Related papers: Different Inhomogeneous Evolutionary Histories for…
Recent measurements of Jupiter's gravitational moments by the Juno spacecraft and seismology of Saturn's rings suggest that the primordial composition gradients in the deep interior of these planets have persisted since their formation. One…
We calculate the evolution of gas giant planets during the runaway gas accretion phase of formation, to understand how the luminosity of young giant planets depends on the accretion conditions. We construct steady-state envelope models, and…
Neptune-sized extrasolar planets that orbit relatively close to their host stars -- often called "hot Neptunes" -- are common within the known population of exoplanets and planetary candidates. Similar to our own Uranus and Neptune,…
The shapes of fluid planets bear the signatures of rotational flattening and atmospheric flows. Precise knowledge of their shapes and wind profiles may therefore reveal their interior rotation rates. We re-examine this idea for the ice…
Planetary embryos form protoplanets via mutual collisions, which can lead to the development of magma oceans. During their solidification, large amounts of the mantles' volatile contents may be outgassed. The resulting H$_2$O/CO$_2$…
Uranus has a tilted rotation axis, which is supposed to be caused by a giant impact. In general, an impact event also changes the internal compositional distribution and drives mass ejection from the planet, which may provide the origin of…
The interiors of many planets consist mostly of fluid layers. When these layers are subject to superadiabatic temperature or compositional gradients, turbulent convection transports heat and momentum. In addition, planets are fast rotators.…
Recent works on planetary migration show that the orbital structure of the Kuiper belt can be very well reproduced if before the onset of the planetary instability Neptune underwent a long-range planetesimal-driven migration up to $\sim$28…
We examine the uncertainties in current planetary models and we quantify their impact on the planet cooling histories and mass-radius relationships. These uncertainties include (i) the differences between the various equations of state used…
Linking atmospheric measurements to the bulk planetary composition and ultimately the planetary origin is a key objective in planetary science. In this work, we identify the cases in which the atmospheric composition represents the bulk…
We present results examining the fate of the Trojan clouds produced in our previous work. We find that the stability of Neptunian Trojans seems to be strongly correlated to their initial post-migration orbital elements, with those objects…
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…
GJ 436b is the first extrasolar planet discovered that resembles Neptune in mass and radius. The particularly interesting property of Neptune-sized planets is that their mass Mp and radius Rp are close to theoretical M-R relations of water…
We explore the origin and orbital evolution of the Kuiper belt in the framework of a recent model of the dynamical evolution of the giant planets, sometimes known as the Nice model. This model is characterized by a short, but violent,…
Storms operated by moist convection and the condensation of $\rm CH_{4}$ or $\rm H_{2}S$ have been observed on Uranus and Neptune. However, the mechanism of cloud formation, thermal structure, and mixing efficiency of ice giant weather…
The evolution of exoplanetary atmospheres is strongly influenced by atmospheric escape, particularly for close-in planets. Fractionation during atmospheric loss can preferentially remove lighter elements such as hydrogen, while retaining…
The mixing behavior of hydrogen with heavier elements plays a key role in modeling the interiors of giant planets such as Jupiter and Saturn. Using density functional theory combined with molecular dynamics, we investigate hydrogen-neon…
The current dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt was shaped by the orbital evolution of the giant planets, especially Neptune, during the era following planet formation, when the giant planets may have undergone planet-planet scattering…
We review the formation of large-scale heterogeneity in the solid Earth from the magma ocean phase to the present day, focusing on lower-mantle structure and evolution, as well as continental formation and its impact on interior-exterior…
Ground-based and spacecraft telescopic observations, combined with an intensive modeling effort, have greatly enhanced our understanding of hot giant planets and brown dwarfs over the past ten years. Although these objects are all fluid,…