Related papers: Evaluating the Evidence for Water World Population…
We apply hydrodynamic evaporation models to different synthetic planet populations that were obtained from a planet formation code based on a core-accretion paradigm. We investigated the evolution of the planet populations using several…
We use models of coupled thermal evolution and photo-evaporative mass loss to understand the formation and evolution of the Kepler-36 system. We show that the large contrast in mean planetary density observed by Carter et al. (2012) can be…
A new piece of evidence supporting the photoevaporation-driven evolution model for low-mass, close-in exoplanets was recently presented by the California-Kepler-Survey. The radius distribution of the Kepler planets is shown to be bimodal,…
Exoplanet habitability is traditionally assessed by comparing a planet's semi-major axis to the location of its host star's "habitable zone," the shell around a star for which Earth-like planets can possess liquid surface water. The Kepler…
Super-Earths are highly irradiated, small planets with bulk densities approximately consistent with Earth. We construct combined interior-atmosphere models of super-Earths that trace the partitioning of water throughout a planet, including…
We study the prospects for life on planets with subsurface oceans, and find that a wide range of planets can exist in diverse habitats with ice envelopes of moderate thickness. We quantify the energy sources available to these worlds, the…
The exoplanet mass radius diagram reveals that super Earths display a wide range of radii, and therefore mean densities, at a given mass. Using planet population synthesis models, we explore the key physical factors that shape this…
Structure in the planet distribution provides an insight into the processes that shape the formation and evolution of planets. The Kepler mission has led to an abundance of statistical discoveries in regards to planetary radius, but the…
Water is an important component of exoplanets, with its distribution, i.e., whether at the surface or deep inside, fundamentally influencing the planetary properties. The distribution of water in most exoplanets is determined by yet-unknown…
In this study we investigated the interiors of rocky exoplanets in order to identify those that may have large quantities of water. We modelled the interiors of 28 rocky exoplanets, assuming four different layers - an iron core, a rock…
While recent planet-formation models broadly reproduce the observed population of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, as well as the bimodal radius distribution (the ``radius valley''), it remains unclear whether all these planets share a…
Studying the habitability, internal structure and composition of exoplanets is crucial for understanding their potential to sustain life beyond our solar system. Characterizing planetary structures and atmospheric evolution provides…
Recently there has been tremendous increase in the number of identified extra-solar planetary systems. Our understanding of their formation is tied to exoplanet internal structure models, which rely upon equations of state of light elements…
The collection of planetary system properties derived from large surveys such as Kepler provides critical constraints on planet formation and evolution. These constraints can only be applied to planet formation models, however, if the…
Exoplanet mass and radius inferences fundamentally rely on host star mass and radius inferences. Despite the importance of host star mass, radius, and elemental abundance inferences for the derivation of exoplanet internal structure…
Water and land surfaces on a planet interact with gases in the atmosphere and with radiation from the star. These interactions define the environments that prevail on the planet, some of which may be more amenable to prebiotic chemistry,…
Water is predicted to be among, if not the most abundant molecular species after hydrogen in the atmospheres of close-in extrasolar giant planets (hot-Jupiters) Several attempts have been made to detect water on an exoplanet, but have…
The existence of a Radius Valley in the Kepler size distribution stands as one of the most important observational constraints to understand the origin and composition of exoplanets with radii between that of Earth and Neptune. The goal of…
Planets with masses between Earth and Neptune often have radii that imply the presence of volatiles, suggesting that water may be abundant in their interiors. However, directly observing the precise water mass fraction and water…
Many exoplanets have been discovered with radii of 1-4 Earth radii, between that of Earth and Neptune. A number of these are known to have densities consistent with solid compositions, while others are "sub-Neptunes" likely to have…