of their envelopes, but whether these rocky exoplanets still have atmospheres is…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2021-03-24 Edwin S. Kite , Laura Schaefer

We discuss the interior structure and composition of giant planets, and how this structure changes as these planets cool and contract over time. Here we define giant planets as those that have an observable hydrogen-helium envelope, which…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-18 Jonathan J. Fortney , Isabelle Baraffe , Burkhard Militzer

Sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets represent one of the most common types of planets in the Milky Way, yet many of their properties are unknown. Here, we present a prescription to adapt the capabilities of the stellar evolution toolkit Modules…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2016-11-15 Howard Chen , Leslie A. Rogers

To ascertain whether magnetic dynamos operate in rocky exoplanets more massive or hotter than the Earth, we developed a parametric model of a differentiated rocky planet and its thermal evolution. Our model reproduces the established…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-19 Eric Gaidos , Clinton P. Conrad , Michael Manga , John Hernlund

'Empirical' models (pressure vs. density) of Uranus and Neptune interiors constrained by the gravitational coefficients J_2, J_4, the planetary radii and masses, and Voyager solid-body rotation periods are presented. The empirical…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-20 Ravit Helled , John D. Anderson , Morris Podolak , Gerald Schubert

With over 1800 planets discovered outside of the Solar System in the past two decades, the field of exoplanetology has broadened our perspective on planetary systems. Research priorities are now moving from planet detection to planet…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2015-09-07 Julien de Wit

Earth's water, intrinsic oxidation state, and metal core density are fundamental chemical features of our planet. Studies of exoplanets provide a useful context for elucidating the source of these chemical traits. Planet formation and…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-04-18 Edward D. Young , Anat Shahar , Hilke E. Schlichting

Small planets ($\sim$1--3.9 $\Rearth$) constitute more than half of the inventory of the 4000-plus exoplanets discovered so far. Smaller planets are sufficiently dense to be rocky, but those with radii larger than $\sim$1.6 $\Rearth$ are…

Over the last decade, precise exoplanet transmission spectroscopy has revealed the atmospheres of dozens of exoplanets, driven largely by observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope. One major discovery has been the ubiquity of…

The demographics of sub-Jovian planets around low-mass stars is dominated by populations of ``sub-Neptunes" and ``super-Earths", distinguished by the presence or absence of envelopes of low-molecular weight volatiles, i.e., H2, He, and H2O.…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-04-16 Tatsuya Yoshida , Eric Gaidos

Recent observations of Jupiter and Saturn provided by spacecraft missions, such as Juno and Cassini, compel us to revise and improve our models of giant planet interiors. Even though hydrogen and helium are by far the dominant species in…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2017-03-30 François Soubiran , Burkhard Militzer , Kevin P. Driver , Shuai Zhang

Demixing properties of planetary major constituents influence the interior structure and evolution of planets. Comparing experimental and computational data on the miscibility of hydrogen and water to adiabatic profiles suggests phase…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2024-12-11 Marina Cano Amoros , Nadine Nettelmann , Nicola Tosi , Philipp Baumeister , Heike Rauer

Recent studies have suggested the possibility of Hycean worlds, characterised by deep liquid water oceans beneath H$_2$-rich atmospheres. These planets significantly widen the range of planetary properties over which habitable conditions…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2024-02-20 Frances E. Rigby , Nikku Madhusudhan

The amount of surface water is thought to be critical for a planet's climate stability and thus habitability. However, the probability that a rocky planet may exhibit surface water at any point its evolution is dependent on multiple…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2025-10-30 Kiersten M. Boley , Wendy R. Panero , Francesca Miozzi , Ashika Capirala , Johanna K. Teske

Ice-rich planets are formed exterior to the water ice-line and thus are expected to contain a substantial amount of ices. The high ice content leads to unique conditions in the interior, under which the structure of a planet is affected by…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2022-03-09 Allona Vazan , Re'em Sari , Ronit Kessel

We present a novel, model-independent framework for studying the architecture of an exoplanetary system at the system level. This framework allows us to characterise, quantify, and classify the architecture of an individual planetary…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2023-02-15 Lokesh Mishra , Yann Alibert , Stéphane Udry , Christoph Mordasini

The coupled interior-atmosphere system of terrestrial exoplanets remains poorly understood. Exoplanets show a wide variety of sizes, densities, surface temperatures, and interior structures, with important knock-on effects for this coupled…

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics · Physics 2021-08-20 Maxim D. Ballmer , Lena Noack