dc.contributor.author | Ginzburg, Sivan | |
dc.contributor.author | Sari, Re’em | |
dc.contributor.author | Schlichting, Hilke E | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-03-19T18:49:04Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-03-19T18:49:04Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016-06 | |
dc.date.submitted | 2015-12 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1538-4357 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0004-637X | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/114220 | |
dc.description.abstract | Some recently discovered short-period Earth- to Neptune-sized exoplanets (super-Earths) have low observed mean densities that can only be explained by voluminous gaseous atmospheres. Here, we study the conditions allowing the accretion and retention of such atmospheres. We self-consistently couple the nebular gas accretion onto rocky cores and the subsequent evolution of gas envelopes following the dispersal of the protoplanetary disk. Specifically, we address mass-loss due to both photo-evaporation and cooling of the planet. We find that planets shed their outer layers (dozens of percent in mass) following the disk's dispersal (even without photo-evaporation), and their atmospheres shrink in a few Myr to a thickness comparable to the radius of the underlying rocky core. At this stage, atmospheres containing less particles than the core (equivalently, lighter than a few percent of the planet's mass) can be blown away by heat coming from the cooling core, while heavier atmospheres cool and contract on a timescale of Gyr at most. By relating the mass-loss timescale to the accretion time, we analytically identify a Goldilocks region in the mass-temperature plane in which low-density super-Earths can be found: planets have to be massive and cold enough to accrete and retain their atmospheres, but not too massive or cold, such that they do not enter runaway accretion and become gas giants (Jupiters). We compare our results to the observed super-Earth population and find that low-density planets are indeed concentrated in the theoretically allowed region. Our analytical and intuitive model can be used to investigate possible super-Earth formation scenarios. | en_US |
dc.publisher | American Astronomical Society/IOP Publishing | en_US |
dc.relation.isversionof | http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/825/1/29 | en_US |
dc.rights | Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. | en_US |
dc.title | SUPER-EARTH ATMOSPHERES: SELF-CONSISTENT GAS ACCRETION AND RETENTION | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.identifier.citation | Ginzburg, Sivan et al. “SUPER-EARTH ATMOSPHERES: SELF-CONSISTENT GAS ACCRETION AND RETENTION.” The Astrophysical Journal 825, 1 (June 2016): 29 © 2016 American Astronomical Society | en_US |
dc.contributor.department | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate | |
dc.contributor.mitauthor | Schlichting, Hilke E | |
dc.relation.journal | Astrophysical Journal | en_US |
dc.eprint.version | Final published version | en_US |
dc.type.uri | http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle | en_US |
eprint.status | http://purl.org/eprint/status/PeerReviewed | en_US |
dc.date.updated | 2018-02-16T14:32:10Z | |
dspace.orderedauthors | Ginzburg, Sivan; Schlichting, Hilke E.; Sari, Re’em | en_US |
dspace.embargo.terms | N | en_US |
dc.identifier.orcid | https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0298-8089 | |
mit.license | PUBLISHER_POLICY | en_US |