Interior-Atmosphere Interactions for Terrestrial Solar System Objects, Super-Earths, and Sub-Neptunes

Titelangaben

Dorn, Caroline ; Golabek, Gregor J. ; Bower, Dan J.:
Interior-Atmosphere Interactions for Terrestrial Solar System Objects, Super-Earths, and Sub-Neptunes.
In: Deeg, Hans J. ; Belmonte, Juan Antonio (Hrsg.): Handbook of Exoplanets. - Cham : Springer , 2025 . - S. 1-25
ISBN 978-3-319-30648-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30648-3_66-2

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Abstract

Astrophysical observations reveal a large diversity of exoplanets. One of the main goals of the exoplanetary community is to understand how these planets form and evolve, and exoplanet interior modelling and interior characterization is a central part of this objective. Within the last 5 years, the community has acknowledged that planet interiors are more complex than previously modelled. This is because the majority of observed exoplanets are warm and hot worlds able to host magma oceans, which are coupled to their atmospheres. Here, the focus lies on a next generation of interior models that account for compositional and chemical coupling between rocky interiors and atmospheres. These coupling mechanisms are relevant for the large majority of detected super-Earths and sub-Neptunes but are so far commonly neglected in interior models. New generation interior models are therefore being developed that account for compositional and chemical coupling between rocky interiors and atmospheres. The new models are essential to provide accurate estimates of rocky planet volatile inventories given the wealth of observational data from current and upcoming transit (Kepler, TESS, CHEOPS, PLATO) and radial velocity missions as well as atmospheric spectral data (JWST, VLT, ELT, ARIEL). Inventories of hydrogen, water, and other volatiles are crucial to understand planets as they inform us about their (1) birth place environments, (2) evolution history, (3) redox state and hence their chemical evolution, and (4) ultimately, potential to harbor life. A new generation of interior models that are being developed and explored likely impact other ongoing research on formation, evolution, climate, mass-radius relationships, interior characterization, and origin of life science.