Evolution of gas envelopes and outgassed atmospheres of rocky planets that formed via pebble accretion

Piia Maria Tomberg*, Anders Johansen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In this work, we present results of numerical simulations of the formation and early evolution of rocky planets through pebble accretion, with an emphasis on hydrogen envelope longevity and the composition of the outgassed atmosphere. We modelled planets with a range in mass from 0.1 to 5 Earth masses that orbit between 0.7 and 1.7 AU. The composition of the outgassed atmosphere was calculated with the partial pressure of free oxygen fit to geophysical models of magma ocean self-oxidation. The combined X-ray and UV (XUV) radiation-powered photoevaporation is considered as the main driver of atmospheric escape. We modelled planets that remain below the pebble isolation mass and hence accrete tenuous envelopes only. We considered slow, medium, or fast initial stellar rotation for the temporal evolution of the XUV flux. The loss of the envelope is a key event that allows the magma ocean to crystallise and outgas its bulk volatiles. The atmospheric composition of the majority of our simulated planets is dominated by CO2. Our planets accrete a total of 11.6 Earth oceans of water, the majority of which enters the core. The hydrospheres of planets lighter than the Earth reach several times the mass of the Earth's modern oceans, while the hydrospheres of planets ranging from 1 to 3.5 Earth masses are comparable to those of our planet. However, planets of 4-5 Earth masses have smaller hydrospheres due to the trapping of volatiles in their massive mantles. Overall, our simulations demonstrate that hydrogen envelopes are easily lost from rocky planets and that this envelope loss triggers the most primordial partitioning of volatiles between the solid mantle and the atmosphere.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberA183
JournalAstronomy and Astrophysics
Volume691
Number of pages11
ISSN0004-6361
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Authors 2024.

Keywords

  • Planets and satellites: Atmospheres
  • Planets and satellites: Formation
  • Planets and satellites: Terrestrial planets

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