Giant planet formation models with a self-consistent treatment of the heavy elements

Abstract

We present a new numerical framework to model the formation and evolution of giant planets. The code is based on the further development of the stellar evolution toolkit Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). The model includes the dissolution of the accreted planetesimals/pebbles, which are assumed to be made of water ice, in the planetary gaseous envelope, and the effect of envelope enrichment on the planetary growth and internal structure is computed self-consistently. We apply our simulations to Jupiter and investigate the impact of different heavy-element and gas accretion rates on its formation history. We show that the assumed runaway gas accretion rate significantly affect the planetary radius and luminosity. It is confirmed that heavy-element enrichment leads to shorter formation timescales due to more efficient gas accretion. We find that with heavy-element enrichment Jupiter's formation timescale is compatible with typical disks' lifetimes even when assuming a low heavy-element accretion rate (oligarchic regime). Finally, we provide an approximation for the heavy-element profile in the innermost part of the planet, providing a link between the internal structure and the planetary growth history.

30 pages, 16 figures

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Cited by in corpus (25)

• The New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS). I. Bern global model of planet formation and evolution, model tests, and emerging planetary systems
• How drifting and evaporating pebbles shape giant planets I: Heavy element content and atmospheric C/O
• A new perspective on interiors of ice-rich planets: Ice-rock mixture instead of ice on top of rock
• How planets grow by pebble accretion. III. Emergence of an interior composition gradient
• On the mass of gas giant planets: Is Saturn a failed gas giant?
• Theoretical vs. observational uncertainties: composition of giant exoplanets
• Synthetic Evolution Tracks of Giant Planets
• Empirical Structure Models of Uranus and Neptune
• How planets grow by pebble accretion IV: Envelope opacity trends from sedimenting dust and pebbles
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• Convective Mixing in Gas Giant Planets with Primordial Composition Gradients
• Ariel Planetary Interiors White Paper
• Enrichment of Jupiter's atmosphere by late planetesimal bombardment
• How planets form by pebble accretion V. Silicate rainout delays contraction of sub-Neptunes
• A low accretion efficiency of planetesimals formed at planetary gap edges
• The Possibility of Hydrogen-Water Demixing in Uranus, Neptune, K2-18b and TOI-270d
• An Approximation for the Capture Radius of Gaseous Protoplanets
• On the origin of Jupiter's fuzzy core: constraints from N-body, impact and evolution simulations
• The New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS). VII. Statistical comparison with the HARPS/Coralie survey
• Giant planet formation via pebble accretion across different stellar masses
• The Effect of Accretion Rate and Composition on the Structure of Ice-rich Super-Earths
• The Evolution and Internal Structure of Neptunes and Sub-Neptunes: The importance of thermal conductivity in non-convective regions
• Radius and mass distribution of ultra-short period planets
• Chemical diversity of the atmospheres and interiors of sub-Neptunes: a case study of GJ 436 b
• Possible in situ formation of Uranus and Neptune via Pebble Accretion