C/O and Mg/Si Ratios of Stars in the Solar Neighborhood

TL;DR

This study analyzes the C/O and Mg/Si ratios of 849 nearby stars, revealing that most have compositions similar to Earth's, with a small fraction being carbon-rich, which influences potential planetary compositions.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive distribution of C/O and Mg/Si ratios for stars in the solar neighborhood, including known planet hosts, highlighting their implications for planet composition diversity.

Findings

Less than 0.13% of stars are carbon-rich.

Majority of stars have Mg/Si ratios near 1.0.

Approximately 40% of systems could host planets with compositions different from Earth's.

Abstract

The carbon to oxygen ratio in a protoplanetary disk can have a dramatic influence on the compositions of any terrestrial planets formed. In regions of high C/O, planets form primarily from carbonates and in regions of low C/O, the ratio of magnesium to silicon determines the types of silicates which dominate the compositions. We present C/O and Mg/Si ratios for 849 F, G, and K dwarfs in the solar neighborhood. We find that the frequency of carbon-rich dwarfs in the solar neighborhood is < 0.13% and that 156 known planet hosts in the sample follow a similar distribution as all of the stars as a whole. The cosmic distribution of Mg/Si for these same stars is broader than the C/O distribution and peaks near 1.0 with $\sim 60$% of systems having $1 \leq$ Mg/Si $< 2$, leading to rocky planet compositions similar to the Earth. This leaves 40% of systems that can have planets that are silicate rich and may have very different compositions than our own.