Related papers: Abundances of Elements in Solar Systems
In this chapter we summarize current knowledge of the internal structure of giant planets. We concentrate on the importance of heavy elements and their role in determining the planetary composition and internal structure, in planet…
The literature on precision differential abundances (PDAs) in stars is extensive. Surveys include sun-like stars in the solar neighborhood, binary systems, and Galactic clusters. Numerous references as well as a discussion of relevant…
Whether the higher occurrence of giant planets being hosted by metal-rich versus metal-poor stars results from formation or from "pollution" has been a question of intense debate. We present new patterns that emerge when planet/star systems…
Almost every known planet host will evolve into a white dwarf, and the surviving planetary material will continue to orbit this stellar remnant. Asteroids perturbed onto star-grazing orbits will become disrupted, forming an accretion disk…
No terrestrial planet formation simulation completed to date has considered the detailed chemical composition of the planets produced. While many have considered possible water contents and late veneer compositions, none have examined the…
Among the hundred or so extrasolar planets discovered to date, 19 are orbiting a component of a double or multiple star system. In this paper, we discuss the properties of these planets and compare them to the characteristics of planets…
The carbon to oxygen ratio in a protoplanetary disk can have a dramatic influence on the compositions of any terrestrial planets formed. In regions of high C/O, planets form primarily from carbonates and in regions of low C/O, the ratio of…
Models of planet formation are mainly focused on the accretion and dynamical processes of the planets, neglecting their chemical composition. In this work, we calculate the condensation sequence of the different chemical elements for a…
Many nucleosynthetic channels create the elements, but two-parameter models characterized by $\alpha$ and Fe nonetheless predict stellar abundances in the Galactic disk to accuracies of 0.02 to 0.05 dex for most measured elements, near the…
We present HST ultraviolet spectroscopy of the white dwarfs PG0843+516, PG1015+161, SDSS1228+1040, and GALEX1931+0117, which accrete circumstellar planetary debris formed from the destruction of asteroids. Combined with optical data, a…
The accretion of rocky material is responsible for the presence of heavy elements in the atmospheres of a large fraction of white dwarf stars. Those objects represent a unique opportunity to infer the bulk composition of exoplanetesimals.…
Prior studies have hypothesized that some polluted white dwarfs record continent-like granitic crust--which is abundant on Earth and perhaps uniquely indicative of plate tectonics. But these inferences derive from only a few elements, none…
Understanding stellar composition is fundamental not only to our comprehension of the galaxy, especially chemical evolution, but it can also shed light on the interior structure and mineralogy of exoplanets, which are formed from the same…
Detailed chemical composition of stars is of prime interest for a range of topics in modern stellar astrophysics, such as the chemical evolution of the Galaxy or the formation, composition, and structure of exoplanets. In this work, we…
The goal of planet formation as a field of study is not only to provide the understanding of how planets come into existence. It is also an interdisciplinary bridge which links astronomy to geology and mineralogy. Recent observations of…
The bulk compositions of small planets ($R_p< 2 \mathrm{R}_\oplus$) are directly linked to their formation histories, making reliable compositional constraints imperative for testing models of planet formation and evolution. Because…
The giant planets of the solar system likely played a large role in shaping the architecture of the terrestrial planets. Using an updated collision model, we conduct a suite of high resolution N-body integrations to probe the relationship…
Some studies of stars' multi-element abundance distributions suggest at least 5-7 significant dimensions, but others show that many elemental abundances can be predicted to high accuracy from [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] (or [Fe/H] and age) alone. We…
In the last few years astronomical surveys have expanded the reach of planetary science into the realm of small and dense extrasolar worlds. These share a number of characteristics with the terrestrial and icy planetary objects of the Solar…
Studies of transiting extra-solar planets are of key importance for understanding the nature of planets outside our Solar System, because their densities can be determined, constraining of what the planets are made of. Using the data…