arXiv subjects

Tristan Guillot

Publications and source records attributed to Tristan Guillot.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Uranus and Neptune: Origin, Evolution and Internal Structure

There are still many open questions regarding the nature of Uranus and Neptune, the outermost planets in the Solar System. In this review we summarize the current-knowledge about Uranus and Neptune with a focus on their composition and internal structure, formation including potential subsequent giant impacts, and thermal evolution. We present key open questions and discuss the uncertainty in the internal structures of the planets due to the possibility of non-adiabatic and inhomogeneous interiors. We also provide the reasoning for improved observational constraints on their fundamental physical parameters such as their gravitational and magnetic fields, rotation rates, and deep atmospheric composition and temperature. Only this way will we be able to improve our understating of these planetary objects, and the many similar-sized objects orbiting other stars.

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arXiv2020

How well do we understand the belt/zone circulation of Giant Planet atmospheres?

The atmospheres of the four giant planets of our Solar System share a common and well-observed characteristic: they each display patterns of planetary banding, with regions of different temperatures, composition, aerosol properties and dynamics separated by strong meridional and vertical gradients in the zonal (i.e., east-west) winds. On Jupiter, the reflective white bands of low temperatures, elevated aerosol opacities, and enhancements of quasi-conserved chemical tracers are referred to as 'zones.' Conversely, the darker bands of warmer temperatures, depleted aerosols, and reductions of chemical tracers are known as `belts.' On Saturn, we define cyclonic belts and anticyclonic zones via their temperature and wind characteristics, although their relation to Saturn's albedo is not as clear as on Jupiter. On distant Uranus and Neptune, the exact relationships between the banded albedo contrasts and the environmental properties is a topic of active study. This review is an attempt to reconcile the observed properties of belts and zones with (i) the meridional overturning inferred from the convergence of eddy angular momentum into the eastward zonal jets at the cloud level on Jupiter and Saturn and the prevalence of moist convective activity in belts; and (ii) the opposing meridional motions inferred from the upper tropospheric temperature structure, which implies decay and dissipation of the zonal jets with altitude above the clouds. These two scenarios suggest meridional circulations in opposing directions, the former suggesting upwelling in belts, the latter suggesting upwelling in zones. This presents an unresolved paradox for our current understanding of the banded structure of giant planet atmospheres, that could be addressed via a multi-tiered vertical structure of 'stacked circulation cells.' [Abridged]

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arXiv2019

Comparison of the deep atmospheric dynamics of Jupiter and Saturn in light of the Juno and Cassini gravity measurements

The nature and structure of the observed east-west flows on Jupiter and Saturn has been one of the longest-lasting mysteries in planetary science. This mystery has been recently unraveled due to the accurate gravity measurements provided by the Juno mission to Jupiter and the Grand Finale of the Cassini mission to Saturn. These two experiments, which coincidentally happened around the same time, allowed determination of the vertical and meridional profiles of the zonal flows on both planets. This paper reviews the topic of zonal jets on the gas giants in light of the new data from these two experiments. The gravity measurements not only allow the depth of the jets to be constrained, yielding the inference that the jets extend roughly 3000 and 9000 km below the observed clouds on Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, but also provide insights into the mechanisms controlling these zonal flows. Specifically, for both planets this depth corresponds to the depth where electrical conductivity is within an order of magnitude of 1 S/m, implying that the magnetic field likely plays a key role in damping the zonal flows.

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arXiv2019

Uranus and Neptune are key to understand planets with hydrogen atmospheres

Uranus and Neptune are the last unexplored planets of the Solar System. I show that they hold crucial keys to understand the atmospheric dynamics and structure of planets with hydrogen atmospheres. Their atmospheres are active and storms are believed to be fueled by methane condensation which is both extremely abundant and occurs at low optical depth. This means that mapping temperature and methane abundance as a function of position and depth will inform us on how convection organizes in an atmosphere with no surface and condensates that are heavier than the surrounding air, a general feature of gas giants. Using this information will be essential to constrain the interior structure of Uranus and Neptune themselves, but also of Jupiter, Saturn and numerous exoplanets with hydrogen atmospheres. Owing to the spatial and temporal variability of these atmospheres, an orbiter is required. A probe would provide a reference profile to lift ambiguities inherent to remote observations. It would also measure abundances of noble gases which can be used to reconstruct the history of planet formation in the Solar System. Finally, mapping the planets' gravity and magnetic fields will be essential to constrain their global composition, structure and evolution.

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arXiv2019

In situ Exploration of the Giant Planets

Remote sensing observations suffer significant limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. This impacts our knowledge of the formation of these planets and the physics of their atmospheres. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements was illustrated by the exploration of Jupiter, where key measurements such as the determination of the noble gases' abundances and the precise measurement of the helium mixing ratio were only made available through in situ measurements by the Galileo probe. Here we describe the main scientific goals to be addressed by the future in situ exploration of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, placing the Galileo probe exploration of Jupiter in a broader context. An atmospheric entry probe targeting the 10-bar level would yield insight into two broad themes: i) the formation history of the giant planets and that of the Solar System, and ii) the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. The probe would descend under parachute to measure composition, structure, and dynamics, with data returned to Earth using a Carrier Relay Spacecraft as a relay station. An atmospheric probe could represent a significant ESA contribution to a future NASA New Frontiers or flagship mission to be launched toward Saturn, Uranus, and/or Neptune.

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arXiv2019

Saturn's deep atmospheric flows revealed by the Cassini Grand Finale gravity measurements

How deep do Saturn's zonal winds penetrate below the cloud-level has been a decades-long question, with important implications not only for the atmospheric dynamics, but also for the interior density structure, composition, magnetic field and core mass. The Cassini Grand Finale gravity experiment enables answering this question for the first time, with the premise that the planet's gravity harmonics are affected not only by the rigid body density structure but also by its flow field. Using a wide range of rigid body interior models and an adjoint based thermal wind balance, we calculate the optimal flow structure below the cloud-level and its depth. We find that with a wind profile, largely consistent with the observed winds, when extended to a depth of around 8,800 km, all the gravity harmonics measured by Cassini are explained. This solution is in agreement with considerations of angular momentum conservation, and is consistent with magnetohydrodynamics constraints.

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arXiv2018

Revisiting the pre-main-sequence evolution of stars II. Consequences of planet formation on stellar surface composition

We want to investigate how planet formation is imprinted on stellar surface composition using up-to-date stellar evolution models. We simulate the evolution of pre-main-sequence stars as a function of the efficiency of heat injection during accretion, the deuterium mass fraction, and the stellar mass. For simplicity, we assume that planet formation leads to the late accretion of zero-metallicity gas, diluting the surface stellar composition as a function of the mass of the stellar outer convective zone. We adopt $150\,{\mathrm{M}_\oplus}(M_\star/\mathrm{M}_\odot)(Z/\mathrm{Z}_\odot)$ as an uncertain but plausible estimate of the mass of heavy elements that is not accreted by stars with giant planets, including our Sun. By combining our stellar evolution models to these estimates, we evaluate the consequences of planet formation on stellar surface composition. We show that after the first $\sim0.1$ Myr, the evolution of the convective zone follows classical evolutionary tracks within a factor of two in age. We find that planet formation should lead to a scatter in stellar surface composition that is larger for high-mass stars than for low-mass stars. We predict a spread in [Fe/H] of approximately $0.02$ dex for stars with $T_\mathrm{eff}\sim 5500\,$K, marginally compatible with differences in metallicities observed in some binary stars with planets. Stars with $T_\mathrm{eff}\geq 7000\,$K may show much larger [Fe/H] deficits, by 0.6 dex or more, compatible with the existence of refractory-poor $λ$ Boo stars. We also find that planet formation may explain the lack of refractory elements seen in the Sun as compared to solar twins, but only if the ice-to-rock ratio in the solar-system planets is less than $\approx0.4$ and planet formation began less than $\approx1.3$ Myr after the beginning of the formation of the Sun. (abbreviated)

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arXiv2018

Internal Structure of Giant and Icy Planets: Importance of Heavy Elements and Mixing

In this chapter we summarize current knowledge of the internal structure of giant planets. We concentrate on the importance of heavy elements and their role in determining the planetary composition and internal structure, in planet formation, and during the planetary long-term evolution. We briefly discuss how internal structure models are derived, present the possible structures of the outer planets in the Solar System, and summarise giant planet formation and evolution. Finally, we introduce giant exoplanets and discuss how they can be used to better understand giant planets as a class of planetary objects.

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arXiv2018

An Analysis of Stochastic Jovian Oscillation Excitation by Moist Convection

Recent observations of Jupiter have suggested the existence of global oscillatory modes at millihertz frequencies, yet the source mechanism responsible for driving these modes is still unknown. However, the energies necessary to produce observable surface oscillations have been predicted. Here we investigate if moist convection in Jupiter's upper atmosphere can be responsible for driving the global oscillations and what moist convective energy requirements are necessary to achieve these theoretical mode energies and surface amplitudes. We begin by creating a one-dimensional moist convective cloud model and find that the available kinetic energy of the rising cloud column falls below theoretical estimates of oscillations energies. That is, mode excitation cannot occur with a single storm eruption. We then explore stochastic excitation scenarios of the oscillations by moist convective storms. We find that mode energies and amplitudes can reach theoretical estimates if the storm energy available to the modes is more than just kinetic. In order for the modes to be excited, we find that they require $5 \times 10^{27}$ to 10$^{28}$ erg per day. However, even for a large storm eruption each day, the available kinetic energy from the storms falls two orders of magnitude short of the required driving energy. Although our models may oversimplify the true complexity of the coupling between Jovian storms and global oscillations, our findings reveal that enough thermal energy is associated with moist convection to drive the modes, should it be available to them.

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arXiv2017

A semi-empirical model for magnetic braking of solar-type stars

We develop new angular momentum evolution models for stars with masses of $0.5$ to $1.6~\rm M_\odot$ and from the pre-main-sequence (\rm PMS) through the end of their main-sequence (\rm MS) lifetime. The parametric models include magnetic braking based on numerical simulations of magnetised stellar winds, mass loss rate prescription, core-envelope decoupling as well as disk locking phenomena. We have also accounted for recent developments in modelling dramatically weakened magnetic braking in stars more evolved than the Sun. We fit the free parameters in our model by comparing model predictions to rotational distributions of a number of stellar clusters as well as individual field stars. Our model reasonably successfully reproduces the rotational behaviour of stars during the \rm PMS phase to the zero-age main-sequence (\rm ZAMS) spin up, sudden \rm ZAMS spin down, and convergence of the rotation rates afterwards. We find that including core-envelope decoupling improves our models especially for low-mass stars at younger ages. In addition, by accounting for the almost complete suppression of magnetic braking at slow spin periods, we provide better fits to observations of stellar rotations compared to previous models.

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arXiv2017

Revisiting the pre-main-sequence evolution of stars I. Importance of accretion efficiency and deuterium abundance

Recent theoretical work has shown that the pre-main-sequence (PMS) evolution of stars is much more complex than previously envisioned. Instead of the traditional steady, one-dimensional solution, accretion may be episodic and not necessarily symmetrical, thereby affecting the energy deposited inside the star and its interior structure. Given this new framework, we want to understand what controls the evolution of accreting stars. We use the MESA stellar evolution code with various sets of conditions. In particular, we account for the (unknown) efficiency of accretion in burying gravitational energy into the protostar through a parameter, $ξ$, and we vary the amount of deuterium present. We confirm the findings of previous works that the evolution changes significantly with the amount of energy that is lost during accretion. We find that deuterium burning also regulates the PMS evolution. In the low-entropy accretion scenario, the evolutionary tracks in the H-R diagram are significantly different from the classical tracks and are sensitive to the deuterium content. A comparison of theoretical evolutionary tracks and observations allows us to exclude some cold accretion models ($ξ\sim 0$) with low deuterium abundances. We confirm that the luminosity spread seen in clusters can be explained by models with a somewhat inefficient injection of accretion heat. The resulting evolutionary tracks then become sensitive to the accretion heat efficiency, initial core entropy, and deuterium content. In this context, we predict that clusters with a higher D/H ratio should have less scatter in luminosity than clusters with a smaller D/H. Future work on this issue should include radiation-hydrodynamic simulations to determine the efficiency of accretion heating and further observations to investigate the deuterium content in star-forming regions. (abbrev.)

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arXiv2016

Jupiter internal structure: the effect of different equations of state

Heavy elements, even though its smaller constituent, are crucial to understand Jupiter formation history. Interior models are used to determine the amount of heavy elements in Jupiter interior, nevertheless this range is still subject to degeneracies due to uncertainties in the equations of state. Prior to Juno mission data arrival, we present Jupiter optimized calculations exploring the effect of different model parameters in the determination of Jupiter's core and heavy element's mass. We perform comparisons between equations of state published recently. The interior model of Jupiter is calculated from the equations of hydrostatic equilibrium, mass and energy conservation, and energy transport. The mass of the core and heavy elements is adjusted to match Jupiter's observational constrains radius and gravitational moments. We show that the determination of Jupiter interior structure is tied to the estimation of its gravitational moments and the accuracy of equations of state of hydrogen, helium and heavy elements. The location of the region where Helium rain occurs as well as its timescale are important to determine the distribution of heavy elements and helium in the interior of Jupiter. We show that differences find when modeling Jupiter's interior with recent EOS are more likely due to differences in the internal energy and entropy calculation. The consequent changes in the thermal profile lead to different estimations of the mass of the core and heavy elements, explaining differences in recently published Jupiter interior models. Our results help clarify differences find in Jupiter interior models and will help the interpretation of upcoming Juno data.

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arXiv2016

Formation of dust-rich planetesimals from sublimated pebbles inside of the snow line

Content: For up to a few millions of years, pebbles must provide a quasi-steady inflow of solids from the outer parts of protoplanetary disks to their inner regions. Aims: We wish to understand how a significant fraction of the pebbles grows into planetesimals instead of being lost to the host star. Methods:We examined analytically how the inward flow of pebbles is affected by the snow line and under which conditions dust-rich (rocky) planetesimals form. When calculating the inward drift of solids that is due to gas drag, we included the back-reaction of the gas to the motion of the solids. Results: We show that in low-viscosity protoplanetary disks (with a monotonous surface density similar to that of the minimum-mass solar nebula), the flow of pebbles does not usually reach the required surface density to form planetesimals by streaming instability. We show, however, that if the pebble-to-gas-mass flux exceeds a critical value, no steady solution can be found for the solid-to-gas ratio. This is particularly important for low-viscosity disks (alpha < 10^(-3)) where we show that inside of the snow line, silicate-dust grains ejected from sublimating pebbles can accumulate, eventually leading to the formation of dust-rich planetesimals directly by gravitational instability. Conclusions: This formation of dust-rich planetesimals may occur for extended periods of time, while the snow line sweeps from several au to inside of 1 au. The rock-to-ice ratio may thus be globally significantly higher in planetesimals and planets than in the central star.

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arXiv2016

Condensation-inhibited convection in hydrogen-rich atmospheres: Stability against double-diffusive processes and thermal profiles for Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

In an atmosphere, a cloud condensation region is characterized by a strong vertical gradient in the abundance of the related condensing species. On Earth, the ensuing gradient of mean molecular weight has relatively few dynamical consequences because N$_2$ is heavier than water vapor, so that only the release of latent heat significantly impacts convection. On the contrary, in an hydrogen dominated atmosphere (e.g. giant planets), all condensing species are significantly heavier than the background gas. This can stabilize the atmosphere against convection near a cloud deck if the enrichment in the given species exceeds a critical threshold. This raises two questions. What is transporting energy in such a stabilized layer, and how affected can the thermal profile of giant planets be? To answer these questions, we first carry out a linear analysis of the convective and double-diffusive instabilities in a condensable medium showing that an efficient condensation can suppress double-diffusive convection. This suggests that a stable radiative layer can form near a cloud condensation level, leading to an increase in the temperature of the deep adiabat. Then, we investigate the impact of the condensation of the most abundant species---water---with a steady-state atmosphere model. Compared to standard models, the temperature increase can reach several hundred degrees at the quenching depth of key chemical tracers. Overall, this effect could have many implications for our understanding of the dynamical and chemical state of the atmosphere of giant planets, for their future observations (with Juno for example), and for their internal evolution.

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arXiv2016

Evolution of Protoplanetary Discs with Magnetically Driven Disc Winds

Aims: We investigate the evolution of protoplanetary discs (PPDs hereafter) with magnetically driven disc winds and viscous heating. Methods: We consider an initially massive disc with ~0.1 Msun to track the evolution from the early stage of PPDs. We solve the time evolution of surface density and temperature by taking into account viscous heating and the loss of the mass and the angular momentum by the disc winds within the framework of a standard alpha model for accretion discs. Our model parameters, turbulent viscosity, disc wind mass loss, and disc wind torque, which are adopted from local magnetohydrodynamical simulations and constrained by the global energetics of the gravitational accretion, largely depends on the physical condition of PPDs, particularly on the evolution of the vertical magnetic flux in weakly ionized PPDs. Results: Although there are still uncertainties concerning the evolution of the vertical magnetic flux remaining, surface densities show a large variety, depending on the combination of these three parameters, some of which are very different from the surface density expected from the standard accretion. When a PPD is in a "wind-driven accretion" state with the preserved vertical magnetic field, the radial dependence of the surface density can be positive in the inner region <1-10 au. The mass accretion rates are consistent with observations, even in the very low level of magnetohydrodynamical turbulence. Such a positive radial slope of the surface density gives a great impact on planet formation because (i)it inhibits the inward drift or even results in the outward drift of pebble/boulder-sized solid bodies, and (ii) it also makes the inward type-I migration of proto-planets slower or even reversed. Conclusions: The variety of our calculated PPDs should yield a wide variety of exoplanet systems.

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arXiv2016

The Origin and Evolution of Saturn, with Exoplanet Perspective

Saturn formed beyond the snow line in the primordial solar nebula that made it possible for it to accrete a large mass. Disk instability and core accretion models have been proposed for Saturn's formation, but core accretion is favored on the basis of its volatile abundances, internal structure, hydrodynamic models, chemical characteristics of protoplanetary disk, etc. The observed frequency, properties and models of exoplanets provide additional supporting evidence for core accretion. The heavy elements with mass greater than 4He make up the core of Saturn, but are presently poorly constrained, except for carbon. The C/H ratio is super-solar, and twice that in Jupiter. The enrichment of carbon and other heavy elements in Saturn and Jupiter requires special delivery mechanisms for volatiles to these planets. In this chapter we will review our current understanding of the origin and evolution of Saturn and its atmosphere, using a multi-faceted approach that combines diverse sets of observations on volatile composition and abundances, relevant properties of the moons and rings, comparison with the other gas giant planet, Jupiter, analogies to the extrasolar giant planets, as well as pertinent theoretical models.

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arXiv2016

The radial dependence of pebble accretion rates: A source of diversity in planetary systems I. Analytical formulation

Context. The classical "planetesimal" accretion scenario for the formation of planets has recently evolved with the idea that "pebbles", centimeter- to meter-sized icy grains migrating in protoplanetary disks, can control planetesimal and/or planetary growth. Aims. We investigate how pebble accretion depends on disk properties and affects the formation of planetary systems Methods. We construct analytical models of pebble accretion onto planetary embryos that consistently account for the mass and orbital evolution of the pebble flow and reflect disk structure. Results. We derive simple formulas for pebble accretion rates in the so-called "settling" regime for planetary embryos with more than 100 km in size. For relatively smaller embryos or in outer disk regions, the accretion mode is 3D, meaning that the thickness of the pebble flow must be taken into account, and resulting in an accretion rate that is independent of the embryo mass. For larger embryos or in inner regions, the accretion is in a 2D mode, i.e., the pebble disk may be considered to be infinitely thin. We show that the radial dependence of the pebble accretion rata is different (even the sign of the power-law exponent changes) for different disk conditions such as the disk heating source (viscous heating or stellar irradiation), the drag law (Stokes or Epstein, and weak or strong coupling), and in the 2D or 3D accretion modes. We also discuss the effect of the sublimation/destruction of icy pebbles inside the snow line. Conclusions. Pebble accretion easily produces a large diversity of planetary systems. In other words, to correctly infer the results of planet formation through pebble accretion, detailed prescriptions of disk evolution and pebble growth, sublimation/destruction and migration are required.

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arXiv2015

New constraints on Saturn's interior from Cassini astrometric data

Using astrometric observations spanning more than a century and including a large set of Cassini data, we determine Saturn's tidal parameters through their current effects on the orbits of the eight main and four coorbital moons. We have used the latter to make the first determination of Saturn's Love number, $k_2=0.390 \pm 0.024$, a value larger than the commonly used theoretical value of 0.341 (Gavrilov & Zharkov, 1977), but compatible with more recent models (Helled & Guillot, 2013) for which $k_2$ ranges from 0.355 to 0.382. Depending on the assumed spin for Saturn's interior, the new constraint can lead to a reduction of up to 80% in the number of potential models, offering great opportunities to probe the planet's interior. In addition, significant tidal dissipation within Saturn is confirmed (Lainey et al., 2012) corresponding to a high present-day tidal ratio $k_2/Q=(1.59 \pm 0.74) \times 10^{-4}$ and implying fast orbital expansions of the moons. This high dissipation, with no obvious variations for tidal frequencies corresponding to those of Enceladus and Dione, may be explained by viscous friction in a solid core, implying a core viscosity typically ranging between $10^{14}$ and $10^{16}$ Pa.s (Remus et al., 2012). However, a dissipation increase by one order of magnitude at Rhea's frequency could suggest the existence of an additional, frequency-dependent, dissipation process, possibly from turbulent friction acting on tidal waves in the fluid envelope of Saturn (Ogilvie & Li, 2004). Alternatively, a few of Saturn's moons might themselves experience large tidal dissipation.

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