Related papers: Jupiter's formation and its primordial internal st…
It has been proposed that the enrichment in noble gases found by Galileo in Jupiter's atmosphere can be explained by their delivery inside cold planetesimals. We propose instead that this is a sign that the planet formed in a chemically…
Sedimentation rates of silicate grains in gas giant protoplanets formed by disk instability are calculated for protoplanetary masses between 1 M_Saturn to 10 M_Jupiter. Giant protoplanets with masses of 5 M_Jupiter or larger are found to be…
New interior models of Jupiter and Saturn suggest that both planets have "fuzzy cores". These cores should be viewed as central regions that are enriched with heavy elements but are not distinct from the rest of the deep interior. These…
[Abridged] We model the growth of Jupiter via core nucleated accretion, applying constraints from hydrodynamical processes that result from the disk-planet interaction. We compute the planet's internal structure using a Henyey-type stellar…
A giant impact has been proposed as a possible formation mechanism for Jupiter's dilute core -- the planet's inferred internal structure in which the transition between its core of heavy elements and its predominantly hydrogen-helium…
We used {\sl \textup{ab initio}} molecular dynamics simulations to calculate the high-pressure melting temperatures of the three potential core components. The planetary adiabats were obtained by solving the hydrostatic equations in a…
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…
Revealing the true nature of the gas giant planets in our Solar System is challenging. The masses of Jupiter and Saturn are about 318 and 95 Earth masses, respectively. While they mostly consist of hydrogen and helium, the total mass and…
New equations of state (EOS) for hydrogen, helium, and compounds containing heavier elements are used to construct models for the structures of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. Good agreement with the gravitational moments J2 and J4 is…
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…
We discuss the interior structure and composition of giant planets, and how this structure changes as these planets cool and contract over time. Here we define giant planets as those that have an observable hydrogen-helium envelope, which…
The origin of close-in giant planets is a key open question in planet formation theory. The two leading models are (i) formation at the outer disk followed by migration and (ii) in situ formation. In this work we determine the atmospheric…
We present the first models of Jupiter and Saturn to couple their evolution to both a radiative-atmosphere grid and to high-pressure phase diagrams of hydrogen with helium and other admixtures. We find that prior calculated phase diagrams…
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…
The Saturn System has been studied in detail by the Cassini-Huygens Mission. A major thrust of those investigations has been to understand how Saturn formed and evolved and to place Saturn in the context of other gas giants and planetary…
We know that giant planets played a crucial role in the making of our Solar System. The discovery of giant planets orbiting other stars is a formidable opportunity to learn more about these objects, what is their composition, how various…
Constraining Jupiter's internal structure is crucial for understanding its formation and evolution history. Recent interior models of Jupiter that fit Juno's measured gravitational field suggest an inhomogeneous interior and potentially the…
We use a population synthesis model that includes pebbles and gas accretion, planetary migration, and a simplified chemistry scheme to study the formation of hot-Jupiters. Models have been proposed that these planets can either originate…
Recently two groups used first-principles computer simulations to model Jupiter's interior. While both studies relied on the same simulation technique, density functional molecular dynamics, the groups derived very different conclusions. In…
More than two decades after the widespread detection of Jovian-class planets on short-period orbits around other stars, their dynamical origins remain imperfectly understood. In the traditional narrative, these highly irradiated giant…