We present the first models of Saturn and Jupiter to couple their evolution to both a radiative‐atmosphere grid and to high‐pressure phase diagrams of hydrogen with helium. The purpose of these models is to quantify the evolutionary effects of helium phase separation in Saturn’s deep interior. We find that prior calculated phase diagrams in which Saturn’s interior reaches a region of predicted helium immiscibility do not allow enough energy release to prolong Saturn’s cooling to its known age and effective temperature. We explore modifications to published phase diagrams that would lead to greater energy release, and find a modified H‐He phase diagram that is physically reasonable, leads to the correct extension of Saturn’s cooling, and predicts an atmospheric helium mass fraction Yatmos in agreement with recent estimates. We then expand our inhomogeneous evolutionary models to show that hypothetical extrasolar giant planets in the 0.15 to 3.0 Jupiter mass range may have Teffs 10–15 K greater than one would predict with models that do not incorporate helium phase separation.
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24 June 2004
THE SEARCH FOR OTHER WORLDS: Fourteenth Astrophysics Conference
13-14 October 2003
College Park, Maryland (USA)
Research Article|
June 24 2004
Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Giant Planets
Jonathan J. Fortney;
Jonathan J. Fortney
*Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences, The University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721
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William B. Hubbard
William B. Hubbard
*Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences, The University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721
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Jonathan J. Fortney
st
William B. Hubbard
st
*Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Department of Planetary Sciences, The University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721
AIP Conf. Proc. 713, 197–200 (2004)
Citation
Jonathan J. Fortney, William B. Hubbard; Effects of Helium Phase Separation on the Evolution of Giant Planets. AIP Conf. Proc. 24 June 2004; 713 (1): 197–200. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1774525
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