Related papers: Convection and Mixing in Giant Planet Evolution
In the core accretion paradigm of planet formation, gas giants only form a massive atmosphere after their progenitors exceeded a threshold mass: the critical core mass. Most (exo)planets, being smaller and rock/ice-dominated, never crossed…
Observations from Juno and Cassini suggest that Jupiter and Saturn may possess fuzzy cores -- central regions where the abundance of heavy elements varies smoothly with depth. Such gradients pose a longstanding puzzle for models of…
The impact of the inner structure and thermal history of planets on their observable features, such as luminosity or magnetic field, crucially depends on the poorly known heat and charge transport properties of their internal layers. The…
Giant planets are believed to host central dense rocky/icy cores that are key actors in the core-accretion scenario for their formation. In the same time, some of their components are unstable in the temperature and pressure regimes of…
In this paper we investigate the evolution of a pair of interacting planets - a Jupiter mass planet and a Super-Earth with the 5.5 Earth masses - orbiting a Solar type star and embedded in a gaseous protoplanetary disc. We focus on the…
Many evolutionary models of giant exoplanets still rely on simplifying assumptions that are no longer adequate given detailed constraints from Jupiter, Saturn, and modern exoplanet observations. Here, we identify the key physical…
The observed low densities of gas giant planets with a high equilibrium temperature can be simulated in models when a fraction of the surface radiation is deposited deeper in the interior. Meanwhile migration theories suggest that hot…
We analyze the orbital and mass evolution of planets that undergo run-away gas accretion by means of 2D and 3D hydrodynamic simulations. The disk torque distribution per unit disk mass as a function of radius provides an important…
The Kepler transit survey with follow-up spectroscopic observations has discovered numerous super-Earth sized planets and revealed intriguing features of their sizes, orbital periods, and their relations between adjacent planets. For the…
Firstly, we study the final masses of giant planets growing in protoplanetary disks through capture of disk gas, by employing an empirical formula for the gas capture rate and a shallow disk gap model, which are both based on hydrodynamical…
Planets of 1-4 times Earth's size on orbits shorter than 100 days exist around 30-50% of all Sun-like stars. In fact, the Solar System is particularly outstanding in its lack of "hot super-Earths" (or "mini-Neptunes"). These planets -- or…
Although it is fairly established that Gravitational Instability (GI) should occur in the early phases of the evolution of a protoplanetary disk, the fate of the clumps resulting from disk fragmentation and their role in planet formation is…
Interior to the gaseous envelopes of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, there are high-density cores with masses larger than 10 Earth masses. According to the conventional sequential accretion hypothesis, such massive cores are needed for the…
We present the results of N--body simulations which examine the effect that gas giant planet migration has on the formation of terrestrial planets. The models incorporate a 0.5 Jupiter mass planet undergoing type II migration through an…
Simulations of Jupiter's formation are presented that incorporate mixing of H-He with denser material entering the planet as solids. Heavy compounds and gas mix substantially when the planet becomes roughly as massive as Earth, because…
A crucial phase during planetary growth is the migration when the planetary core has been assembled, but the planet did not open a deep gap yet. During this phase the planet is subject to fast type-I migration, which is mostly directed…
We have investigated the evolution of a pair of interacting planets embedded in a gaseous disc, considering the possibility of the resonant capture of a Super-Earth by a Jupiter mass gas giant. First, we have examined the situation where…
The determination of Saturn's atmospheric noble gas abundances are critical to understanding the formation and evolution of Saturn, and giant planets in general. These measurements can only be performed with an entry probe. A Saturn probe…
Gravitational torques between a planet and gas in the protoplanetary disk result in orbital migration of the planet, and are likely to play an important role in the formation and early evolution of planetary systems. For masses comparable…
In most extrasolar planetary systems, the present orbits of known giant planets admit the existence of stable terrestrial planets. Those same giant planets, however, have typically eccentric orbits that hint at violent early dynamics less…