Metallic liquid H3O in a thin-shell zone inside Uranus and Neptune

TL;DR

This paper discovers metallic liquid H3O in the interior of Uranus and Neptune, providing a physical basis for the thin-shell dynamo model that explains their unusual magnetic fields.

Contribution

It identifies metallic liquid H3O at extreme conditions inside these planets, supporting the thin-shell dynamo hypothesis with quantum mechanical calculations.

Findings

Metallic liquid H3O exists at planetary interior conditions.

Located in a thin-shell zone near planetary cores.

Supports the thin-shell dynamo model for magnetic fields.

Abstract

The Solar System harbors deep unresolved mysteries despite centuries-long study. A highly intriguing case concerns anomalous non-dipolar and non-axisymmetric magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune that have long eluded explanation by the prevailing theory. A thin-shell dynamo conjecture captures observed phenomena but leaves unexplained fundamental material basis and underlying mechanism. Here, we report the discovery of trihydrogen oxide (H3O) in metallic liquid state stabilized at extreme pressure and temperature conditions inside these icy planets. Calculated stability pressure field compared to known pressure-radius relation for Uranus and Neptune places metallic liquid H3O in a thin-shell zone near planetary cores. These findings from accurate quantum mechanical calculations rationalize the empirically conjectured thin-shell dynamo model and establish key physical benchmarks that are essential to elucidating the enigmatic magnetic-field anomaly of Uranus and Neptune, resolving a major mystery in planetary science.