Related papers: Internal structure of Pluto and Charon with an iro…
While conventional interior models for Jupiter and Saturn are based on the simplistic assumption of a solid core surrounded by a homogeneous gaseous envelope, we derive new models with an inhomogeneous distribution of heavy elements, i.e. a…
The presence of N2 in the surface environment of Pluto is critical in creating Pluto's richness of features and processes. Here, we propose that the nitrogen atoms in the N2 observed on Pluto were accreted in that chemical form during the…
During very early age of neutron stars, the core cools down faster compared to the crust creating a large thermal gradient in the interior of the star. During $10-100$ years, a cooling wave propagates from the core to the crust causing the…
The crystallographic structure of iron under extreme conditions is a key benchmark for cutting-edge experimental and numerical methods. Moreover, it plays a crucial role in understanding planetary cores, as it significantly influences the…
The bulk chemical composition and interior structure of rocky exoplanets are of fundamental importance to understanding their long-term evolution and potential habitability. Observations of the chemical compositions of the solar system…
Measurements of exoplanetary masses and radii have revealed a population of massive super-Earths --- planets sufficiently large that, according to one dimensional models, they should have turned into gas giants. To better understand the…
I present here a new, indivisible planetary science paradigm, a wholly self-consistent vision of the nature of matter in the Solar System, and dynamics and energy sources of planets. Massive-core planets formed by condensing and raining-out…
We study the impactor flux and cratering on Pluto and Charon due to the collisional evolution of Plutinos. Plutinos are those trans-Neptunian objects located at 39.5 AU, in the 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune. To do this, we develop…
In 2014, the discovery of two well-defined rings around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo were announced. This was the first time that such structures were found around a small body. In 2015, it was proposed that the Centaur (2060) Chiron may…
Heavy elements, even though its smaller constituent, are crucial to understand Jupiter formation history. Interior models are used to determine the amount of heavy elements in Jupiter interior, nevertheless this range is still subject to…
The surfaces of the large Uranian satellites are characterized by a mixture of H2O ice and a dark, potentially carbon-rich, constituent, along with CO2 ice. At the mean heliocentric distance of the Uranian system, native CO2 ice should be…
We study how the pattern of thermal convection and differential rotation in the interior of a giant gaseous planet is affected by the presence of a small solid core as a function of the planetary rotation rate. We show, using 2D anelastic,…
The New Horizons spacecraft carried three instruments that measured the space environment near Pluto as it flew by on 14 July 2015. The Solar Wind Around Pluto instrument revealed an interaction region confined sunward of Pluto to within…
The Earth acts as a gigantic heat engine driven by decay of radiogenic isotopes and slow cooling, which gives rise to plate tectonics, volcanoes, and mountain building. Another key product is the geomagnetic field, generated in the liquid…
Electron-degenerate, pressure-ionized hydrogen (usually referred to as metallic hydrogen) is the principal constituent of brown dwarfs, the long-sought objects which lie in the mass range between the lowest-mass stars (about eighty times…
Formed in the aftermath of gravitational core-collapse supernova explosions, neutron stars are unique cosmic laboratories for probing the properties of matter under extreme conditions that cannot be reproduced in terrestrial laboratories.…
Plutonium is the most exotic and mysterious element in the periodic table. It has 6 metallic phases and peculiar physical properties not yet understood. One of the most intriguing properties of Pu is that relatively small changes of…
The Alice instrument on NASA's New Horizons spacecraft observed an ultraviolet solar occultation by Pluto's atmosphere on 2015 July 14. The transmission vs. altitude was sensitive to the presence of N2, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and haze. We…
The intrinsic luminosity of Uranus is a factor of 10 less than that of Neptune, an observation that standard giant planetary evolution models, which assume negligible viscosity, fail to capture. Here we show that more than half of the…
We study thermal structure and evolution of magnetars as cooling neutron stars with a phenomenological heat source in a spherical internal layer. We explore the location of this layer as well as the heating rate that could explain high…