Interior dynamics of super-Earth 55 Cancri e
arXiv:2308.00592 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346950
Abstract
The ultra-short-period super-Earth 55 Cancri e has a measured radius of 1.8 Earth radii. Previous thermal phase curve observations suggest a strong temperature contrast between the dayside and nightside of around 1000 K with the hottest point shifted degrees east from the substellar point, indicating some degree of heat circulation. The dayside (and potentially even the nightside) is hot enough to harbour a magma ocean. We use results from general circulation models (GCMs) of atmospheres to constrain the surface temperature contrasts. There is still a large uncertainty on the vigour and style of mantle convection in super-Earths, especially those that experience stellar irradiation large enough to harbour a magma ocean. In this work, we aim to constrain the mantle dynamics of the tidally locked lava world 55 Cancri e. Using the surface temperature contrasts as boundary condition, we model the mantle flow of 55 Cancri e using 2D mantle convection simulations and investigate how the convection regimes are affected by the different climate models. We find that large super-plumes form on the dayside if that hemisphere is covered by a magma ocean and the nightside remains solid or only partially molten. Cold material descends into the deep interior on the nightside, but no strong downwellings form. In some cases, the super-plume also moves several tens of degrees towards the terminator. A convective regime where the upwelling is preferentially on the dayside might lead to preferential outgassing on that hemisphere which could lead to the build-up of atmospheric species that could be chemically distinct from the nightside.
20 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A
References in corpus (27)
- Array Programming with NumPy
- Chemistry of Silicate Atmospheres of Evaporating Super-Earths
- Observable Consequences of Planet Formation Models in Systems with Close-in Terrestrial Planets
- Habitability and Biosignatures of Hycean Worlds
- A new class of Super-Earths formed from high-temperature condensates: HD219134 b, 55 Cnc e, WASP-47 e
- The habitability of a stagnant-lid Earth
- The rotational and divergent components of atmospheric circulation on tidally locked planets
- Linking the Climate and Thermal Phase Curve of 55 Cancri e
- Magma oceans and enhanced volcanism on TRAPPIST-1 planets due to induction heating
- Observability of Evaporating Lava Worlds
- Convective outgassing efficiency in planetary magma oceans: insights from computational fluid dynamics
- CHEOPS Precision Phase Curve of the Super-Earth 55 Cnc e
- Redox hysteresis of super-Earth exoplanets from magma ocean circulation
- Habitability of Earth-like stagnant lid planets: Climate evolution and recovery from snowball states
- Arid or Cloudy: Characterizing the Atmosphere of the super-Earth 55 Cancri e using High-Resolution Spectroscopy
- Thermal and compositional stratification of the inner core
- Modelling the atmosphere of lava planet K2-141b: implications for low and high resolution spectroscopy
- Numerical solution of a non-linear conservation law applicable to the interior dynamics of partially molten planets
- Revisiting the Iconic Spitzer Phase Curve of 55 Cancri e: Hotter Dayside, Cooler Nightside and Smaller Phase Offset
- Low volcanic outgassing rates for a stagnant lid Archean Earth with graphite-saturated magmas
- Multi-season optical modulation phased with the orbit of the super-Earth 55 Cnc e
- Hemispheric Tectonics on super-Earth LHS 3844b
- Observability of silicates in volatile atmospheres of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes
- Reduced late bombardment on rocky exoplanets around M-dwarfs
- Investigating the visible phase-curve variability of 55 Cnc e
- Potential long-term habitable conditions on planets with primordial H-He atmospheres
- Electromagnetic induction heating as a driver of volcanic activity on massive rocky planets