Related papers: Atmospheric Helium Abundances in the Giant Planets

We present the first models of Saturn and Jupiter to couple their evolution to both a radiative-atmosphere grid and to high-pressure phase diagrams of hydrogen with helium. The purpose of these models is to quantify the evolutionary effects…

The sun and giant planets are generally thought to have the same helium abundance as that in the solar nebula from which they were formed 4.6 billion years ago. In contrast, the interstellar medium reflects current galactic conditions. The…

The determination of Saturn's atmospheric noble gas abundances are critical to understanding the formation and evolution of Saturn, and giant planets in general. These measurements can only be performed with an entry probe. A Saturn probe…

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 immiscibility of hydrogen-helium mixture under the temperature and pressure conditions of planetary interiors is crucial for understanding the structures of gas giant planets (e.g., Jupiter and Saturn). While the experimental probe at…

We build on recent new evolutionary models of Jupiter and Saturn and here extend our calculations to investigate the evolution of extrasolar giant planets of mass 0.15 to 3.0 M_J. Our inhomogeneous thermal history models show that the…

We present a search for helium in the upper atmospheres of three sub-Neptune size planets to investigate the origins of these ubiquitous objects. The detection of helium for a low density planet would be strong evidence for the presence of…

We discuss our current understanding of the interior structure and thermal evolution of giant planets. This includes the gas giants, such as Jupiter and Saturn, that are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, as well as the "ice…

A comprehensive exploration of Uranus and Neptune is essential to understand the formation and evolution of the giant planets, in particular, solar system, in general, and, by extension, a vast population of exoplanets. Though core…

The location of the hydrogen-helium (H/He) immiscibility boundary controls whether and where helium rain occurs in giant planets, yet it remains uncertain because high-pressure experiments are challenging and ab initio simulations are…

The Galileo probe showed that Jupiter's atmosphere is severely depleted in neon compared to protosolar values. We show, via ab initio simulations of the partitioning of neon between hydrogen and helium phases, that the observed depletion…

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, and together with silica, they are major components of giant planets. Exploring the reactivity and state of helium and silica under high pressure is of fundamental importance for…

We examine the comparative thermal evolution of Jupiter and Saturn applying recent theoretical results for helium's immiscibility in fluid metallic hydrogen. The redistribution of helium in their interiors proceeds very differently for the…

The core accretion model for giant planet formation suggests a two layer picture for the initial structure of Jovian planets, with heavy elements in a dense core and a thick H-He envelope. Late planetesimal accretion and core erosion could…

Phase separation between hydrogen and helium at high pressures and temperatures leads to the rainout of helium in the deep interiors of Jupiter and Saturn. This process, also known as "helium rain", affects their long-term evolution.…

Hydrogen, helium, silicates, and iron are key building blocks of rocky and gas-rich planets, yet their chemical interactions remain poorly constrained. Using first-principles molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration, we quantify…

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…

Warm Neptune- and sub-Neptune-sized exoplanets in orbits smaller than Mercury's are thought to have experienced extensive atmospheric evolution. Here we propose that a potential outcome of this atmospheric evolution is the formation of…

Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are commonly thought to have accreted hydrogen/helium envelopes, consisting of a few to ten percent of their total mass, from the primordial gas disk. Subsequently, hydrodynamic escape driven by core-powered…

Jupiter's atmosphere has been observed to be depleted in helium (Yatm~0.24), suggesting active helium sedimentation in the interior. This is accounted for in standard Jupiter structure and evolution models through the assumption of an…