Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Bertram Bitsch

Publications and source records attributed to Bertram Bitsch.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Global 3D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of gas accretion: The opacity dependent growth of Saturn-mass planets

The full spatial structure and temporal evolution of the accretion flow into the envelopes of growing gas giants in their nascent discs is only accessible in simulations. Such simulations are constrained in their approach of computing the formation of gas giants by dimensionality, resolution, consideration of self-gravity, energy treatment and the adopted opacity law. Our study explores how a number of these parameters affect that measured accretion rate of a Saturn-mass planet. We present a global 3D radiative hydrodynamics framework using the FARGOCA-code. The planet is represented by a gravitational potential with a smoothing length at the location of the planet. No mass or energy sink is used, instead luminosity and gas accretion rates are self-consistently computed. We find that the gravitational smoothing length must be resolved by at least 10 grid cells to obtain converged measurements of the gas accretion rates. Secondly, we find gas accretion rates into planetary envelopes compatible with previous studies, and continue to explain those via the structure of our planetary envelopes and their luminosities. Our measured gas accretion rates are formally in the stage of Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction due to the modest entropy loss that can be obtained over the simulation time-scale, but our accretion rates are compatible with those expected during late run-away accretion. Our detailed simulations of the gas flow into the envelope of a Saturn-mass planet provides a framework for understanding the general problem of gas accretion during planet formation and highlights circulation features that develop inside the planetary envelopes. Those circulation features feedback into the envelope energetics and can have further implications for transporting dust into the inner regions of the envelope.

astro-ph.EP↗

Inner rocky super-Earth formation: distinguishing the formation pathways in viscously heated and passive discs

The formation of super-Earths is strongly linked to the structure of the protoplanetary disc, which determines growth and migration. In the pebble accretion scenario, planets grow to the pebble isolation mass, at which the planet carves a small gap in the gas disc halting the pebble flux and thus its growth. The pebble isolation mass scales with the disc's aspect ratio, which directly depends on the disc structure. I compare the growth of super-Earths in viscously heated discs and discs purely heated by the central star with super-Earth observations. This allows two formation pathways of super-Earths to be distinguished in the inner systems. Planets growing within 1 Myr in the viscously heated inner disc reach pebble isolation masses that correspond directly to the inferred masses of the Kepler observations for systems that feature planets in resonance or not in resonance. However, to explain the period ratio distribution of Kepler planets -- where most Kepler planet pairs are not in mean motion resonance configurations -- a fraction of these resonant chains has to be broken. In case the planets are born early in a viscously heated disc, these resonant chains thus have to be broken without planetary mergers. If super-Earths form either late or in purely passive discs, the pebble isolation mass is too small to explain the Kepler observations, implying that planetary mergers are important for the final system architecture. Resonant planetary systems thus have to experience mergers already during the gas disc phase, so the planets can get trapped in resonance after reaching 5-10 Earth masses. In case instabilities are dominating the system architecture, the systems should not be flat with mutually inclined orbits. This implies that future observations of planetary systems with RV and transits could distinguish between these two formation channels of super-Earth. (abridged)

astro-ph.EP↗

Are the observed gaps in protoplanetary discs caused by growing planets?

Recent detailed observations of protoplanetary discs revealed a lot of sub-structures which are mostly ring-like. One interpretation is that these rings are caused by growing planets. These potential planets are not yet opening very deep gaps in their discs. These planets instead form small gaps in the discs to generate small pressure bumps exterior to their orbits that stop the inflow of the largest dust particles. In the pebble accretion paradigm, this planetary mass corresponds to the pebble isolation mass, where pebble accretion stops and efficient gas accretion starts. We perform planet population synthesis via pebble and gas accretion including type-I and type-II migration. In the first stage of our simulations, we investigate the conditions necessary for planets to reach the pebble isolation mass and compare their position to the observed gaps. We find that in order to match the gap structures 2000 M E in pebbles is needed, which would be only available for the most metal rich stars. We then follow the evolution of these planets for a few My to compare the resulting population with the observed exoplanet populations. Planet formation in discs with these large amounts of pebbles result in mostly forming gas giants and only very little super-Earths, contradicting observations. This leads to the conclusions that either (i) the observed discs are exceptions, (ii) not all gaps in observed discs are caused by planets or (iii) that we miss some important ingredients in planet formation related to gas accretion and/or planet migration.

astro-ph.EP↗

The Detailed Science Case for the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer, 2019 edition

(Abridged) The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is an end-to-end science platform for the design, execution and scientific exploitation of spectroscopic surveys. It will unveil the composition and dynamics of the faint Universe and impact nearly every field of astrophysics across all spatial scales, from individual stars to the largest scale structures in the Universe. Major pillars in the science program for MSE include (i) the ultimate Gaia follow-up facility for understanding the chemistry and dynamics of the distant Milky Way, including the outer disk and faint stellar halo at high spectral resolution (ii) galaxy formation and evolution at cosmic noon, via the type of revolutionary surveys that have occurred in the nearby Universe, but now conducted at the peak of the star formation history of the Universe (iii) derivation of the mass of the neutrino and insights into inflationary physics through a cosmological redshift survey that probes a large volume of the Universe with a high galaxy density. MSE is positioned to become a critical hub in the emerging international network of front-line astronomical facilities, with scientific capabilities that naturally complement and extend the scientific power of Gaia, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, the Square Kilometer Array, Euclid, WFIRST, the 30m telescopes and many more.

astro-ph.IM↗

Planet formation: The case for large efforts on the computational side

Modern astronomy has finally been able to observe protoplanetary disks in reasonable resolution and detail, unveiling the processes happening during planet formation. These observed processes are understood under the framework of disk-planet interaction, a process studied analytically and modeled numerically for over 40 years. Long a theoreticians' game, the wealth of observational data has been allowing for increasingly stringent tests of the theoretical models. Modeling efforts are crucial to support the interpretation of direct imaging analyses, not just for potential detections but also to put meaningful upper limits on mass accretion rates and other physical quantities in current and future large-scale surveys. This white paper addresses the questions of what efforts on the computational side are required in the next decade to advance our theoretical understanding, explain the observational data, and guide new observations. We identified the nature of accretion, ab initio planet formation, early evolution, and circumplanetary disks as major fields of interest in computational planet formation. We recommend that modelers relax the approximations of alpha-viscosity and isothermal equations of state, on the grounds that these models use flawed assumptions, even if they give good visual qualitative agreement with observations. We similarly recommend that population synthesis move away from 1D hydrodynamics. The computational resources to reach these goals should be developed during the next decade, through improvements in algorithms and the hardware for hybrid CPU/GPU clusters. Coupled with high angular resolution and great line sensitivity in ground based interferometers, ELTs and JWST, these advances in computational efforts should allow for large strides in the field in the next decade.

astro-ph.EP↗

Stellar Astrophysics and Exoplanet Science with the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE)

The Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE) is a planned 11.25-m aperture facility with a 1.5 square degree field of view that will be fully dedicated to multi-object spectroscopy. A rebirth of the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Maunakea, MSE will use 4332 fibers operating at three different resolving powers (R ~ 2500, 6000, 40000) across a wavelength range of 0.36-1.8mum, with dynamical fiber positioning that allows fibers to match the exposure times of individual objects. MSE will enable spectroscopic surveys with unprecedented scale and sensitivity by collecting millions of spectra per year down to limiting magnitudes of g ~ 20-24 mag, with a nominal velocity precision of ~100 m/s in high-resolution mode. This white paper describes science cases for stellar astrophysics and exoplanet science using MSE, including the discovery and atmospheric characterization of exoplanets and substellar objects, stellar physics with star clusters, asteroseismology of solar-like oscillators and opacity-driven pulsators, studies of stellar rotation, activity, and multiplicity, as well as the chemical characterization of AGB and extremely metal-poor stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

Rocky super-Earths or waterworlds: the interplay of planet migration, pebble accretion and disc evolution

Recent observations have found a valley in the size distribution of close-in super-Earths that is interpreted as a signpost that close-in super-Earths are mostly rocky in composition. However, new models predict that planetesimals should first form at the water ice line such that close-in planets are expected to have a significant water ice component. Here we investigate the water contents of super-Earths by studying the interplay between pebble accretion, planet migration and disc evolution. Planets' compositions are determined by their position relative to different condensation fronts (ice lines) throughout their growth. Migration plays a key role. Assuming that planetesimals start at or exterior to the water ice line ($r>r_{\rm H_2O}$), inward migration causes planets to leave the source region of icy pebbles and therefore to have lower final water contents than in discs with either outward migration or no migration. The water ice line itself moves inward as the disc evolves, and delivers water as it sweeps across planets that formed dry. The relative speed and direction of planet migration and inward drift of the water ice line is thus central in determining planets' water contents. If planet formation starts at the water ice line, this implies that hot close-in super-Earths (r<0.3 AU) with water contents of a few percent are a signpost of inward planet migration during the early gas phase. Hot super-Earths with larger water ice contents on the other hand, experienced outward migration at the water ice line and only migrated inwards after their formation was complete either because they become too massive to be contained in the region of outward migration or in chains of resonant planets. Measuring the water ice content of hot super-Earths may thus constrain their migration history.

astro-ph.EP↗

Formation of planetary systems by pebble accretion and migration: Growth of gas giants

Giant planets migrate though the protoplanetary disc as they grow. We investigate how the formation of planetary systems depends on the radial flux of pebbles through the protoplanetary disc and on the planet migration rate. Our N-body simulations confirm previous findings that Jupiter-like planets in orbits outside the water ice line originate from embryos starting out at 20-40 AU when using nominal type-I and type-II migration rates and a pebble flux of 100-200 Earth masses per million years, enough to grow Jupiter within the lifetime of the solar nebula. The planetary embryos placed up to 30AU migrate into the inner system (r<1AU) and form super-Earths or hot and warm gas giants, producing systems that are inconsistent with the configuration of the solar system, but consistent with some exoplanetary systems. We also explore slower migration rates which allow the formation of gas giants from embryos originating from the 5-10AU region, which are stranded exterior to 1 AU at the end of the gas-disc phase. We identify a pebble flux threshold below which migration dominates and moves the planetary core to the inner disc, where the pebble isolation mass is too low for the planet to accrete gas efficiently. Giant planet growth requires a sufficiently-high pebble flux to enable growth to out-compete migration. Even higher pebble fluxes produce systems with multiple gas giants. We show that planetary embryos starting interior to 5AU do not grow into gas giants, even if migration is slow and the pebble flux is large. Instead they grow to the mass regime of super-Earths. This stunted growth is caused by the low pebble isolation mass in the inner disc and is independent of the pebble flux. Additionally we show that the long term evolution of our formed planetary systems can produce systems with hot super-Earths and outer gas giants as well as systems of giants on eccentric orbits (abridged).

astro-ph.EP↗

Formation of planetary systems by pebble accretion and migration: How the radial pebble flux determines a terrestrial-planet or super-Earth growth mode

Super-Earths are found in tighter orbits than the Earth's around more than one third of main sequence stars. It has been proposed that super-Earths are scaled-up terrestrial planets that formed similarly, through mutual accretion of planetary embryos, but in discs much denser than the solar protoplanetary disc. We argue instead that terrestrial planets and super-Earths have two distinct formation pathways that are regulated by the disc's pebble reservoir. Through numerical integrations, which combine pebble accretion and N-body gravity between embryos, we show that a difference of a factor of two in the pebble mass-flux is enough to change the evolution from the terrestrial to the super-Earth growth mode. If the pebble mass-flux is small, then the initial embryos within the ice line grow slowly and do not migrate substantially, resulting in a widely spaced population of Mars-mass embryos when the gas disc dissipates. Without gas being present, the embryos become unstable and a small number of terrestrial planets are formed by mutual collisions. The final terrestrial planets are at most 5 Earth masses. Instead, if the pebble mass-flux is high, then the initial embryos within the ice line rapidly become sufficiently massive to migrate through the gas disc. Embryos concentrate at the inner edge of the disc and growth accelerates through mutual merging. This leads to the formation of a system of closely spaced super-Earths in the 5 to 20 Earth-mass range, bounded by the pebble isolation mass. Generally, instabilities of these super-Earth systems after the disappearance of the gas disc trigger additional merging events and dislodge the system from resonant chains. The pebble flux - which controls the transition between the two growth modes - may be regulated by the initial reservoir of solids in the disc or the presence of more distant giant planets that can halt the radial flow of pebbles.

astro-ph.EP↗

The consequences of planetary migration on the minor bodies of the early Solar System

Pebble accretion is an efficient mechanism able to build up the core of the giant planets within the lifetime of the protoplanetary disc gas-phase. The core grows via this process until the protoplanet reaches its pebble isolation mass and starts to accrete gas. During the growth, the protoplanet undergoes a rapid, large-scale, inward migration due to the interactions with the gaseous protoplanetary disc. In our work, we investigate how this early migration would have affected the minor body populations in our solar system. In particular, we focus on the Jupiter Trojans and the Hildas asteroids. We found that a massive and eccentric Hilda group is captured during the migration from a region between 5 and 8 au and subsequently depleted during the late instability of the giant planets. Our simulations also show that inward migration of the giant planets always produces a Jupiter Trojans' leading swarm more populated than the trailing one, with a ratio comparable to the current observed Trojan asymmetry ratio. The in situ formation of Jupiter, on the other hand, produces symmetric leading/trailing swarms. The reason for the asymmetry is the relative drift between the migrating planet and the particles in the coorbital resonance. The capture happens during the growth of Jupiter's core and Trojan asteroids are afterwards carried along during the giant planet's migration to their final orbits. The asymmetry and eccentricity of the captured Trojans correspond well to observations, but their inclinations are near zero and their total mass is 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than the current population. Future modelling will be needed to understand whether the dynamical evolution of the Trojans over billions of years will raise the inclinations and deplete the masses to observed values.

astro-ph.EP↗

Two Jovian planets around the giant star HD202696. A growing population of packed massive planetary pairs around massive stars?

We present evidence for a new two-planet system around the giant star HD202696 (= HIP105056, BD+26 4118). The discovery is based on public HIRES radial velocity measurements taken at Keck Observatory between July 2007 and September 2014. We estimate a stellar mass of 1.91$^{+0.09}_{-0.14}M_\odot$ for HD202696, which is located close to the base of the red giant branch. A two-planet self-consistent dynamical modeling MCMC scheme of the radial velocity data followed by a long-term stability test suggests planetary orbital periods of $P_{\rm b}$ = 517.8$_{-3.9}^{+8.9}$ days and $P_{\rm c}$ = 946.6$_{-20.9}^{+20.7}$ days, eccentricities of $e_{\rm b}$ = 0.011$_{-0.011}^{+0.078}$ and $e_{\rm c}$ = 0.028$_{-0.012}^{+0.065}$ , and minimum dynamical masses of $m_{\rm b}$ = 2.00$_{-0.10}^{+0.22}$\,$M_{\mathrm{Jup}}$ and $m_{\rm c}$ = 1.86$_{-0.23}^{+0.18}$,$M_{\mathrm{Jup}}$, respectively. Our stable MCMC samples are consistent with orbital configurations predominantly in a mean period ratio of 11:6 and its close-by high order mean-motion commensurabilities with low eccentricities. For the majority of the stable configurations we find an aligned or anti-aligned apsidal libration (i.e.\ $Δω$ librating around 0$^\circ$ or 180$^\circ$), suggesting that the HD202696 system is likely dominated by secular perturbations near the high-order 11:6 mean-motion resonance. The HD202696 system is yet another Jovian mass pair around an intermediate mass star with a period ratio below the 2:1 mean motion resonance. Therefore, the HD202696 system is an important discovery, which may shed light on the primordial disk-planet properties needed for giant planets to break the strong 2:1 mean motion resonance and settle in more compact orbits.

astro-ph.EP↗

Migration-driven diversity of super-Earth compositions

A leading model for the origin of super-Earths proposes that planetary embryos migrate inward and pile up on close-in orbits. As large embryos are thought to preferentially form beyond the snow line, this naively predicts that most super-Earths should be very water-rich. Here we show that the shortest-period planets formed in the migration model are often purely rocky. The inward migration of icy embryos through the terrestrial zone accelerates the growth of rocky planets via resonant shepherding. We illustrate this process with a simulation that provided a match to the Kepler-36 system of two planets on close orbits with very different densities. In the simulation, two super-Earths formed in a Kepler-36-like configuration; the inner planet was pure rock while the outer one was ice-rich. We conclude from a suite of simulations that the feeding zones of close-in super-Earths are likely to be broad and disconnected from their final orbital radii.

astro-ph.EP↗

Stellar abundance of binary stars: their role in determining the formation location of super-Earths and ice giants

Binary stars form from the same parent molecular cloud and thus have the same chemical composition. Forming planets take building material (solids) away from the surrounding protoplanetary disc. Assuming that the disc's accretion onto the star is the main process that clears the disc, the atmosphere of the star will show abundance reductions caused by the material accreted by the forming planet(s). If planets are only forming around one star of a binary system, the planet formation process can result in abundance differences in wide binary stars, if their natal protoplanetary discs do not interact during planet formation. Abundance differences in the atmospheres of wide binaries hosting giant planets have already been observed and linked to the formation location of giant planets. Here, we model how much building material is taken away for super-Earth planets that form inside/outside of the water ice line as well as ice giants forming inside/outside of the CO ice line. Our model predicts a significant abundance difference $Δ$[X/H] in the stellar atmospheres of the planet-hosting binary component. Our model predicts that super-Earths that form inside the water ice line ($r r_{\rm H_2O}$) in the water rich parts of the disc. Additionally, our model shows that the $Δ$[Fe/H]/$Δ$[C/H] abundance difference in the host star is at least a factor of 3 larger for ice giants formed at $r r_{\rm CO}$). Future observations of wide binary star systems hosting super-Earths and ice giants could therefore help to constrain the migration pathway of these planets and thus constrain planet formation theories.

astro-ph.EP↗

Jupiter Analogues Orbit Stars with an Average Metallicity Close to that of the Sun

Jupiter played an important role in determining the structure and configuration of the Solar System. Whereas hot-Jupiter type exoplanets preferentially form around metal-rich stars, the conditions required for the formation of planets with masses, orbits and eccentricities comparable to Jupiter (Jupiter analogues) are unknown. Using spectroscopic metallicities, we show that stars hosting Jupiter analogues have an average metallicity close to solar, in contrast to their hot-Jupiter and eccentric cool Jupiter counterparts, which orbit stars with super-solar metallicities. Furthermore, the eccentricities of Jupiter analogues increase with host star metallicity, suggesting that planet-planet scatterings producing highly eccentric cool Jupiters could be more common in metal-rich environments. To investigate a possible explanation for these metallicity trends, we compare the observations to numerical simulations, which indicate that metal-rich stars typically form multiple Jupiters, leading to planet-planet interactions and, hence, a prevalence of either eccentric cool Jupiters or hot-Jupiters with circularized orbits. Although the samples are small and exhibit variations in their metallicities, suggesting that numerous processes other than metallicity affect the formation of planetary systems, the data in hand suggests that Jupiter analogues and terrestrial-sized planets form around stars with average metallicities close to solar, whereas high metallicity systems preferentially host eccentric cool Jupiter or hot-Jupiters, indicating higher metallicity systems may not be favorable for the formation of planetary systems akin to the Solar System.

astro-ph.EP↗

Pebble isolation mass --- scaling law and implications for the formation of super-Earths and gas giants

The growth of a planetary core by pebble accretion stops at the so called pebble isolation mass, when the core generates a pressure bump that traps drifting pebbles outside its orbit. If the isolation mass is very small, then gas accretion is protracted and the planet remains at a few Earth masses with a mainly solid composition. For larger values of the pebble isolation mass, the planet might be able to accrete gas from the protoplanetary disc and grow into a gas giant. Previous works have determined a scaling of the pebble isolation mass with cube of the disc aspect ratio. Here we expand on previous measurements and explore the dependency of the pebble isolation mass on all relevant parameters of the protoplanetary disc. We use 3D hydrodynamical simulations to measure the pebble isolation mass and derive a simple scaling law that captures the dependence on the local disc structure and the turbulent viscosity parameter $α$. We find that small pebbles, coupled to the gas, with Stokes number $τ_{\rm f}<0.005$ can drift through the partial gap at pebble isolation mass. However, as the planetary mass increases, particles must be decreasingly smaller to penetrate through the pressure bump. Turbulent diffusion of particles, however, can lead to an increase of the pebble isolation mass by a factor of two, depending on the strength of the background viscosity and on the pebble size. We finally explore the implications of the new scaling law of the pebble isolation mass on the formation of planetary systems by numerically integrating the growth and migration pathways of planets in evolving protoplanetary discs. Compared to models neglecting the dependence of the pebble isolation mass on the $α$-viscosity, our models including this effect result in larger core masses for giant planets. These larger core masses are more akin to the core masses of the giant planets in the Solar System.

astro-ph.EP↗

Planet population synthesis driven by pebble accretion in cluster environments

The evolution of protoplanetary discs embedded in stellar clusters depends on the age and the stellar density in which they are embedded. Stellar clusters of young age and high stellar surface density destroy protoplanetary discs by external photoevaporation and stellar encounters. Here we consider the effect of background heating from newly formed stellar clusters on the structure of protoplanetary discs and how it affects the formation of planets in these discs. Our planet formation model is build on the core accretion scenario including pebble accretion. We synthesize planet populations that we compare to observations. The giant planets in our simulations migrate over large distances due to the fast type-II migration regime induced by a high disc viscosity ($α=5.4 \times 10^{-3}$). Cold Jupiters (r>1 AU) originate preferably from the outer disc, while hot Jupiters (r<0.1 AU) preferably form in the inner disc. We find that the formation of gas giants via pebble accretion is in agreement with the metallicity correlation, meaning that more gas giants are formed at larger metallicity. However, our synthetic population of isolated stars host a significant amount of giant planets even at low metallicity, in contradiction to observations where giant planets are preferably found around high metallicity stars, indicating that pebble accretion is very efficient in the standard pebble accretion framework. On the other hand, discs around stars embedded in cluster environments hardly form any giant planets at low metallicity in agreement with observations, where these changes originate from the increased temperature in the outer parts of the disc, which prolongs the core accretion time-scale of the planet. We therefore conclude that the outer disc structure and the planet's formation location determines the giant planet occurrence rate and the formation efficiency of cold and hot Jupiters.

astro-ph.EP↗

Breaking the Chains: Hot Super-Earth systems from migration and disruption of compact resonant chains

"Hot super-Earths" (or "Mini-Neptunes") between 1 and 4 times Earth's size with period shorter than 100 days orbit 30-50\% of Sun-like type stars. Their orbital configuration -- measured as the period ratio distribution of adjacent planets in multi-planet systems -- is a strong constraint for formation models. Here we use N-body simulations with synthetic forces from an underlying evolving gaseous disk to model the formation and long-term dynamical evolution of super-Earth systems. While the gas disk is present, planetary embryos grow and migrate inward to form a resonant chain anchored at the inner edge of the disk. These resonant chains are far more compact than the observed super-Earth systems. Once the gas dissipates resonant chains may become dynamically unstable. They undergo a phase of giant impacts that spreads the systems out. Disk turbulence has no measurable effect on the outcome. Our simulations match observations if a small fraction of resonant chains remain stable, while most super-Earths undergo a late dynamical instability. Our statistical analysis restricts the contribution of stable systems to less than $25\%$. Our results also suggest that the large fraction of observed single planet systems does not necessarily imply any dichotomy in the architecture of planetary systems. Finally, we use the low abundance of resonances in Kepler data to argue that, in reality, the survival of resonant chains happens likely only in $\sim 5\%$ of the cases. This leads to a mystery: in our simulations only 50-60\% of resonant chains became unstable whereas at least 75\% (and probably 90-95\%) must be unstable to match observations.

astro-ph.EP↗

Atmospheric Signatures of Giant Exoplanet Formation by Pebble Accretion

Atmospheric chemical abundances of giant planets lead to important constraints on planetary formation and migration. Studies have shown that giant planets that migrate through the protoplanetary disk can accrete substantial amounts of oxygen-rich planetesimals, leading to super-solar metallicities in the envelope and solar or sub-solar C/O ratios. Pebble accretion has been demonstrated to play an important role in core accretion and to have growth rates that are consistent with planetary migration. The high pebble accretion rates allow planetary cores to start their growth beyond 10 AU and subsequently migrate to cold (>~ 1 AU), warm (~0.1 AU- 1AU) or hot (<~ 0.1 AU) orbits. In this work we investigate how the formation of giant planets via pebble accretion influences their atmospheric chemical compositions. We find that under the standard pebble accretion scenario, where the core is isolated from the envelope, the resulting metallicities (O/H and C/H ratios) are sub-solar, while the C/O ratios are super-solar. Planets that migrate through the disk to become hot Jupiters accrete substantial amounts of water vapour, but still acquire slightly sub-solar O/H and super-solar C/O of 0.7-0.8. The metallicity can be substantially sub-solar (~0.2-0.5x solar) and the C/O can even approach 1.0 if the planet accretes its envelope mostly beyond the CO2 ice line, i.e. cold Jupiters or hot Jupiters that form far out and migrate in by scattering. Allowing for core erosion yields significantly super-solar metallicities and solar or sub-solar C/O, which can also be achieved by other means, e.g. photo-evaporation and late-stage planetesimal accretion.

astro-ph.EP↗