Abstract
Massive and water-rich planets should be ubiquitous in the universe. Many of these worlds are expected to be subject to important irradiation from their host star, and display supercritical ...water layers surrounded by extended steam atmospheres. Irradiated ocean planets with such inflated hydrospheres have been recently shown to be good candidates for matching the mass–radius distribution of sub-Neptunes. Here we describe a model that computes a realistic structure for water-rich planets by combining an interior model with an updated equation of state (EOS) for water, and an atmospheric model that takes into account radiative transfer. We find that the use of inappropriate EOSs can lead to the overestimation of the planetary radius by up to ∼10%, depending on the planet size and composition. Our model has been applied to the GJ 9827 system as a test case and indicates Earth- or Venus-like interiors for planets b and c, respectively. Planet d could be an irradiated ocean planet with a water mass fraction (WMF) of ∼20% ± 10%. We also provide fits for the mass–radius relationships, allowing one to directly retrieve a wide range of planetary compositions, without the requirement to run the model. Our calculations finally suggest that highly irradiated planets lost their H/He content through atmospheric loss processes, and that the leftover material led to either super-Earths or sub-Neptunes, depending on the WMF.
Small planets (∼1-3.9 ) constitute more than half of the inventory of the 4000-plus exoplanets discovered so far. Smaller planets are sufficiently dense to be rocky, but those with radii larger than ...∼1.6 are thought to display in many cases hydrogen/helium gaseous envelopes up to ∼30% of the planetary mass. These low-mass planets are highly irradiated and the question of their origin, evolution, and possible links remains open. Here we show that close-in ocean planets affected by the greenhouse effect display hydrospheres in supercritical state, which generate inflated atmospheres without invoking the presence of large hydrogen/helium gaseous envelopes. We present a new set of mass-radius relationships for ocean planets with different compositions and different equilibrium temperatures, which are found to be well adapted to low-density sub-Neptune planets. Our model suggests that super-Earths and water-rich sub-Neptunes could belong to the same family of planets, i.e., hydrogen/helium-free planets, with differences between their interiors simply resulting from the variation in the water content.
With the progress of detection techniques, the number of low-mass and small-size exoplanets is increasing rapidly. However their characteristics and formation mechanisms are not yet fully understood. ...The metallicity of the host star is a critical parameter in such processes and can impact the occurrence rate or physical properties of these planets. While a frequency–metallicity correlation has been found for giant planets, this is still an ongoing debate for their smaller counterparts. Using the published parameters of a sample of 157 exoplanets lighter than 40 M⊕, we explore the mass-metallicity space of Neptunes and super-Earths. We show the existence of a maximal mass that increases with metallicity, that also depends on the period of these planets. This seems to favour in situ formation or alternatively a metallicity-driven migration mechanism. It also suggests that the frequency of Neptunes (between 10 and 40 M⊕) is, like giant planets, correlated with the host star metallicity, whereas no correlation is found for super-Earths (<10 M⊕).
Among exoplanets, the small-size population constitutes the dominant one, with a diversity of properties and compositions ranging from rocky to gas dominated envelope. While a large fraction of them ...have masses and radii similar to or smaller than Neptune, yet none share common properties in term of orbital period and insulation with our ice giants. These exoplanets belong to multi-planet systems where planets are closely packed within the first tenth of AU and often exposed to strong irradiation from their host star. Their formation process, subsequent evolution, and fate are still debated and trigger new developments of planet formation models. This paper reviews the characteristics and properties of this extended sample of planets with radii between ∼1.6 and 4.0
R
⊕
. Even though we still lack real Neptune/Uranus analogues, these exoplanets provide us with key observational constraints that allow the formation of our ice giants to be placed in a more general framework than the sole example of our solar system.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We present detections of the near-infrared thermal emission of three hot Jupiters and one brown dwarf using the Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRCam) on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). These ...include Ks-band secondary eclipse detections of the hot Jupiters WASP-3b and Qatar-1b and the brown dwarf KELT-1b. We also report Y-band, K-CONT-band, and two new and one reanalyzed Ks-band detections of the thermal emission of the hot Jupiter WASP-12b. We present a new reduction pipeline for CFHT/WIRCam data, which is optimized for high precision photometry. We also describe novel techniques for constraining systematic errors in ground-based near-infrared photometry, so as to return reliable secondary eclipse depths and uncertainties. We discuss the noise properties of our ground-based photometry for wavelengths spanning the near-infrared (the YJHK bands), for faint and bright stars, and for the same object on several occasions. For the hot Jupiters WASP-3b and WASP-12b we demonstrate the repeatability of our eclipse depth measurements in the Ks band; we therefore place stringent limits on the systematics of ground-based, near-infrared photometry, and also rule out violent weather changes in the deep, high pressure atmospheres of these two hot Jupiters at the epochs of our observations.
Abstract
We present a reanalysis of the K2-106 transiting planetary system, with a focus on the composition of K2-106b, an ultra-short-period, super-Mercury candidate. We globally model existing ...photometric and radial velocity data and derive a planetary mass and radius for K2-106b of
M
p
= 8.53 ± 1.02
M
⊕
and
R
p
=
1.71
−
0.057
+
0.069
R
⊕
, which leads to a density of
ρ
p
=
9.4
−
1.5
+
1.6
g cm
−3
, a significantly lower value than previously reported in the literature. We use planet interior models that assume a two-layer planet comprised of a liquid, pure Fe core and an iron-free, MgSiO
3
mantle, and we determine that the range of the core mass fractions are consistent with the observed mass and radius. We use existing high-resolution spectra of the host star to derive the Fe/Mg/Si abundances (Fe/H = −0.03 ± 0.01, Mg/H = 0.04 ± 0.02, Si/H = 0.03 ± 0.06) to infer the composition of K2-106b. We find that K2-106b has a density and core mass fraction (
44
−
15
+
12
%
) consistent with that of Earth (CMF
⊕
= 32%). Furthermore, its composition is consistent with what is expected, assuming that it reflects the relative refractory abundances of its host star. K2-106b is therefore unlikely to be a super-Mercury, as has been suggested in previous literature.
The comparative study of planetary systems is a unique source of new scientific insight: following the six “key science questions” of the “Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061” long-term foresight ...exercise, it can reveal to us the diversity of their objects (Question 1) and of their architectures (Question 2), help us better understand their origins (Question 3) and how they work (Question 4), find and characterize habitable worlds (Question 5), and ultimately, search for alien life (Question 6). But a huge “knowledge gap” exists which limits the applicability of this approach in the solar system itself: two of its secondary planetary systems, the ice giant systems of Uranus and Neptune, remain poorly explored.
Starting from an analysis of our current limited knowledge of solar system ice giants and their systems in the light of these six key science questions, we show that a long-term plan for the space exploration of ice giants and their systems will greatly contribute to answer these questions. To do so, we identify the key measurements needed to address each of these questions, the destinations to choose (Uranus, Neptune, Triton or a subset of them), the combinations of space platform(s) and the types of flight sequences needed.
We then examine the different launch windows available until 2061, using a Jupiter fly-by, to send a mission to Uranus or Neptune, and find that:
(1) an optimized choice of platforms and flight sequences makes it possible to address a broad range of the key science questions with one mission at one of the planets. Combining an atmospheric entry probe with an orbiter tour starting on a high-inclination, low periapse orbit, followed by a sequence of lower inclination orbits (or the other way around) appears to be an optimal choice.
(2) a combination of two missions to each of the ice giant systems, to be flown in parallel or in sequence, will address five out of the six key questions and establish the prerequisites to address the sixth one: searching for life at one of the most promising Ice Giant moons.
(3) The 2032 Jupiter fly-by window, which offers a unique opportunity to implement this plan, should be considered in priority; if this window cannot be met, using the 2036 Jupiter fly-by window to send a mission to Uranus first, and then the 2045 window for a mission to Neptune, will allow one to achieve the same objectives; as a back-up option, one should consider an orbiter + probe mission to one of the planets and a close fly-by of the other planet to deliver a probe into its atmosphere, using the opportunity of a future mission on its way to Kuiper Belt Objects or the interstellar medium;
(4) based on the examination of the habitability of the different moons by the first two missions, a third one can be properly designed to search for life at the most promising moon, likely Triton, or one of the active moons of Uranus.
Thus, by 2061 the first two missions of this plan can be implemented and a third mission focusing on the search for life can be designed. Given that such a plan may be out of reach of a single national agency, international collaboration is the most promising way to implement it.
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Context.
Planetary mass and radius data suggest that low-mass exoplanets show a wide variety of densities. This includes sub-Neptunes, whose low densities can be explained with the presence of a ...volatile-rich layer. Water is one of the most abundant volatiles, which can be in the form of different phases depending on the planetary surface conditions. To constrain their composition and interior structure, models must be developed that accurately calculate the properties of water at its different phases.
Aims.
We present an interior structure model that includes a multiphase water layer with steam, supercritical, and condensed phases. We derive the constraints for planetary compositional parameters and their uncertainties, focusing on the multi-planetary system TRAPPIST-1, which presents both warm and temperate planets.
Methods.
We use a 1D steam atmosphere in radiative-convective equilibrium with an interior whose water layer is in supercritical phase self-consistently. For temperate surface conditions, we implement liquid and ice Ih to ice VII phases in the hydrosphere. We adopt a Markov chain Monte Carlo inversion scheme to derive the probability distributions of core and water compositional parameters.
Results.
We refine the composition of all planets and derive atmospheric parameters for planets ‘b’ and ‘c’. The latter would be in a post-runaway greenhouse state and could be extended enough to be probed by space missions such as JWST. Planets ‘d’ to ‘h’ present condensed ice phases, with maximum water mass fractions below 20%.
Conclusions.
The derived amounts of water for TRAPPIST-1 planets show a general increase with semi-major axis, with the exception of planet d. This deviation from the trend could be due to formation mechanisms, such as migration and an enrichment of water in the region where planet d formed, or an extended CO
2
-rich atmosphere.
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A key feature of the Trappist-1 system is its monotonic decrease in bulk density with growing distance from the central star, which indicates an ice mass fraction that is zero in the innermost ...planets, b and c, and about 10<!PCT!> in planets d through h. Previous studies suggest that the density gradient of this system could be due to the growth of planets from icy planetesimals that progressively lost their volatile content during their inward drift through the protoplanetary disk. Here we investigate the alternative possibility that the planets formed in a dry protoplanetary disk populated with pebbles made of phyllosilicates, a class of hydrated minerals with a water fraction possibly exceeding 10 wt<!PCT!>. We show that the dehydration of these minerals in the inner regions of the disk and the outward diffusion of the released vapor up to the ice-line location allow the condensation of ice onto grains. Pebbles with water mass fractions consistent with those of planets d--h would have formed at the snow-line location. In contrast, planets b and c would have been accreted from drier material in regions closer to the star than the phyllosilicate dehydration line.
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The detection and characterization of exoplanets have made huge progresses since the first discoveries in the late 1990s. In particular, the independent measurement of the mass and radius of planets, ...by combining the transit and radial-velocity techniques, allowed exploring their density and hence, their internal structure. With CoRoT (2007–2012), the pioneering CNES space-based mission in this investigation, about thirty new planets were characterized. CoRoT has enhanced the diversity of giant exoplanets and discovered the first telluric exoplanet. Following CoRoT, the NASA Kepler mission has extended our knowledge to small size planets, multiple systems and planets orbiting binaries. Exploring these new worlds will continue with the NASA/TESS (2017) and ESA/PLATO (2024) missions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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