Related papers: Understanding Jupiter's Interior
In order to characterize giant exoplanets and better understand their origin, knowledge of how the planet's composition depends on its mass and stellar environment is required. In this work, we simulate the thermal evolution of gaseous…
Physical conditions deep within planets and exoplanets have yet to be measured directly, but indirect methods can calculate them. The polytropic models are one possible solution to this problem. In the present paper, we assume that the…
The hundreds of exoplanets that have been discovered in the past two decades offer a new perspective on planetary structure. Instead of being the archetypal examples of planets, those of our Solar System are merely possible outcomes of…
Accurate knowledge of the electrical and thermal conductivities and structural properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures under thermodynamic conditions within and beyond the immiscibility range is very important to predict the thermal…
We present 'empirical' models (pressure vs. density) of Saturn's interior constrained by the gravitational coefficients J_2, J_4, and J_6 for different assumed rotation rates of the planet. The empirical pressure-density profile is…
The thermal evolution and interior structure of giant exoplanets are sensitive to the treatment of radiative opacity. At temperatures of ~2000 K, depletion of alkali metals can create a window of reduced opacity, potentially giving rise to…
The formation of Saturn is modeled by detailed numerical simulations according to the core-nucleated accretion scenario. Previous models are enhanced to include the dissolution of accreting planetesimals, composed of water ice, rock, and…
Magnetic sounding using data collected from the Juno mission can be used to provide constraints on Jupiter's interior. However, inwards continuation of reconstructions assuming zero electrical conductivity and a representation in spherical…
We present a new numerical framework to model the formation and evolution of giant planets. The code is based on the further development of the stellar evolution toolkit Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). The model…
Hot Jupiters, giant extrasolar planets with orbital periods shorter than ~10 days, have long been thought to form at large radial distances, only to subsequently experience long-range inward migration. Here, we propose that in contrast with…
We describe the current state of knowledge about Mercury's interior structure. We review the available observational constraints, including mass, size, density, gravity field, spin state, composition, and tidal response. These data enable…
The advent of high-resolution spectroscopy as a method for exoplanet atmospheric characterization has expanded our capability to study non-transiting planets, increasing the number of planets accessible for observation. Many of the most…
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…
Discovery of hot Jupiter exo-planets, those with anomalously inflated size and low density relative to Jupiter, has evoked much discussion as to possible sources of internal heat production. But to date, no explanations have come forth that…
The intriguing circumpolar cyclone pattern at Jupiter's poles raises fundamental questions about how these systems are organized vertically and, further, how the planet's internal heat shapes and sustains them in the absence of solar…
The characterisation of giant exoplanets is crucial to constrain giant planet formation and evolution theory and for putting the solar-system's giant planets in perspective. Typically, mass-radius (M-R) measurements of moderately irradiated…
In the hot-start core accretion formation model for gas giants, the interior of a planet is usually assumed to be fully convective. By calculating the detailed internal evolution of a planet assuming hot start outer boundary conditions, we…
The asymmetric gravity field measured by the Juno spacecraft allowed estimation of the depth of Jupiter's zonal jets, showing that the winds extend approximately $3000$ km beneath the cloud-level. This estimate was based on an analysis…
Hydrogen and helium demix when sufficiently cool, and this bears on the evolution of all giant planets at large separations at or below roughly a Jupiter mass. We model the thermal evolution of Jupiter, including its evolving helium…
Previous generation of instruments have the opportunity to discover thousands of extra-solar planets and more will come with the current and future planet-search missions. In order to go one step further in the characterization of…