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Register a new userPlanetary Formation and Evolution Revealed with a Saturn Entry Probe: The Importance of Noble Gases
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Jonathan J. Fortney
Publication date
2009
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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The determination of Saturns atmospheric noble gas abundances are critical to understanding the formation and evolution of Saturn, and giant planets in general. These measurements can only be performed with an entry probe. A Saturn probe will address whether enhancement in heavy noble gases, as was found in Jupiter, are a general feature of giant planets, and their ratios will be a powerful constraint on how they form. The helium abundance will show the extent to which helium has phase separated from hydrogen in the planets deep interior. Jupiters striking neon depletion may also be tied to its helium depletion, and must be confirmed or refuted in Saturn. Together with Jupiters measured atmospheric helium abundance, a consistent evolutionary theory for both planets, including helium rain will be possible. We will then be able to calibrate the theory of the evolution of all giant planets, including exoplanets. In addition, high pressure H/He mixtures under giant planet conditions are an important area of condensed matter physics that are beyond the realm of experiment.
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The Hera Saturn entry probe mission is proposed as an M--class mission led by ESA with a contribution from NASA. It consists of one atmospheric probe to be sent into the atmosphere of Saturn, and a Carrier-Relay spacecraft. In this concept, the Hera probe is composed of ESA and NASA elements, and the Carrier-Relay Spacecraft is delivered by ESA. The probe is powered by batteries, and the Carrier-Relay Spacecraft is powered by solar panels and batteries. We anticipate two major subsystems to be supplied by the United States, either by direct procurement by ESA or by contribution from NASA: the solar electric power system (including solar arrays and the power management and distribution system), and the probe entry system (including the thermal protection shield and aeroshell). Hera is designed to perform in situ measurements of the chemical and isotopic compositions as well as the dynamics of Saturns atmosphere using a single probe, with the goal of improving our understanding of the origin, formation, and evolution of Saturn, the giant planets and their satellite systems, with extrapolation to extrasolar planets. Heras aim is to probe well into the cloud-forming region of the troposphere, below the region accessible to remote sensing, to the locations where certain cosmogenically abundant species are expected to be well mixed. By leading to an improved understanding of the processes by which giant planets formed, including the composition and properties of the local solar nebula at the time and location of giant planet formation, Hera will extend the legacy of the Galileo and Cassini missions by further addressing the creation, formation, and chemical, dynamical, and thermal evolution of the giant planets, the entire solar system including Earth and the other terrestrial planets, and formation of other planetary systems.
Planetary embryos form protoplanets via mutual collisions, which can lead to the development of magma oceans. During their solidification, large amounts of the mantles volatile contents may be outgassed. The resulting H$_2$O/CO$_2$ dominated steam atmospheres may be lost efficiently via hydrodynamic escape due to the low gravity and the high stellar EUV luminosities. Protoplanets forming later from such degassed building blocks could therefore be drier than previously expected. We model the outgassing and subsequent hydrodynamic escape of steam atmospheres from such embryos. The efficient outflow of H drags along heavier species (O, CO$_2$, noble gases). The full range of possible EUV evolution tracks of a solar-mass star is taken into account to investigate the escape from Mars-sized embryos at different orbital distances. The envelopes are typically lost within a few to a few tens of Myr. Furthermore, we study the influence on protoplanetary evolution, exemplified by Venus. We investigate different early evolution scenarios and constrain realistic cases by comparing modeled noble gas isotope ratios with observations. Starting from solar values, consistent isotope ratios (Ne, Ar) can be found for different solar EUV histories, as well as assumptions about the initial atmosphere (either pure steam or a mixture with accreted H). Our results generally favor an early accretion scenario with a small amount of accreted H and a low-activity Sun, because in other cases too much CO$_2$ is lost during evolution, which is inconsistent with Venus present atmosphere. Important issues are likely the time at which the initial steam atmosphere is outgassed and/or the amount of CO$_2$ which may still be delivered at later evolutionary stages. A late accretion scenario can only reproduce present isotope ratios for a highly active young Sun, but then very massive steam atmospheres would be required.
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 Saturns 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.
Stars and planets are the fundamental objects of the Universe. Their formation processes, though related, may differ in important ways. Stars almost certainly form from gravitational collapse and probably have formed this way since the first stars lit the skies. Although it is possible that planets form in this way also, processes involving accretion in a circumstellar disk have been favored. High fidelity high resolution images may resolve the question; both processes may occur in some mass ranges. The questions to be answered in the next decade include: By what process do planets form, and how does the mode of formation determine the character of planetary systems? What is the distribution of masses of planets? In what manner does the metallicity of the parent star influence the character of its planetary system? In this paper we discuss the observations of planetary systems from birth to maturity, with an emphasis on observations longward of 100 $mu$m which may illuminate the character of their formation and evolution. Advantages of this spectral region include lower opacity, availability of extremely high resolution to reach planet formation scales and to perform precision astrometry and high sensitivity to thermal emission.
We report the discovery of a possible planet in microlensing event MOA-2010-BLG-353. This event was only recognised as having a planetary signal after the microlensing event had finished, and following a systematic analysis of all archival data for binary lens microlensing events collected to date. Data for event MOA-2010-BLG-353 were only recorded by the high cadence observations of the OGLE and MOA survey groups. If we make the assumptions that the probability of the lens star hosting a planet of the measured mass ratio is independent of the lens star mass or distance, and that the source star is in the Galactic bulge, a probability density analysis indicates the planetary system comprises a 0.9^{+1.6}_{-0.53} M_{Saturn} mass planet orbiting a 0.18^{+0.32}_{-0.11} M_{sun} red dwarf star, 6.43^{+1.09}_{-1.15} kpc away. The projected separation of the planet from the host star is 1.72^{+0.56}_{-0.48} AU. Under the additional assumption that the source is on the far side of the Galactic bulge, the probability density analysis favours a lens system comprising a slightly lighter planet.
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