Related papers: Impact inducted surface heating by planetesimals o…
The atmospheres of the terrestrial planets are known to have been modified as a consequence of the impact degassing and atmospheric erosion during the late accretion. Despite the commonality of these processes, there are distinct gaps --…
This paper considers how planetesimal impacts affect planetary atmospheres. Atmosphere evolution depends on the ratio of gain from volatiles to loss from atmosphere stripping f_v; for constant bombardment, atmospheres with f_v<1 are…
Understanding the physics of planetary magma oceans has been the subject of growing efforts, in light of the increasing abundance of Solar system samples and extrasolar surveys. A rocky planet harboring such an ocean is likely to interact…
Solar Proton Events (SPEs) can cause abrupt and significant enhancements to the Martian surface radiation dose. Observations of the impact of SPEs on the Martian surface are available from satellites and surface detectors, but the data set…
Numerous exoplanets with masses ranging from Earth to Neptune and radii larger than Earth have been found through observations. These planets possess atmospheres that range in mass fractions from 1% to 30%, reflecting the diversity of…
Recent exoplanet statistics indicate that photo-evaporation has a great impact on the mass and bulk composition of close-in low-mass planets. While there are many studies addressing photo-evaporation of hydrogen-rich or water-rich…
Most current models of hot-exoplanet atmospheres assume shallow heating, a strong day-night differential heating near the top of the atmosphere. Here we investigate the effects of energy deposition at differing depths in a model tidally…
During the Noachian, Mars' crust may have provided a favorable environment for microbial life. The porous brine-saturated regolith would have created a physical space sheltered from UV and cosmic radiations and provided a solvent, while the…
The climate of Mars likely evolved from a warmer, wetter early state to the cold, arid current state. However, no solutions for this evolution have previously been found to satisfy the observed geological features and isotopic measurements…
Photochemical escape is an important process for oxygen escape from present Mars. In this work, a 1-D Monte-Carlo Model is developed to calculate escape rates of energetic oxygen atoms produced from O2+ dissociative recombination reactions…
A candidate explanation for Early Mars rivers is atmospheric warming due to surface release of H$_2$ or CH$_4$ gas. However, it remains unknown how much gas could be released in a single event. We model the CH$_4$ release by one mechanism…
Hydrogen loss to space is a key control on the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and the desiccation of the red planet. Thermal escape is thought to be the dominant loss process, but both forward modeling studies and remote sensing…
Recent studies have shown that ocean dynamics can have a significant warming effect on the permanent night sides of 1 to 1 tidally locked terrestrial exoplanets with Earth-like atmospheres and oceans in the middle of the habitable zone.…
Giant impacts dominate the late stages of accretion of rocky planets. They contribute to the heating, melting, and sometimes vaporizing of the bodies involved in the impacts. Due to fractionation during melting and vaporization,…
Heat flow is an important constraint on planetary formation and evolution. It has been suggested that Martian obliquity cycles might cause periodic collapses in atmospheric pressure, leading to corresponding decreases in regolith thermal…
We investigate the loss rates of the hydrogen atmospheres of terrestrial planets with a range of masses and orbital distances by assuming a stellar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) luminosity that is 100 times stronger than that of the current…
We introduce a novel Earth-like planet surface temperature model (ESTM) for habitability studies based on the spatial-temporal distribution of planetary surface temperatures. The ESTM adopts a surface Energy Balance Model complemented by:…
The lunar crater record features $\sim 50$ basins. The radiometric dating of Apollo samples indicates that the Imbrium basin formed relatively late -- from the planet formation perspective -- some $\simeq 3.9$ Ga. Here we develop a…
Within the RoadMap project we investigated the microphysical aspects of particle collisions during saltation on the Martian surface in laboratory experiments. Following the size distribution of ejected particles, their aerodynamic…
We calculate the present-day impact flux on Mars and its variation over the Martian year, using the current data on the orbital distribution of known Mars-crossing minor planets. We adapt the {\"O}pik-Wetherill formulation for calculating…