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D. J. Stevenson

Publications and source records attributed to D. J. Stevenson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Saturn's Interior After the Cassini Grand Finale

We present a review of Saturn's interior structure and thermal evolution, with a particular focus on work in the past 5 years. Data from the Cassini mission, including a precise determination of the gravity field from the Grand Finale orbits, and the still ongoing identification of ring wave features in Saturn's C-ring tied to seismic modes in the planet, have led to dramatic advances in our understanding of Saturn's structure. Models that match the gravity field suggest that differential rotation, as seen in the visible atmosphere, extends down to at least a depth of 10,000 km (1/6$^{\rm th}$ the planet's radius). At greater depths, a variety of different investigations all now point to a deep Saturn rotation rate of 10 hours and 33 minutes. There is very compelling evidence for a central heavy element concentration (``core''), that in most recent models is 12-20 Earth masses. Ring seismology strongly suggests that the core is not entirely compact, but is dilute (mixed in with the overlying H/He), and has a substantial radial extent, perhaps out to around one-half of the planet's radius. A wide range of thermal evolution scenarios can match the planet's current luminosity, with progress on better quantifying the helium rain scenario hampered by Saturn's poorly known atmospheric helium abundance. We discuss the relevance of magnetic field data on understanding the planet's current interior structure. We point towards additional future work that combines seismology and gravity within a framework that includes differential rotation, and the utility of a Saturn entry probe.

astro-ph.EP

Jupiter's interior from Juno: Equation-of-state uncertainties and dilute core extent

The Juno mission has provided measurements of Jupiter s gravity field with an outstanding level of accuracy, leading to better constraints on the interior of the planet. Improving our knowledge of the internal structure of Jupiter is key to understanding its formation and evolution but is also important in the framework of exoplanet exploration. In this study, we investigated the differences between the state-of-the-art equations of state and their impact on the properties of interior models. Accounting for uncertainty on the hydrogen and helium equation of state, we assessed the span of the interior features of Jupiter. We carried out an extensive exploration of the parameter space and studied a wide range of interior models using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations. To consider the uncertainty on the equation of state, we allowed for modifications of the equation of state in our calculations. Our models harbour a dilute core and indicate that Jupiter s internal entropy is higher than what is usually assumed from the Galileo probe measurements. We obtain solutions with extended dilute cores, but contrary to other recent interior models of Jupiter, we also obtain models with small dilute cores. The dilute cores in such solutions extend to 20% of Jupiter s mass, leading to better agreement with formation evolution models. We conclude that the equations of state used in Jupiter models have a crucial effect on the inferred structure and composition. Further explorations of the behaviour of hydrogen helium mixtures at the pressure and temperature conditions in Jupiter will help to constrain the interior of the planet, and therefore its origin.

astro-ph.EP

On the degeneracy of the tidal Love number k2 in multi-layer planetary models: application to Saturn and GJ436b

In order to accurately model giant planets, a whole set of observational constraints is needed. As the conventional constraints for extrasolar planets like mass, radius, and temperature allow for a large number of acceptable models, a new planetary parameter is desirable in order to further constrain planetary models. Such a parameter may be the tidal Love number k2. In this paper we aim to study the capability of k2 to reveal further information about the interior structure of a planet. With theoretical planetary models we investigate how the tidal Love number k2 responds to the internal density distribution of a planet. In particular, we demonstrate the effect of the degeneracy of k2 due to a density discontinuity in the envelope of a three-layer planetary model. The effect of a possible outer density discontinuity masks the effect of the core mass on the Love number k2. Hence, there is no unique relationship between the Love number k2 and the core mass of a planet. We show that the degeneracy of k2 with respect to a layer boundary in the envelope also occurs in existing planets, e.g. Saturn and the Hot Neptune GJ436b. As a result of the degeneracy, the planetary parameter k2 cannot be used to further constrain Saturnian models and for GJ436b only a maximum possible core mass can be derived from a given k2. To significantly narrow the uncertainty about the core mass of GJ436b the combined knowledge of k2 and atmospheric metallicity and temperature profile is necessary.

astro-ph.EP