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The terrestrial planet Venus is classified by astronomers as an inferior planet because it is located closer to the Sun than the Earth. Venus orbits the Sun at a mean distance of 108.21 Million Km and receives an average annual solar irradiance of 2601.3 W/m 2 , which is 1.911 times that of the Earth. A set of linked forward and inverse climate modelling studies were undertaken to determine whether a process of atmospheric energy retention and recycling could be established by a mechanism of energy partition between the solid illuminated surface and an overlying fully transparent, non-greenhouse gas atmosphere. Further, that this atmospheric process could then be used to account for the observed discrepancy between the average annual solar insolation flux and the surface tropospheric average annual temperature for Venus. Using a geometric climate model with a globular shape that preserves the key fundamental property of an illuminated globe, namely the presence on its surface of the dual environments of both a lit and an unlit hemisphere; we established that the internal energy flux within our climate model is constrained by a process of energy partition at the surface interface between the illuminated ground and the overlying air. The dual environment model we have designed permits the exploration and verification of the fundamental role that the atmospheric processes of thermal conduction and convection have in establishing and maintaining surface thermal enhancement within the troposphere of this terrestrial planet. We believe that the duality of energy partition ratio between the lit and unlit hemispheres applied to the model, fully accounts for the extreme atmospheric “greenhouse effect” of the planet Venus. We show that it is the meteorological process of air mass movement and energy recycling through the mechanism of convection and atmospheric advection, associated with the latitudinal hemisphere encompassing Hadley Cell that accounts for the planet’s observed enhanced atmospheric surface warming. Using our model, we explore the form, nature and geological timing of the climatic transition that turned Venus from a paleo water world into a high-temperature, high-pressure carbon dioxide world.

We investigate the possibility that the Moon’s formation impact was triggered by an early dynamical instability of the giant planets. We consider the well-studied ‘jumping Jupiter’ hypothesis for the Solar system’s instability, where Jupiter and Saturn’s semimajor axes evolve in step-wise manner from their primordially compact architecture to their present locations. Moreover, we test multiple different configurations for the primordial system of terrestrial planets and the Moon-forming projectile, with particular focus on the almost equal masses impact. We find that the instability/migration of the giant planets excites the orbits of the terrestrial planets through dynamical perturbations, thus allowing collisions between them. About 10 per cent of the simulations lead to a collision with the proto-Earth which resulted in a final configuration of the terrestrial system that reproduces, to some extent, its present architecture. Most of these collisions occur in the hit-and-run domain, but about 15 per cent occur in the partial accretion regime, with the right conditions for a Moon-forming impact. In most of the simulations, there is a delay of more than ∼20 My between the time of the instability and the Moon-forming impact. This supports the occurrence of an early instability (

The paper analyses possible transfers of bodies from the main asteroid belt (MBA) to the Centaur region. The orbits of asteroids in the 2:1 mean motion resonance (MMR) with Jupiter are analysed. We selected the asteroids that are in resonant orbits with e > 0.3 whose absolute magnitudes H do not exceed 16m. The total number of the orbits amounts to 152. Numerical calculations were performed to evaluate the evolution of the orbits over 100,000-year time interval with projects for the future. Six bodies are found to have moved from the 2:1 commensurability zone to the Centaur population. The transfer time of these bodies to the Centaur zone ranges from 4,600 to 70,000 yr. Such transfers occur after orbits leave the resonance and the bodies approach Jupiter. Where after reaching sufficient orbital eccentricities bodies approach a terrestrial planet, their orbits go out of the MMR. Accuracy estimations are carried out to confirm the possible asteroid transfers to the Centaur region., 11 pages, 10 figures, 1 table. Accepted in MNRAS

LTT 1445 is a hierarchical triple M-dwarf star system located at a distance of 6.86 parsecs. The primary star LTT 1445A (0.257 M_Sun) is known to host the transiting planet LTT 1445Ab with an orbital period of 5.4 days, making it the second closest known transiting exoplanet system, and the closest one for which the host is an M dwarf. Using TESS data, we present the discovery of a second planet in the LTT 1445 system, with an orbital period of 3.1 days. We combine radial velocity measurements obtained from the five spectrographs ESPRESSO, HARPS, HIRES, MAROON-X, and PFS to establish that the new world also orbits LTT 1445A. We determine the mass and radius of LTT 1445Ab to be 2.87+/-0.25 M_Earth and 1.304^{+0.067}_{-0.060} R_Earth, consistent with an Earth-like composition. For the newly discovered LTT 1445Ac, we measure a mass of 1.54^{+0.20}_{-0.19} M_Earth and a minimum radius of 1.15 R_Earth, but we cannot determine the radius directly as the signal-to-noise of our light curve permits both grazing and non-grazing configurations. Using MEarth photometry and ground-based spectroscopy, we establish that star C (0.161 M_Sun) is likely the source of the 1.4-day rotation period, and star B (0.215 M_Sun) has a likely rotation period of 6.7 days. We estimate a probable rotation period of 85 days for LTT 1445A. Thus, this triple M-dwarf system appears to be in a special evolutionary stage where the most massive M dwarf has spun down, the intermediate mass M dwarf is in the process of spinning down, while the least massive stellar component has not yet begun to spin down., Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal. 4 tables, 10 figures; RV table available upon request

Ariel will mark the dawn of a new era as the first large-scale survey characterising exoplanetary atmospheres with science objectives to address fundamental questions about planetary composition, evolution and formation. In this study, we explore the detectability of atmospheres vaporised from magma oceans on dry, rocky Super-Earths orbiting very close to their host stars. The detection of such atmospheres would provide a definitive piece of evidence for rocky planets but are challenging measurements with currently available instruments due to their small spectral signatures. However, some of the hottest planets are believed to have atmospheres composed of vaporised rock, such as Na and SiO, with spectral signatures bright enough to be detected through eclipse observations with planned space-based telescopes. In this study, we find that rocky super-Earths with a irradiation temperature of 3000 K and a distance from Earth of up to 20 pc, as well as planets hotter than 3500 K and closer than 50 pc, have SiO features which are potentially detectable in eclipse spectra observed with Ariel., 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy, Ariel Special Issue

The Sun comprises 99.9% of the solar system mass so it is expected that Sun terrestrial planet interactions can influence the motion as well as the rotation of the terrestrial planets. Gravity affects the planet orbital motions while the changing magnetic fields of the Sun can influence the planet rotations. Planets that manifest a magnetic field dominate any weaker magnetic fields from the Sun, but the rotation of terrestrial planets without a magnetic field interacts with the changing Sun’s field dependent on the electrical conductivity of the core region. It is determined that the average planet density becomes a useful quantity to describe the magnetic state of a terrestrial planet. An average density of 5350 ± 50 kg/m3 is hypothesized to separate planets that develop magnetospheres from those that do not. Planets with higher average densities, Mercury and Earth, developed magnetospheres. While those with lower average densities, Venus and Mars never developed magnetospheres. Terrestrial planets with magnetospheres are the ones to also exhibit plate tectonics. The small size of Mercury led to Mercury only exhibiting a frozen in magnetization of potentially magnetic regions. The lack of magnetospheres as well as lack of plate tectonics prevented the continual transfer of core heat to the surface that limited the surface vulcanism to an initial phase. For Venus, it meant that the surface regions would only sporadically convulse. In this picture, the apparent anomalous axial rotation of Venus is a natural consequence of the rotation of the Sun. For Mars with relatively low surface temperatures, it meant that there was little heat exchange through the crust that would allow the lower crust to retain large amounts of water. For Mars to have initially had flowing liquid water required that the atmosphere at that time contained high concentrations of infrared absorbing gases at least as compared to the present level of infrared absorbing gases on the Earth. The terrestrial planets have iron based cores because iron has the highest binding energy per nucleon that can be made in the steady state lives of massive stars no matter how massive. This suggests that many of the conclusions reached here may also be applicable to exoplanets.

The formation of the solar system's terrestrial planets concluded with a period of giant impacts. Previous works examining the volatile loss caused by the impact shock in the moon-forming impact find atmospheric losses of at most 20-30 per cent and essentially no loss of oceans. However, giant impacts also result in thermal heating, which can lead to significant atmospheric escape via a Parker-type wind. Here we show that H2O and other high-mean molecular weight outgassed species can be efficiently lost through this thermal wind if present in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, substantially altering the final volatile inventory of terrestrial planets. Specifically, we demonstrate that a giant impact of a Mars-sized embryo with a proto-Earth can remove several Earth oceans' worth of H2O, and other heavier volatile species, together with a primordial hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. These results may offer an explanation for the observed depletion in Earth's light noble gas budget and for its depleted xenon inventory, which suggest that Earth underwent significant atmospheric loss by the end of its accretion. Because planetary embryos are massive enough to accrete primordial hydrogen envelopes and because giant impacts are stochastic and occur concurrently with other early atmospheric evolutionary processes, our results suggest a wide diversity in terrestrial planet volatile budgets., Comment: submitted to MNRAS, 9 pages, 4 figures

A self-consistent hybrid model of a thin current sheet (TCS) with a thickness of the order of several ion gyroradii is proposed that takes into account the multicomponent nature of collisionless space plasma. Several plasma components can be present in the tails of the magnetospheres of terrestrial planets (for example, the Earth, Mercury, Mars, and Venus). Variations in the current sheet (CS) structure in magnetospheric plasma in the presence of heavy oxygen ions with different characteristics are analyzed. It is shown that high relative concentrations of oxygen ions, as well as their relatively high temperatures and drift velocities, lead to significant thickening of CS and the formation of an additional embedded scale. In this case, on the profiles of the main characteristics—current density and magnetic field—symmetric breaks appear, which correspond to a sharp change in the gradients of variation in values. A comparison is performed and a qualitative agreement is shown between the simulation results and observational data in the tail of the Martian magnetosphere.

Previous work has demonstrated orbital stability for 100 Myr of initially near-circular and coplanar small bodies in a region termed the 'Earth-Mars belt' from 1.08 au $< a, Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is an ESA M-class satellite planned for launch by end 2026 and dedicated to the wide-field search of transiting planets around bright and nearby stars, with a strong focus on discovering habitable rocky planets hosted by solar-like stars. The choice of the fields to be pointed at is a crucial task since it has a direct impact on the scientific return of the mission. In this paper we describe and discuss the formal requirements and the key scientific prioritization criteria that have to be taken into account in the Long-duration Observation Phase (LOP) field selection, and apply a quantitative metric to guide us in this complex optimization process. We identify two provisional LOP fields, one for each hemisphere (LOPS1, LOPN1), and discuss their properties and stellar content. While additional fine-tuning shall be applied to LOP selection before the definitive choice (to be made two years before launch), we expect their position will not move by more than a few degrees with respect to what is proposed in this paper., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, A&A in press (accepted: October 26, 2021). Some typos corrected. Author list corrected

Planetary ionospheres undergo many changes at dawn and dusk due to both photochemical and transport processes. The relative importance of these different processes vary depending on a variety of factors, including the amount of solar radiation, the composition of the thermosphere, and the characteristics of any local magnetic fields. This study uses the similarities between the ionospheres on Mars and Earth to examine the behaviour of the ionosphere at dawn and dusk. It has notable implications for comparative aeronomy, as a solid understanding of ionospheric processes on planets with and without magnetic fields is important for characterising the environments of solar and exoplanets, as well as atmospheric evolution over long time scales. The amount of plasma present in the ionosphere was measuring using the total electron content (TEC), and grouped so that both solstices and different phases of the solar cycle could be examined. To allow comparisons between the ionospheres of Mars and Earth, which differ greatly in density, the rate of change of TEC as a function of solar zenith angle was used to compare the plasma production and losses in the main layer of each planetary ionosphere. Examination of the dawn and dusk TEC slopes shows that, to first order, the Martian slopes are symmetric while those at Earth are not. This symmetry is interpreted as an indicator of photochemical equilibrium, and different reasons for deviations from symmetry were explored. The presence or absence of a magnetic field played a large role in shaping plasma transport, with photochemical processes in both ionospheres behaving similarly in the absence of a magnetic field. At Mars, it was found that transport processes were most important at solar maximum, while at Earth transport processes were most important at solar minimum.

In this work, we investigate configuration formation of two inner terrestrial planets near mean motion resonance (MMRs) induced by the perturbation of a distant gas-giant for the Kepler-68 system, by conducting thousands of numerical simulations. The results show that the formation of terrestrial planets is relevant to the speed of Type I migration, the mass of planets, and the existence of giant planet. The mass and eccentricity of the giant planet may play a crucial role in shaping the final configuration of the system. The inner planet pair can be trapped in 5:3 or 7:4 MMRs if the giant planet revolves the central star with an eccentric orbit, which is similar to the observed configuration of Kepler-68. Moreover, we find that the eccentricity of the middle planet can be excited to roughly 0.2 if the giant planet is more massive than 5 $M_J$,otherwise the terrestrial planets are inclined to remain near-circular orbits. Our study may provide a likely formation scenario for the planetary systems that harbor several terrestrial planets near MMRs inside and one gas-giant exterior to them., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Ultra-short-period planets (USPs) with orbital periods of less than 1 day are emerging as a new scientific goal in the field of exoplanets. Search and identification of USPs require light-curve analysis algorithms such as the Box Least Squares (BLS) and the Fourier transform (FT) to screen and confirm accurate periodic signals. By using statistical methods, the distributions of USPs’ orbital period, planetary radius, and spectral type of host stars are available. Majority of USPs move around main sequence stars in extremely close-in orbits. Among USPs, there are Jupiter-size giants as well as smaller terrestrial planets, even though most researches focus on USPs with R 2 R ⊕ (the radius of the earth). However, precise mass measurements for most USPs through radial velocity are difficult due to their low (expected) masses. Observations showed that, some USPs have masses of less than 10 M ⊕ (the mass of the earth), which indicates that they are more likely to be Rocky planets. Besides, whether USPs have atmosphere remains uncertain since they have a great possibility to be bare under the photo-evaporation of sub-Neptunes or Roche flow of hot Jupiters in close-in orbits. In addition, USPs are thought to originate from hot Jupiters or sub-Neptunes, while differences in metallicity distribution of host stars between USPs and hot Jupiters make the sub-Neptunes hypothesis more likely. The formation and orbital evolution mechanisms of USPs include in-situ origin model, low eccentricity orbital migration, and tidal dissipation, when taking the classical planetary formation and evolution theories into account.

Modern models of terrestrial planet formation require solids depletion interior to 0.5-0.7 au in the planetesimal disk to explain the small mass of Mercury. Earth and Venus analogues emerge after ~100 Myr collisional growth while Mercury form in the diffusive tails of the planetesimal disk. We carried out 250 N-body simulations of planetesimal disks with mass confined to 0.7-1.0 au to study the statistics of close encounters which were recently proposed as an explanation for the high iron mass fraction in Mercury by Deng (2020). We formed 39 Mercury analogues in total and all proto-Mercury analogues were scattered inward by proto-Venus. Proto-Mercury typically experiences 6 extreme close encounters (closest approach smaller than 6 Venus radii) with Proto-Venus after Proto-Venus acquires 0.7 Venus Mass. At such close separation, the tidal interaction can already affect the orbital motion significantly such that the N-body treatment itself is invalid. More and closer encounters are expected should tidal dissipation of orbital angular momentum accounted. Hybrid N-body hydrodynamic simulations, treating orbital and encounter dynamics self-consistently, are desirable to evaluate the degree of tidal mantle stripping of proto-Mercury., MNRAS published

The photocatalytic reduction of CO2 to CH4 is a chemical process that to some extent occurs on a planetary surface of terrestrial planets. The effect of acidic proton on the rate of the photocataly...

Recently, gas disks have been discovered around main sequence stars well beyond the usual protoplanetary disk lifetimes (i.e., > 10 Myrs), when planets have already formed. These gas disks, mainly composed of CO, carbon, and oxygen seem to be ubiquitous in systems with planetesimal belts (similar to our Kuiper belt), and can last for hundreds of millions of years. Planets orbiting in these gas disks will accrete a large quantity of gas that will transform their primordial atmospheres into new secondary atmospheres with compositions similar to that of the parent gas disk. Here, we quantify how large a secondary atmosphere can be created for a variety of observed gas disks and for a wide range of planet types. We find that gas accretion in this late phase is very significant and an Earth's atmospheric mass of gas is readily accreted on terrestrial planets in very tenuous gas disks. In slightly more massive disks, we show that massive CO atmospheres can be accreted, forming planets with up to sub-Neptune-like pressures. Our new results demonstrate that new secondary atmospheres with high metallicities and high C/O ratios will be created in these late gas disks, resetting their primordial compositions inherited from the protoplanetary disk phase, and providing a new birth to planets that lost their atmosphere to photoevaporation or giant impacts. We therefore propose a new paradigm for the formation of atmospheres on low-mass planets, which can be tested with future observations (JWST, ELT, ARIEL). We also show that this late accretion would show a very clear signature in Sub-Neptunes or cold exo-Jupiters. Finally, we find that accretion creates cavities in late gas disks, which could be used as a new planet detection method, for low mass planets a few au to a few tens of au from their host stars., Paper accepted and now published in Nature Astronomy. See the published version here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1050-2

In this paper, we discuss the possible disruption of a prolate ellipsoidal small body by the Earth’s tidal forces during a close flyby. An exact expression for the stress tensor under the action of gravity, rotation, and tidal forces is obtained using the analytical solution of the elastic problem. Constraints for the critical distance are derived taking into account the size, shape, density, mechanical properties (material strength and Poisson ratio), rotation, and two variants of the body orientation. Asteroid 433 Eros is considered as a case study. The results are important for methods for assessing the asteroid hazard of near-Earth objects (NEO) and the evolution of terrestrial planets.

Small low-mass stars are favourable targets for the detection of rocky habitable planets. In particular, planetary systems in the solar neighbourhood are interesting and suitable for precise characterization. The RedDots campaigns seek to discover rocky planets orbiting nearby low-mass stars. The 2018 campaign targeted GJ 1061, which is the 20th nearest star to the Sun. For three consecutive months we obtained nightly, high-precision radial velocity measurements with the HARPS spectrograph. We analysed these data together with archival HARPS data. We report the detection of three planet candidates with periods of 3.204 +/- 0.001, 6.689 +/- 0.005, and 13.03 +/- 0.03 d, which are close to 1:2:4 period commensurability. After several considerations related to the properties of the noise and sampling, we conclude that a fourth signal is most likely explained by stellar rotation, although it may be due to a planet. The proposed three-planet system (and the potential four-planet solution) is long-term dynamically stable. Planet-planet gravitational interactions are below our current detection threshold. The minimum masses of the three planets range from 1.4 +/- 0.2 to 1.8 +/- 0.3 M-circle plus. Planet d, with msin i = 1.64 +/- 0.24 M-circle plus, receives a similar amount of energy as Earth receives from the Sun. Consequently it lies within the liquid-water habitable zone of the star and has a similar equilibrium temperature to Earth. GJ 1061 has very similar properties to Proxima Centauri but activity indices point to lower levels of stellar activity.C 2020 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society, SD, SVJ, AR, LS, and MZ acknowledge support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under Research Unit FOR2544 'Blue Planets around Red Stars', project no. DR 281/32-1. SJ acknowledges project JE 701/3-1 and DFG priority program SPP 1992 'Ex-ploring the Diversity of Extrasolar Planets' (RE 1664/18). ER, CRL, MJL-G, and NM acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigacion through projects AYA201679425-C3-3-P, ESP2017-87676-C5-2-R, ESP2017-87143-R and the Centre of Excellence 'Severo Ochoa' Instituto de Astrof ' isica de Andaluc ' ia (SEV-2017-0709). JRB and CAH are supported by STFC under grant ST/P000584/1. ZMB acknowledges CONICYT-FONDECYT/Chile Postdoctorado 3180405. EP and IR acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry for Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIU) and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through grants ESP2016-80435-C2-1-R and ESP2016-80435-C2-2-R, as well as the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya/CERCA programme. GA-E's research is supported by STFC Consolidated Grant ST/P000592/1. Data were partly obtained with the MONET/South telescope of the MOnitoring NEtwork of Telescopes, funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, Essen, and operated by the Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen, the Mc Donald Observatory of the University of Texas at Austin, and the South African Astronomical Observatory. Data were partly collected with the robotic 40-cm telescope ASH2 at the SPACEOBS observatory (San Pedro de Atacama, Chile) operated by the Instituto de Astrof ' ifica de Andaluc ' ia (IAA). We acknowledge the effort of various pro-am to obtain photometric monitoring during the RedDots 2018 campaign through the AAVSO. This research has made use of the services of the ESO Science Archive Facility. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory under ESO programmes 072.C-0488(E), 183.C-0437(A), 0101.C-0516(A), and 198.C-0838(A).

The start of the Earth-Moon system has been studied to show that this was an exceptionally violent event. One result was that Earth became the terrestrial planet with the highest average density. Another result was that Earth acquired enough mass and radioactive elements that it is expected to maintain a molten core region and magnetic field for the expected life of the Earth. Earth alone of the terrestrial planets was then able to develop plate tectonics as a long term energy release mechanism. The dipole magnetic field of the Sun reverses periodically, currently at the rate of about every 11 years, so that there was a magnetic braking action acting on the core of Venus that accounts for the slow rotation of that planet. A key result is that the impact event that resulted in the Earth-Moon system led to long term stability on Earth that allowed the eventual development of complex life forms on the Earth.

The exobase is defined as the interface between the strongly collisional and the collisionless parts of an atmosphere. Although in reality the exobase is a transition region of finite depth, it is conventionally defined as the boundary above which an upwardly ejected neutral particle makes one collision at higher altitudes. Such an idealized definition is of practical use and serves as a good tracer of the overall size of an atmosphere as it expands and contracts under the influences of both external and internal sources. Knowledge of the atmospheric properties near the exobase is crucial to first-order estimates of atmospheric escape rates on terrestrial planets. Since its arrival at Mars on 21 September 2014, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has provided comprehensive maps of the Martian upper atmosphere under a variety of conditions. This allows, for the first time, a thorough investigation of the variations of the exobase altitude on this red planet. In this study, we use the N2 density measurements accumulated by MAVEN’s Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer from October 2014 to November 2018 to determine the exobase altitudes for a large number of MAVEN orbits. Our analysis reveals clearly the variations of exobase altitude with local time and solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux, as well as tentative evidence for the impact of global dust storms. These observations are indicative of thermal expansion of the Martian upper atmosphere, driven either externally by solar EUV energy deposition or internally by global dust storms.

The volcanic landforms, eruptive sites and longevity of activity on Mercury and the Moon contrast substantially with those of Earth, Venus and Mars. Here, I synthesize global maps of volcanic and tectonic features for these five worlds and, from the collective records of volcanic activity in the inner Solar System, draw conclusions about the long-term behaviour of terrestrial planets in general. Mercury and the Moon differ from the larger planetary bodies in terms of not only size and composition (and so shorter periods of melt production) but also by their being affected by a horizontally compressive stress state arising from a reduction in planetary volume as they cooled. The phenomenon of global contraction also readily accounts for the dearth of widespread extensional tectonic structures on Mercury and the Moon. From this comparative analysis, the most promising extrasolar planets on which to focus future searches for evidence of active, radiogenically driven volcanism are probably the larger rocky bodies in a mature planetary system or those worlds in relatively young systems. Volcanic and tectonic global maps of the inner planets and the Moon allow conclusions about the long-term volcanic behaviour of terrestrial planets and hint at the most promising extrasolar planets to look for active, radiogenically driven volcanism.

The climates of terrestrial planets with a small amount of water on their surface, called land planets, are significantly different from the climates of planets having a large amount of surface water. Land planets have a higher runaway greenhouse threshold than aqua planets, which extends the inner edge of the habitable zone inward. Land planets also have the advantage of avoiding global freezing due to drier tropics, leading to a lower planetary albedo. In this study, we systematically investigate the complete freezing limit for various surface water distribution using a three-dimensional dynamic atmospheric model. As in a previous study, we found that a land planet climate has dry tropics that result in less snow and fewer clouds. The complete freezing limit decreases from that for aqua planets (92% S0, where S0 is Earth's present insolation) to that for land planets (77% S0) with an increasing dry area. Values for the complete freezing limit for zonally uniform surface water distributions are consistently lower than those for meridionally uniform surface water distribution. This is because the surface water distribution in the tropics in the meridionally uniform cases causes ice-albedo feedback until a planet lapses into the complete freezing state. For a surface water distribution using the topographies of the terrestrial planets, the complete freezing limit has values near those for the meridionally uniform cases. Our results indicate that the water distribution is important for the onset of a global ice-covered state for Earth-like exoplanets.

Stars and planets both form by accreting material from a surrounding disk. Because they grow from the same material, theory predicts that there should be a relationship between their compositions. In this study, we search for a compositional link between rocky exoplanets and their host stars. We estimate the iron-mass fraction of rocky exoplanets from their masses and radii and compare it with the compositions of their host stars, which we assume reflect the compositions of the protoplanetary disks. We find a correlation (but not a 1:1 relationship) between these two quantities, with a slope of >4, which we interpret as being attributable to planet formation processes. Super-Earths and super-Mercuries appear to be distinct populations with differing compositions, implying differences in their formation processes., Authors' version of the manuscript. Published in Science

In the canonical model of Moon formation, a Mars-sized protoplanet "Theia" collides with proto-Earth at close to their mutual escape velocity $v_{\rm esc}$ and a common impact angle 45{\deg}. The "graze-and-merge" collision strands a fraction of Theia's mantle into orbit, while Earth accretes most of Theia and its momentum. Simulations show that this produces a hot, high angular momentum, silicate-dominated protolunar system, in substantial agreement with lunar geology, geochemistry, and dynamics. However, a Moon that derives mostly from Theia's mantle, as angular momentum dictates, is challenged by the fact that O, Ti, Cr, radiogenic W, and other elements are indistinguishable in Earth and lunar rocks. Moreover, the model requires an improbably low initial velocity. Here we develop a scenario for Moon formation that begins with a somewhat faster collision, when proto-Theia impacts proto-Earth at ~1.2 $v_{\rm esc}$, also around 45{\deg}. Instead of merging, the bodies come into violent contact for a half-hour and their major components escape, a "hit-and-run collision." N-body evolutions show that the "runner" often returns ~0.1-1 Myr later for a second giant impact, closer to $v_{\rm esc}$; this produces a postimpact disk of ~2-3 lunar masses in smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations, with angular momentum comparable to canonical scenarios. The disk ends up substantially inclined, in most cases, because the terminal collision is randomly oriented to the first. Proto-Earth contributions to the silicate disk are enhanced by the compounded mixing and greater energy of a collision chain., Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Published in PSJ, article available at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ac19b2

During the late stage of terrestrial planet formation, hit-and-run collisions are about as common as accretionary mergers, for expected velocities and angles of giant impacts. Average hit-and-runs leave two major remnants plus debris: the target and impactor, somewhat modified through erosion, escaping at lower relative velocity. Here we continue our study of the dynamical effects of such collisions. We compare the dynamical fates of intact runners that start from hit-and-runs with proto-Venus at 0.7 AU and proto-Earth at 1.0 AU. We follow the orbital evolutions of the runners, including the other terrestrial planets, Jupiter, and Saturn, in an N-body code. We find that the accretion of these runners can take $\gtrsim$10 Myr (depending on the egress velocity of the first collision) and can involve successive collisions with the original target planet or with other planets. We treat successive collisions that the runner experiences using surrogate models from machine learning, as in previous work, and evolve subsequent hit-and-runs in a similar fashion. We identify asymmetries in the capture, loss, and interchange of runners in the growth of Venus and Earth. Hit-and-run is a more probable outcome at proto-Venus, being smaller and faster orbiting than proto-Earth. But Venus acts as a sink, eventually accreting most of its runners, assuming typical events, whereas proto-Earth loses about half, many of those continuing to Venus. This leads to a disparity in the style of late-stage accretion that could have led to significant differences in geology, composition, and satellite formation at Earth and Venus., 18 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables. Published in PSJ, article available at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ac19b1

Central stages in the evolution of rocky, potentially habitable planets may play out under atmospheric conditions with a large inventory of non-dilute condensable components. Variations in condensate retention and accompanying changes in local lapse rate may substantially affect planetary climate and surface conditions, but there is currently no general theory to effectively describe such atmospheres. In this article, expanding on the work by Li et al. (2018), we generalize the single-component moist pseudoadiabat derivation in Pierrehumbert (2010) to allow for multiple condensing components of arbitrary diluteness and retained condensate fraction. The introduction of a freely tunable retained condensate fraction allows for a flexible, self-consistent treatment of atmospheres with non-dilute condensable components. To test the pseudoadiabat's capabilities for simulating a diverse range of climates, we apply the formula to planetary atmospheres with compositions, surface pressures, and temperatures representing important stages with condensable-rich atmospheres in the evolution of terrestrial planets: a magma ocean planet in a runaway greenhouse state; a post-impact, late veneer-analogue planet with a complex atmospheric composition; and an Archean Earth-like planet near the outer edge of the classical circumstellar habitable zone. We find that variations in the retention of multiple non-dilute condensable species can significantly affect the lapse rate and in turn outgoing radiation and the spectral signatures of planetary atmospheres. The presented formulation allows for a more comprehensive treatment of the climate evolution of rocky exoplanets and early Earth analogues., Comment: Accepted for publication in Planetary Science Journal on 8/24/2021. For a video summary see https://bit.ly/3ztVhfF

The estimation of crustal structure and thickness is essential in understanding the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets. Initial planetary missions with seismic instrumentation on board face the additional challenge of dealing with seismic activity levels that are only poorly constrained a priori. For example, the lack of plate tectonics on Mars leads to low seismicity, which could, in turn, hinder the application of many terrestrial data analysis techniques. Here we propose using a joint inversion of receiver functions and apparent incidence angles, which contain information on absolute S‐wave velocities of the subsurface. Since receiver function inversions suffer from a velocity depth trade‐off, we in addition exploit a simple relation that defines apparent S‐wave velocity as a function of observed apparent P‐wave incidence angles to constrain the parameter space. We then use the Neighborhood Algorithm for the inversion of a suitable joint objective function. The resulting ensemble of models is then used to derive uncertainty estimates for each model parameter. In preparation for the analysis of data from the InSight mission, we show the application of our proposed method on Mars synthetics and sparse terrestrial data sets from different geological settings using both single and multiple events. We use information‐theoretic statistical tests as model selection criteria and discuss their relevance and implications in a seismological framework., Key Points: We propose the joint inversion of receiver functions and apparent S‐wave velocity curves to estimate crustal thickness. Using the Neighborhood Algorithm, we show how a full uncertainty estimate can be computed from an ensemble solution. The method is applied to Martian synthetics and terrestrial data sets comprising single and multiple events., IMPRS, Emeritus group, DLR German Space Agency, http://www.orfeus-eu.org/data/eida/, http://instaseis.ethz.ch/marssynthetics/

All circumbinary planets currently detected are in orbits that are almost coplanar to the binary orbit. While misaligned circumbinary planets are more difficult to detect, observations of polar aligned circumbinary gas and debris disks around eccentric binaries suggest that polar planet formation may be possible. A polar aligned planet has a stable orbit that is inclined by 90 degrees to the orbital plane of the binary with an angular momentum vector that is aligned to the binary eccentricity vector. With n- body simulations we model polar terrestrial planet formation using hydrodynamic gas disk simulations to motivate the initial particle distribution. Terrestrial planet formation around an eccentric binary is more likely in a polar alignment than in a coplanar alignment. Similar planetary systems form in a polar alignment around an eccentric binary and a coplanar alignment around a circular binary. The polar planetary systems are stable even with the effects of general relativity. Planetary orbits around an eccentric binary exhibit tilt and eccentricity oscillations at all inclinations, however, the oscillations are larger in the coplanar case than the polar case. We suggest that polar aligned terrestrial planets will be found in the future., 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJL. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2108.09257

Recent improvements to GPU hardware and the symplectic N-body code GENGA allow for unprecedented resolution in simulations of planet formation. In this paper, we report results from high-resolution N-body simulations of terrestrial planet formation that are mostly direct continuation of our previous 10 Myr simulations ( Woo et al., 2021a ) until 150 Myr. By assuming that Jupiter and Saturn have always maintained their current eccentric orbits (EJS), we are able to achieve a reasonably good match to the current inner solar system architecture. However, due to the strong radial mixing that occurs in the EJS scenario, it has difficulties in explaining the known isotopic differences between bodies in the inner solar system, most notably between Earth and Mars. On the other hand, assuming initially circular orbits for Jupiter and Saturn (CJS) can reproduce the observed low degree of radial mixing in the inner solar system, while failing to reproduce the current architecture of the inner solar system. These outcomes suggest a possible paradox between dynamical structure and cosmochemical data for the terrestrial planets within the classical formation scenario. In addition, we use our high-resolution simulations to study the assembly of Earth in unprecedented detail, focusing on its collisional history. We find that more than 90% of giant impacts (GIs) on Earth occur within 80 Myr in the EJS simulations, matching the possible early timing of the Moon-forming GI based on the ages recorded by various meteoritic samples. However, the CJS and EJS scenarios both result in a leftover planetesimal mass that is 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than what currently exists in the solar system. Our overall results strongly suggest the need to consider alternative initial conditions for terrestrial planet formation in the solar system. For example, it may be necessary to assume a lower initial mass in the asteroid belt in order to lower the subsequent effect of radial mixing in the EJS scenario, as well as reduce the mass of leftover planetesimals. Similarly, in the CJS scenario, including an early giant planet instability within 80 Myr could make the scenario dynamically feasible.

Context. The ESA PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission will search for terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-type stars. Because of telemetry limitations, PLATO targets need to be pre-selected. Aims. In this paper, we present an all sky catalogue that will be fundamental to selecting the best PLATO fields and the most promising target stars, deriving their basic parameters, analysing the instrumental performances, and then planing and optimising follow-up observations. This catalogue also represents a valuable resource for the general definition of stellar samples optimised for the search of transiting planets. Methods. We used Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) astrometry and photometry and 3D maps of the local interstellar medium to isolate FGK (V$\leq$13) and M (V$\leq$16) dwarfs and subgiant stars. Results. We present the first public release of the all-sky PLATO Input Catalogue (asPIC1.1) containing a total of 2 675 539 stars including 2 378 177 FGK dwarfs and subgiants and 297 362 M dwarfs. The median distance in our sample is 428 pc for FGK stars and 146 pc for M dwarfs, respectively. We derived the reddening of our targets and developed an algorithm to estimate stellar fundamental parameters (Teff, radius, mass) from astrometric and photometric measurements. Conclusions. We show that the overall (internal+external) uncertainties on the stellar parameter determined in the present study are $\sim$230 K (4%) for the effective temperatures, $\sim$0.1 R$_{\odot}$ (9%) for the stellar radii, and $\sim$0.1 M$_{\odot}$ (11%) for the stellar mass. We release a special target list containing all known planet hosts cross-matched with our catalogue., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

With n-body simulations, we model terrestrial circumbinary planet (CBP) formation with an initial surface density profile motivated by hydrodynamic circumbinary gas disc simulations. The binary plays an important role in shaping the initial distribution of bodies. After the gas disc has dissipated, the torque from the binary speeds up the planet formation process by promoting body-body interactions but also drives the ejection of planet building material from the system at an early time. Fewer but more massive planets form around a close binary compared to a single star system. A sufficiently wide or eccentric binary can prohibit terrestrial planet formation. Eccentric binaries and exterior giant planets exacerbate these effects as they both reduce the radial range of the stable orbits. However, with a large enough stable region, the planets that do form are more massive, more eccentric and more inclined. The giant planets remain on stable orbits in all our simulations suggesting that giant planets are long-lived in planetary systems once they are formed., Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 12 pages, 5 figures

It is difficult to study the interiors of terrestrial planets in the Solar System and the problem is magnified for distant exoplanets. However, sometimes nature is helpful. Some planetary bodies are torn to fragments and consumed by the strong gravity close to the descendants of Sun-like stars, white dwarfs. We can deduce the general composition of the planet when we observe the spectroscopic signature of the white dwarf. Most planetary fragments that fall into white dwarfs appear to be rocky with a variable fraction of associated ice and carbon. These white dwarf planetary systems provide a unique opportunity to study the geology of exoplanetary systems., To be published as article 3 in the "Geoscience Beyond the Solar System" issue of Elements magazine, v17 No4

We use an idealized three-dimensional general circulation model to study condensible-rich atmospheres with an ineffective cold trap on slowly rotating tidally locked terrestrial planets. In particular, we show the climate dynamics in a thin and temperate atmosphere with condensible water vapor. The similarities between our thin and temperate atmosphere and the warm and thick atmosphere approaching the water vapor runaway greenhouse in previous works are discussed, including the reversal of the thermal emission between the day and night hemispheres. Different from the transit spectroscopy of water vapor that depends on the absolute amount of atmospheric water vapor, the contrast between the dayside and nightside thermal emission provides information regarding the relative ratio of water vapor to the background atmosphere as well as the atmospheric pressure near the substellar tropopause and the emission level on the nightside on potentially habitable worlds., 15 pages, 4 figures

Accurate measurement of exoplanetary masses is a critical step in addressing key aspects of NASA’s science vision. Astrometry can detect and measure masses of planets orbiting the target star. However, the signal for earth-analogs is in the sub-microarcsecond regime, well beyond our instrumentation. In this paper, we study part of an astrometry error budget for the HabEx Workhorse Camera and we propose a calibration approach to reach earth-analog sensitivity.

Understanding our Galaxy’s structure, formation, and evolution will, over the next decades, continue to benefit from the wonderful large survey by Gaia, for astrometric, kinematic, and spectroscopic characterization, and by large spectroscopic surveys for chemical characterization. The weak link for full exploitation of these data is age characterization, and stellar age estimation relies predominantly on mass estimates. The ideas presented in this White Paper shows that a seismology survey is the way out of this situation and a natural complement to existing and planned surveys. These ideas are strongly rooted in the past decade’s experience of the so-called Seismology revolution, initiated with CoRoT and Kepler. The case of red giant stars is used here as the best current illustration of what we can expect from seismology for large samples, but premises for similar developments exist in various other classes of stars covering other ranges of age or mass. Whatever the star considered, the first information provided by stellar pulsations is always related to the mean density and thus to the mass (and age). In order to satisfy the need for long-duration and allsky coverage, we rely on a new instrumental concept which decouples integration time and sampling time. We thus propose a long (~1 year) all-sky survey which would perfectly fit between TESS, PLATO, and the Rubin Observatory (previously known as LSST) surveys to offer a time domain complement to the current and planned astrometric and spectroscopic surveys. The fine characterization of host stars is also a key aspect for the interpretation and exploitation of the various projects – anticipated in the framework of the Voyage 2050 programme – searching for atmospheric characterization of terrestrial planets or, more specifically, looking for a signature of life, in distant planets.

Constraining the melting behavior of magnesium oxide, a major constituent of gaseous and rocky planets, is key to benchmarking their evolutionary models. Using a double-shock technique, we extended the MgO melt curve measurements to 2 TPa; this is twice the pressure achieved by previous melting experiments on any material. A temperature plateau is observed between 1218 and 1950 GPa in the second-shock states, which is attributed to latent heat of melting. At 1950 GPa, the measured melting temperature is 17 600 K, which is 17% lower than recent theoretical predictions. The melting curve is steeper than that of ${\mathrm{MgSiO}}_{3}$, indicating that MgO is likely solid in the interior of Saturn-sized gas giants and extra-solar super-Earth planets.

Terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are differentiated into three layers: a metallic core, a silicate shell (mantle and crust), and a volatile envelope of gases, ices, and, for the Earth, liquid water. Each layer has different dominant elements (e.g., increasing iron content with depth and increasing oxygen content to the surface). Chondrites, the building blocks of the terrestrial planets, have mass and atomic proportions of oxygen, iron, magnesium, and silicon totaling ≥ 90% and variable Mg/Si (∼ 25%), Fe/Si (factor of ≥2), and Fe/O (factor of ≥ 3). What remains an unknown is to what degree did physical processes during nebular disk accretion versus those during post-nebular disk accretion (e.g., impact erosion) influence these planets final bulk compositions. Here we predict terrestrial planet compositions and show that their core mass fractions and uncompressed densities correlate with their heliocentric distance, and follow a simple model of the magnetic field strength in the protoplanetary disk. Our model assesses the distribution of iron in terms of increasing oxidation state, aerodynamics, and a decreasing magnetic field strength outward from the Sun, leading to decreasing core size of the terrestrial planets with radial distance. This distribution enhances habitability in our solar system and may be equally applicable to exoplanetary systems.

Dynamical scenarios of terrestrial planets formation involve strong perturbations of the inner part of the solar system by the giant-planets, leading to enhanced impact velocities and subsequent collisional erosion. We quantitatively estimate the effect of collisional erosion on the resulting composition of Earth, and estimate how it may provide information on the dynamical context of its formation. We simulate and quantify the erosion of Earth's crust in the context of Solar System formation scenarios, including the classical model and Grand Tack scenario that invokes orbital migration of Jupiter during the gaseous disk phase (Walsh et al., 2011; Raymond et al., 2018). We find that collisional erosion of the early crust is unlikely to produce an excess of about 6% of the Sm/Nd ratio in terrestrial rock samples compared to chondrites for most simulations. Only Grand Tack simulations in which the last giant impact on Earth occurred later than 50 million years after the start of Solar System formation can account for such an offset. However, this time frame is consistent with current cosmochemical and dynamical estimates of the Moon forming impact (Chyba, 1991; Walker, 2009; Touboul et al.,2007, 2009, 2015; Pepin and Porcelli, 2006; Norman et al., 2003; Nyquist et al., 2006; Boyet et al.,2015). Such a late fractionation in the Sm/Nd ratio is unlikely to be responsible for a 20-ppm $^{142}$Nd excess in terrestrial rocks due to the half life of the radiogenic system. Additionally, such a large and late fractionation in the Sm/Nd ratio would accordingly induce non-observed anomalies in the $^{143}$Nd/$^{144}$Nd ratio. Considering our results, the Grand Tack model with a late Moon-forming impact cannot be easily reconciled with the Nd isotopic Earth contents., 22 pages, 3 figures, supplementary, to be published

Mass-radius relations of homogeneous cold spheres are obtained for six solid materials commonly found in terrestrial planets. An additional degeneracy in the (exo-)planets' profiles is discussed together with their properties concluded from our findings in the framework of Palatini $f(\mathcal R)$ gravity. Moreover, a new test of gravity has been proposed: The results presented here will allow to test and to constrain models of gravity by the use of seismic data acquired from earthquakes and marsquakes., 14 pages, 16 figures

The effect of protoplanetary differentiation on the fate of life essential volatiles like nitrogen and carbon and its subsequent effect on the dynamics of planetary growth is unknown. Because the dissolution of nitrogen in magma oceans depends on its partial pressure and oxygen fugacity, it is an ideal proxy to track volatile redistribution in protoplanets as a function of their sizes and growth zones. Using high pressure and high temperature experiments in graphite undersaturated conditions, here we show that the iron loving character of nitrogen is an order of magnitude higher than previous estimates across a wide range of oxygen fugacity. The experimental data combined with metal, silicate and atmosphere fractionation models suggest that asteroid sized protoplanets, and planetary embryos that grew from them, were nitrogen depleted. However, protoplanets that grew to planetary embryo size before undergoing differentiation had nitrogen rich cores and nitrogen poor silicate reservoirs. Bulk silicate reservoirs of large Earth like planets attained nitrogen from the cores of latter type of planetary embryos. Therefore, to satisfy the volatile budgets of Earth like planets during the main stage of their growth, the timescales of planetary embryo accretion had to be shorter than their differentiation timescales, that is, Moon to Mars sized planetary embryos grew rapidly within 1 to 2 million years of the Solar System formation., 44 pages, 6 figures, 9 extended data figures. Nat. Geosci. (2021)

Recently, it has been shown that rocky planets orbiting neutron stars can be habitable under non unrealistic circumstances. If a distant, pointlike source of visible light such as a Sun-like main sequence star or the gravitationally lensed accretion disk of a supermassive black hole is present as well, possible temporal variations $\Delta\varepsilon_\mathrm{p}(t)$ of the planet's axial tilt $\varepsilon_\mathrm{p}$ to the ecliptic plane should be included in the overall habitability budget since the obliquity determines the insolation at a given latitude on a body' s surface. I point out that, for rather generic initial spin-orbit initial configurations, general relativistic and classical spin variations induced by the post-Newtonian de Sitter and Lense-Thirring components of the field of the host neutron star and by its pull to the planetary oblateness $J_2^\mathrm{p}$ may induce huge and very fast variations of $\varepsilon_\mathrm{p}$ which would likely have an impact on the habitability of such worlds. In particular, for a planet's distance of, say, $0.005\,\mathrm{au}$ from a $1.4\,M_\odot$ neutron star corresponding to an orbital period $P_\mathrm{b}=0.109\,\mathrm{d}$, obliquity shifts $\Delta\varepsilon_\mathrm{p}$ as large as $\varepsilon^\mathrm{max}_\mathrm{p}-\varepsilon_\mathrm{p}^\mathrm{min}\simeq 50^\circ-100^\circ$ over characteristic timescales as short as $10\,\mathrm{d}$ ($J_2^\mathrm{p}$) to $3\,\mathrm{Myr}$ (Lense-Thirring) may occur for arbitrary orientations of the orbital and spin angular momenta $\boldsymbol{L},\,{\boldsymbol{S}}_\mathrm{ns},\,{\boldsymbol{S}}_\mathrm{p}$ of the planet-neutron star system. In view of this feature of their spins, I dub such hypothetical planets as ``nethotrons"., Comment: laTex2e, 15 pages, 1 table, 4 figures. Version matching the one at press in The Astronomical Journal (AJ)

The formation of the solar system's giant planets predated the ultimate epoch of massive impacts that concluded the process of terrestrial planet formation. Following their formation, the giant planets' orbits evolved through an episode of dynamical instability. Several qualities of the solar system have recently been interpreted as evidence of this event transpiring within the first ~100 Myr after the Sun's birth; around the same time as the final assembly of the inner planets. In a series of recent papers we argued that such an early instability could resolve several problems revealed in classic numerical studies of terrestrial planet formation; namely the small masses of Mars and the asteroid belt. In this paper, we revisit the early instability scenario with a large suite of simulations specifically designed to understand the degree to which Earth and Mars' formation are sensitive to the specific evolution of Jupiter and Saturn's orbits. By deriving our initial terrestrial disks directly from recent high-resolution simulations of planetesimal accretion, our results largely confirm our previous findings regarding the instability's efficiency of truncating the terrestrial disk outside of the Earth-forming region in simulations that best replicate the outer solar system. Moreover, our work validates the primordial 2:1 Jupiter-Saturn resonance within the early instability framework as a viable evolutionary path for the solar system. While our simulations elucidate the fragility of the terrestrial system during the epoch of giant planet migration, many realizations yield outstanding solar system analogs when scrutinized against a number of observational constraints. Finally, we highlight the inability of models to form adequate Mercury-analogs and the low eccentricities of Earth and Venus as the most significant outstanding problems for future numerical studies to resolve., 24 pages, 10 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in Icarus

Considering the huge computational resources required by smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations and the overestimation of post-collision materials from perfect merging, we develop a statistical method to deal with collisions during the formation of planetary systems by introducing random material loss. In this method the mass and water content lost by the sole outcome from every merger vary randomly within a range dependent on the total mass and water content of colliding bodies. The application of the random loss method to the planet formation in the solar system shows a good consistency with existing SPH results. We also apply this method to the extrasolar planetary system 55 Cancri which hosts (at least) five planets and study the formation of terrestrial planets between the outermost two planets. A disk with 500 Mars mass embryos in dynamically cold orbits before the late-stage accretion phase is assumed. Scenarios with different amounts of planetary embryos and different loss parameters are adopted in our simulations. The statistical result from hundreds of simulations shows that an Earth-like planet with water inventory of roughly 6 Earth ocean could form between 55 Cnc f and d. It may reside between 1.0 and 2.6 AU but the most likely region extends from 1.5 to 2.1 AU. Thus the probability of this planet being in the potentially habitable zone (0.59--1.43 AU) is relatively low, only around 10\%. Planets 55 Cnc f and d could also be shaped and gain some water from giant impacts and consequently the orbits of them may also change accordingly., Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 16 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables

The tectonic regime of rocky planets fundamentally influences their long-term evolution and cycling of volatiles between interior and atmosphere. Earth is the only known planet with active plate tectonics, but observations of exoplanets may deliver insights into the diversity of tectonic regimes beyond the solar system. Observations of the thermal phase curve of super-Earth LHS 3844b reveal a solid surface and lack of a substantial atmosphere, with a temperature contrast between the substellar and antistellar point of around 1000 K. Here, we use these constraints on the planet's surface to constrain the interior dynamics and tectonic regimes of LHS 3844b using numerical models of interior flow. We investigate the style of interior convection by assessing how upwellings and downwellings are organized and how tectonic regimes manifest. We discover three viable convective regimes with a mobile surface: (1) spatially uniform distribution of upwellings and downwellings, (2) prominent downwelling on the dayside and upwellings on the nightside, and (3) prominent downwelling on the nightside and upwellings on the dayside. Hemispheric tectonics is observed for regimes (2) and (3) as a direct consequence of the day-to-night temperature contrast. Such a tectonic mode is absent in the present-day solar system and has never been inferred from astrophysical observations of exoplanets. Our models offer distinct predictions for volcanism and outgassing linked to the tectonic regime, which may explain secondary features in phase curves and allow future observations to constrain the diversity of super-Earth interiors., Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters; 9 pages, 5 figures; summary available at http://exoplanet-talks.org/talk/263

Aims. We present the first detailed analysis of the astrophysical parameters of the poorly studied Sco-Cen member HD 152384 and its circumstellar environment. Methods. We analyze newly obtained optical-near-IR XSHOOTER spectra, as well as archival TESS data, of HD 152384. In addition, we use literature photometric data to construct a detailed spectral energy distribution (SED) of the star. Results. The photospheric absorption lines in the spectrum of HD 152384 are characteristic of a A0 V star, for which we derive a stellar mass of 2.1 +/- 0.1 M_sun and a stellar age > 4.5 Myr. Superimposed on the photospheric absorption, the optical spectrum also displays double-peaked emission lines of Ca II, Fe I, Mg I and Si I, typical of circumstellar disks. Notably, all Hydrogen and Helium lines appear strictly in absorption. A toy model shows that the observed emission line profiles can be reproduced by emission from a compact (radius < 0.3 au) disk seen at an inclination of ~24 degrees. Further evidence for the presence of circumstellar material comes from the detection of a moderate infrared excess in the SED, similar to those found in extreme debris disk systems. Conclusions. We conclude that HD 152384 is surrounded by a tenuous circumstellar disk which, although rich in refractory elements, is highly depleted of volatile elements. To the best of our knowledge such a disk is unique within the group of young stars. However, it is reminiscent of the disks seen in some white dwarfs, which have been attributed to the disruption of rocky planets. We suggest that the disk around HD 152384 may have a similar origin and may be due to collisions in a newly formed planetary system., 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters

The absence of planets interior to Mercury continues to puzzle terrestrial planet formation models, particularly when contrasted with the relatively high derived occurrence rates of short-period planets around Sun-like stars. Recent work proposed that the majority of systems hosting hot super-Earths attain their orbital architectures through an epoch of dynamical instability after forming in quasi-stable, tightly packed configurations. Isotopic evidence seems to suggest that the formation of objects in the super-Earth mass regime is unlikely to have occurred in the solar system as the terrestrial-forming disk is thought to have been significantly mass-deprived starting around 2 Myr after CAI; a consequence of either Jupiter's growth or an intrinsic disk feature. Nevertheless, terrestrial planet formation models and high-resolution investigations of planetesimal dynamics in the gas disk phase occasionally find that quasi-stable proto-planets with masses comparable to that of Mars emerge in the vicinity of Mercury's modern orbit. In this paper, we investigate whether it is possible for a primordial configuration of such objects to be cataclysmically destroyed in a manner that leaves Mercury behind as the sole survivor without disturbing the other terrestrial worlds. We use numerical simulations to show that this scenario is plausible. In many cases, the surviving Mercury analog experiences a series of erosive impacts; thereby boosting its Fe/Si ratio. A caveat of our proposed genesis scenario for Mercury is that Venus typically experiences at least one late giant impact., 18 pages, 15 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in AJ. Summary available at https://youtu.be/Mu762MjRxtE (video)

The melt productivity of a differentiated planet's mantle is primarily controlled by its iron content, which is itself approximated by the planet's core mass fraction (CMF). Here we show that estimates of an exo-planet's CMF allows robust predictions of the thickness, composition and mineralogy of the derivative crust. These predicted crustal compositions allow constraints to be placed on volatile cycling between surface and the deep planetary interior, with implications for the evolution of habitable planetary surfaces. Planets with large, terrestrial-like, CMFs ($\geq$0.32) will exhibit thin crusts that are inefficient at transporting surface water and other volatiles into the underlying mantle. By contrast, rocky planets with smaller CMFs ($\leq$0.24) and higher, Mars-like, mantle iron contents will develop thick crusts capable of stabilizing hydrous minerals, which can effectively sequester volatiles into planetary interiors and act to remove surface water over timescales relevant to evolution. The extent of core formation has profound consequences for the subsequent planetary surface environment and may provide additional constraints in the hunt for habitable, Earth-like exo-planets., 18 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

Understanding when global glaciations occur on Earth-like planets is a major challenge in climate evolution research. Most models of how greenhouse gases like CO2 evolve with time on terrestrial planets are deterministic, but the complex, nonlinear nature of Earth's climate history motivates study of non-deterministic climate models. Here a maximally simple stochastic model of CO2 evolution and climate on an Earth-like planet with an imperfect CO2 thermostat is investigated. It is shown that as stellar luminosity is increased in this model, the decrease in the average atmospheric CO concentration renders the climate increasingly unstable, with excursions to a low-temperature state common once the received stellar flux approaches that of present-day Earth. Unless climate feedbacks always force the variance in CO2 concentration to decline rapidly with received stellar flux, this means that terrestrial planets near the inner edge of the habitable zone may enter Snowball states quite frequently. Observations of the albedos and color variation of terrestrial-type exoplanets should allow this prediction to be tested directly in the future., 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted April 14th to ApJ Letters

The evolution of a single raindrop falling below a cloud is governed by fluid dynamics and thermodynamics fundamentally transferable to planetary atmospheres beyond modern Earth's. Here, we show how three properties that characterize falling raindrops -- raindrop shape, terminal velocity, and evaporation rate -- can be calculated as a function of raindrop size in any planetary atmosphere. We demonstrate that these simple, interrelated characteristics tightly bound the possible size range of raindrops in a given atmosphere, independently of poorly understood growth mechanisms. Starting from the equations governing raindrop falling and evaporation, we demonstrate that raindrop ability to vertically transport latent heat and condensible mass can be well captured by a new dimensionless number. Our results have implications for precipitation efficiency, convective storm dynamics, and rainfall rates, which are properties of interest for understanding planetary radiative balance and (in the case of terrestrial planets) rainfall-driven surface erosion., Comment: submitted to JGR: Planets; 40 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, 4 appendices; supporting information with 9 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; associated code at https://github.com/kaitlyn-loftus/rainprops

Migration of planetesimals from the feeding zone of the terrestrial planets, which was divided into seven regions depending on the distance to the Sun, was simulated. The influence of gravity of all planets was taken into account. In some cases, the embryos of the terrestrial planets rather than the planets themselves were considered; their masses were assumed to be 0.1 or 0.3 of the current masses of the planets. The arrays of orbital elements of migrated planetesimals were used to calculate the probabilities of their collisions with the planets, the Moon, or their embryos. Based on our calculations, we drew conclusions on the process of accumulation of the terrestrial planets. The embryos of the terrestrial planets, the masses of which did not exceed a tenth of the current planetary masses, accumulated planetesimals mainly from the vicinity of their orbits. When planetesimals fell onto the embryos of the terrestrial planets from the feeding zone of Jupiter and Saturn, these embryos had not yet acquired the current masses of the planets, and the material of this zone (including water and volatiles) could be accumulated in the inner layers of the terrestrial planets. The inner layers of each of the terrestrial planets were mainly formed from the material located in the vicinity of the orbit of a certain planet. The outer layers of the Earth and Venus could accumulate the same material for these two planets from different parts of the feeding zone of the terrestrial planets. The Earth and Venus could acquire more than half of their masses in 5 Myr. A relatively rapid growth of the bulk of the Martian mass can be explained by the formation of Mars' embryo (the mass of which is several times less than that of Mars) due to contraction of a rarefied condensation., 30 pages