相关论文: The Radius Cliff is a Waterfall: Explaining Sub-Ne…
The radius valley (or gap) in the observed distribution of exoplanet radii, which separates smaller super-Earths from larger sub-Neptunes, is a key feature that theoretical models must explain. Conventionally, it is interpreted as the…
The Kepler mission enabled us to look at the intrinsic population of exoplanets within our galaxy. In period-radius space, the distribution of the intrinsic population of planets contains structure that can trace planet formation and…
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…
The detection of young transiting exoplanets represents a new frontier in our understanding of planet formation and evolution. For the population of observed close-in sub-Neptunes, two proposed formation pathways can reproduce their…
The Kepler high-precision planetary sample has revealed a radius valley, separating compact super-Earths from sub-Neptunes with lower density. Super-Earths are generally assumed to be rocky planets that were probably born in-situ, while the…
Water worlds have been hypothesized as an alternative to photo-evaporation in order to explain the gap in the radius distribution of Kepler exoplanets. We explore water worlds within the framework of a joint mass-radius-period distribution…
Recent astronomical observations obtained with the Kepler and TESS missions and their related ground-based follow-ups revealed an abundance of exoplanets with a size intermediate between Earth and Neptune. A low occurrence rate of planets…
Planet formation models suggest that the small exoplanets that migrate from beyond the snowline of the protoplanetary disk likely contain water-ice-rich cores ($\sim 50\%$ by mass), also known as the water worlds. While the observed radius…
The radius valley separating super-Earths from mini-Neptunes is a fundamental benchmark for theories of planet formation and evolution. Observations show that the location of the radius valley decreases with decreasing stellar mass and with…
The size frequency distribution of exoplanet radii between 1 and 4$R_{\oplus}$ is bimodal with peaks at $\sim$1.4 $R_{\oplus}$ and $\sim$2.4 $R_{\oplus}$, and a valley at $\sim$1.8$R_{\oplus}$. This radius valley separates two classes of…
Sub-Neptunes occupy an intriguing region of planetary mass-radius space, where theoretical models of interior structure predict that they could be water-rich, where water is in steam and supercritical state. Such planets are expected to…
The nature of sub-Neptunes remains unknown due to degeneracies in interior structure solutions. However, a statistical set of small planets with measured masses and radii can be used to test the planet formation theory prediction of large…
While recent planet-formation models broadly reproduce the observed population of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, as well as the bimodal radius distribution (the ``radius valley''), it remains unclear whether all these planets share a…
Extrasolar planets with sizes between that of the Earth and Neptune ($R_{\rm p}=1{-}4~{\rm R}_\oplus$) have a bimodal radius distribution. This 'planet radius valley' separates compact, rocky super-Earths ($R_{\rm p}=1.0{-}1.8~{\rm…
The population of small, close-in exoplanets is bifurcated into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. We calculate physically motivated mass-radius relations for sub-Neptunes, with rocky cores and H/He dominated atmospheres, accounting for their…
Observations have revealed in the Kepler data a depleted region separating smaller super-Earths from larger sub-Neptunes. This can be explained as an evaporation valley between planets with and without H/He that is caused by atmospheric…
The observed masses and radii of sub-Neptunes are typically explained by the gas dwarf and the water world scenarios. While their evolutionary history on a population level has been proposed as a method to distinguish between these…
Planets intermediate in size between the Earth and Neptune, and orbiting closer to their host stars than Mercury does the Sun, are the most common type of planet revealed by exoplanet surveys over the last quarter century. Results from…
The observed radii distribution of {\it Kepler} exoplanets reveals two distinct populations: those that are more likely to be terrestrials ($\lesssim1.7R_\oplus$) and those that are more likely to be gas-enveloped ($\gtrsim2R_\oplus$).…
One of the most significant advances by NASA's ${\mathit Kepler}$ Mission was the discovery of an abundant new population of highly irradiated planets with sizes between the Earth and Neptune. Subsequent analysis showed that at ~1.5 Earth…