Related papers: A Simple Analytical Model for Rocky Planet Interio…
Several small dense exoplanets are now known, inviting comparisons to Earth and Venus. Such comparisons require translating their masses and sizes to composition models of evolved multi-layer-interior planets. Such theoretical models rely…
Most our knowledge about rocky exoplanets is based on their measure of mass and radius. These two parameters are routinely measured and are used to categorise different populations of observed exoplanets. They are also tightly linked to the…
The first mass-estimate of an exoplanet around a Sun-like star, 51 Peg b and the first radius measurement of an exoplanet, HD209458b pointed to the challenges of understanding the atmosphere, interior, and evolution of exoplanets including…
Rocky planets both in and outside of our solar system are observed to have a range of core-mass fractions (CMFs). Imperfect collisions can preferentially strip mantle material from a planet, changing its CMF, and are therefore thought to be…
Planets and the stars they orbit are born from the same cloud of gas and dust, and the primordial compositions of rocky exoplanets have been assumed to have iron and refractory abundance ratios consistent with their host star. To test this…
Here it is shown how to find the interior structure of a variety of rock-and-iron planetary bodies by using the rock density and some aspects of the core density as known for the Earth and using a convection principle for the iron-rich…
Astrophysical observations reveal a large diversity of radii and masses of exoplanets. It is important to characterize the interiors of exoplanets to understand planetary diversity and further determine how unique, or not, Earth is.…
The melt productivity of a differentiated planet's mantle is primarily controlled by its iron content, which is itself approximated by the planet's core mass fraction (CMF). Here we show that estimates of an exo-planet's CMF allows robust…
An exoplanet's structure and composition are first-order controls of the planet's habitability. We explore which aspects of bulk terrestrial planet composition and interior structure affect the chief observables of an exoplanet: its mass…
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…
Modeling the interior of exoplanets is essential to go further than the conclusions provided by mean density measurements. In addition to the still limited precision on the planets' fundamental parameters, models are limited by the…
Mercury's core mass fraction (CMF) is ~0.7, more than double that of the other rocky planets in the solar system, which have CMFs of ~0.3. The origin of Mercury's large, iron-rich core remains unknown. Adding to this mystery, an elusive…
The interior composition of exoplanets is not observable, limiting our direct knowledge of their structure, composition, and dynamics. Recently described observational trends suggest that rocky exoplanets, that is, planets without…
The bulk density of a planet, as measured by mass and radius, is a result of planet structure and composition. Relative proportions of iron core, rocky mantle, and gaseous envelopes are degenerate for a given density. This degeneracy is…
Atmospheric heat redistribution shapes the remote appearance of rocky exoplanets but there is currently no easy way to predict a planet's heat redistribution from its physical properties. This paper proposes an analytical scaling theory for…
Small rocky planets, as well as larger planets that suffered extensive volatile loss, tend to be drier and have thinner atmospheres as compared to Earth. Such planets probably outnumber worlds better endowed with volatiles, being the most…
Planetary formation models predict the existence of massive terrestrial planets and experiments are now being designed that should succeed in discovering them and measuring their masses and radii. We calculate internal structures of planets…
We use dynamical models that include bulk rotation, velocity dispersion anisotropy and both stars and dark matter to explore the conditions that give rise to the early-type galaxy scaling relations referred to as the Fundamental Plane (FP)…
Next-generation space telescopes will observe the atmospheres of rocky planets orbiting nearby M-dwarfs. Understanding these observations will require well-developed theory in addition to numerical simulations. Here we present theoretical…
The present study takes the CoRoT-7b exoplanet as an analogue for massive terrestrial planets to investigate conditions, under which intrinsic magnetic fields could be sustained in liquid cores. We examine the effect of depth-dependent…