12 papers
The Influences of Hydrogen-Silicate-Iron Miscibility on the Demographics of Sub-Neptunes and Super-Earths
Edward D. Young, Aaron Werlen
Models based on variable miscibility among hydrogen, molten silicate, and molten iron, coupled with atmospheric escape, can reproduce the observed occurrence density structure of s…
Atmospheric diversity of sub-Neptunes from formation with rock, water, and soot
Caroline Dorn, Aaron Werlen, Sean Jordan
Recent JWST detections of CH4 and CO2 in sub-Neptune atmospheres point to a link between atmospheric composition and the nature of planetary building blocks - rock, water, or refra…
Ice Giants Revisited: Uranus and Neptune as Magma Ocean Worlds
Edward D. Young, Sarah P. Marcum, Aaron Werlen +1
Uranus and Neptune are commonly interpreted as volatile-rich "ice giants", an assumption that underpins most interior models. Here we show that their observed radii, bulk densities…
The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres
Aaron Werlen, Remo Burn, Caroline Dorn +2
Atmospheric compositions of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths are often interpreted as tracers of formation location relative to volatile ice lines. However, prolonged magma oceans can…
A New Global Chemical Equilibrium Code: Refractory Element Signatures in Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes
Simon Grimm, Marie-Luise Steinmeyer, Aaron Werlen +3
The atmospheres of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes can be strongly modified by chemical exchange with their molten interiors during long-lived magma ocean phases. Interpreting atmosp…
Coupled Thermal-Chemical Evolution Models of Sub-Neptunes Reveal Atmospheric Signatures of Their Formation Location
Marie-Luise Steinmeyer, Caroline Dorn, Aaron Werlen +1
The observed masses and radii of sub-Neptunes are typically explained by the gas dwarf and the water world scenarios. While their evolutionary history on a population level has bee…