The fate of planetary cores in giant and ice-giant planets

TL;DR

This study uses advanced simulations and planetary models to explore the composition, phase states, and evolution of planetary cores in giant and ice-giant planets, revealing non-primordial, evolving cores with implications for planetary structure.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the phase states and growth history of planetary cores using ab initio simulations and three-layer models, highlighting their non-primordial nature.

Findings

Jupiter's core is approximately 3 Gyr old.

Saturn's core is approximately 1.5 Gyr old.

Cores of Uranus and Neptune are only partially melted.

Abstract

We used {\sl \textup{ab initio}} molecular dynamics simulations to calculate the high-pressure melting temperatures of the three potential core components. The planetary adiabats were obtained by solving the hydrostatic equations in a three-layer model adjusted to reproduce the measured gravitational moments. Recently developed {\sl \textup{ab initio}} equations of state were used for the envelope and the core. We find that the cores of the giant and ice-giant planets of the solar system differ because the pressure-temperature conditions encountered in each object correspond to different regions of the phase diagrams. For Jupiter and Saturn, the results are compatible with a diffuse core and mixing of a significant fraction of metallic elements in the envelope, leading to a convective and/or a double-diffusion regime. We also find that their solid cores vary in nature and size throughout the lifetimes of these planets. The solid cores of the two giant planets are not primordial and nucleate and grow as the planets cool. We estimate that the solid core of Jupiter is 3 Gyr old and that of Saturn is 1.5 Gyr old. The situation is less extreme for Uranus and Neptune, whose cores are only partially melted. To model Jupiter, the time evolution of the interior structure of the giant planets and exoplanets in general, their luminosity, and the evolution of the tidal effects over their lifetimes, the core should be considered as crystallizing and growing rather than gradually mixing into the envelope due to the solubility of its components.