The Interior Structure, Composition, and Evolution of Giant Planets
@article{Fortney2010TheIS, title={The Interior Structure, Composition, and Evolution of Giant Planets}, author={Jonathan J. Fortney and Nadine Nettelmann}, journal={Space Science Reviews}, year={2010}, volume={152}, pages={423-447} }
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 giants,” such as Uranus and Neptune, which are primarily composed of elements heavier than H/He. The effect of different hydrogen equations of state (including new first-principles computations) on Jupiter’s core mass and heavy element distribution is detailed. This…
231 Citations
The Interiors of Jupiter and Saturn
- Physics, GeologyOxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science
- 2019
Probing the interiors of the gaseous giant planets in our solar system is not an easy task. It requires a set of accurate measurements combined with theoretical models that are used to infer the…
THE HEAVY-ELEMENT MASSES OF EXTRASOLAR GIANT PLANETS, REVEALED
- Physics, Geology
- 2011
We investigate a population of transiting planets that receive relatively modest stellar insolation, indicating equilibrium temperatures <1000 K, and for which the heating mechanism that inflates hot…
The Evolution and Internal Structure of Jupiter and Saturn with Compositional Gradients
- Geology, Physics
- 2016
The internal structure of gas giant planets may be more complex than the commonly assumed core-envelope structure with an adiabatic temperature profile. Different primordial internal structures as…
Theoretical versus Observational Uncertainties: Composition of Giant Exoplanets
- Geology, PhysicsThe Astrophysical Journal
- 2020
In order to characterize giant exoplanets and better understand their origin, knowledge of how the planet’s composition depends on its mass and stellar environment is required. In this work, we…
SELF-CONSISTENT MODEL ATMOSPHERES AND THE COOLING OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM'S GIANT PLANETS
- Physics, Geology
- 2011
We compute grids of radiative–convective model atmospheres for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune over a range of intrinsic fluxes and surface gravities. The atmosphere grids serve as an upper…
The science case for an orbital mission to Uranus: exploring the origins and evolution of ice giant planets
- Physics, Geology
- 2014
Jupiter’s formation and its primordial internal structure
- Physics, Geology
- 2017
The composition of Jupiter and the primordial distribution of the heavy elements are determined by its formation history. As a result, in order to constrain the primordial internal structure of…
Scientific rationale for Uranus and Neptune in situ explorations
- Physics, GeologyPlanetary and Space Science
- 2018
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 100 REFERENCES
Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Extrasolar Giant Planets
- Physics, Geology
- 2003
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 0.15MJ-3.0MJ. Our inhomogeneous…
The composition of transiting giant extrasolar planets
- Physics, Geology
- 2008
In principle, the combined measurements of the mass and radius of a giant exoplanet allow one to determine the relative fraction of hydrogen and helium and of heavy elements in the planet. However,…
A Massive Core in Jupiter Predicted from First-Principles Simulations
- Geology, Physics
- 2008
Hydrogen-helium mixtures at conditions of Jupiter’s interior are studied with first-principles computer simulations. The resulting equation of state (EOS) implies that Jupiter possesses a central…
Are the Giant Planets Fully Convective
- Physics, Geology
- 1994
Abstract All current models of internal structure and evolution of the giant planets assume a convective and adiabatic stratification. The purpose of this work is to reexamine this hypothesis using…
On the Luminosity of Young Jupiters
- Physics, Geology
- 2007
Traditional thermal evolution models of giant planets employ arbitrary initial conditions selected more for computational expediency than physical accuracy. Since the initial conditions are…
Shock Compression of Deuterium and the Interiors of Jupiter and Saturn
- Physics, Geology
- 2004
Recently, deuterium has been the focus of a high level of experimental and theoretical activity, sparked by a disagreement on the experimental value of the maximum compression along the principal…
The effect of dense cores on the structure and evolution of Jupiter and Saturn
- Physics, Geology
- 1980