Europlanet Science Congress 2022
Palacio de Congresos de Granada, Spain
18 – 23 September 2022
Europlanet Science Congress 2022
Palacio de Congresos de Granada, Spain
18 September – 23 September 2022
EPSC Abstracts
Vol. 16, EPSC2022-283, 2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2022-283
Europlanet Science Congress 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

The interior diversity of terrestrial-type exoplanets: constrained with devolatilized stellar abundances and mass-radius measurements

Haiyang Wang1, Sascha Quanz1, David Yong2, Fan Liu3, Fabian Seidler1, Lorena Acuna4, and Stephen Mojzsis5,6,7
Haiyang Wang et al.
  • 1Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland (haiwang@phys.ethz.ch)
  • 2Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia
  • 3Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
  • 4Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, CNES, LAM, 13388 Marseille, France
  • 5Origins Research Institute, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, MTA Centre of Excellence, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
  • 6Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
  • 7Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0399, USA

A major goal in the discovery and characterization of exoplanets is to identify terrestrial-type worlds that are similar to (or otherwise distinct from) our Earth. The combination of mass-radius measurements and host stellar abundances has been proposed to constrain the interiors of small (rocky) exoplanets. In this work, we advocate the importance of using devolatilized stellar abundances, instead of uncorrected stellar abundances, to further reduce degeneracies in modelling the interiors of rocky exoplanets. We apply an empirical devolatilization model to a selected sample of 13 planet-hosting Sun-like stars, for which high-precision photospheric abundances have been available. With the resultant devolatilized stellar composition (i.e. the model planetary bulk composition), as well as other constraints including mass and radius, we model the detailed mineralogy and interior structure of hypothetical, habitable-zone terrestrial planets (‘exo-Earths’) around these stars. Model output shows that most of these exo-Earths are expected to have broadly Earth-like composition and interior structure, consistent with conclusions derived independently from analysis of polluted white dwarfs. Investigating the empirical devolatilization model at its extremes as well as varying planetary mass and radius (within the terrestrial regime) reveals potential diversities in the interiors of terrestrial planets. By considering (i) high-precision stellar abundances, (ii) devolatilization, and (iii) planetary mass and radius holistically, this work represents essential steps to explore the detailed mineralogy and interior structure of terrestrial-type exoplanets, which in turn are fundamental for a quantitative understanding of planetary long-term evolution including the interior-atmosphere interactions.

How to cite: Wang, H., Quanz, S., Yong, D., Liu, F., Seidler, F., Acuna, L., and Mojzsis, S.: The interior diversity of terrestrial-type exoplanets: constrained with devolatilized stellar abundances and mass-radius measurements, Europlanet Science Congress 2022, Granada, Spain, 18–23 Sep 2022, EPSC2022-283, https://doi.org/10.5194/epsc2022-283, 2022.

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