Evidence for a Dichotomy in the Interior Structures of Jupiter and Saturn from Helium Phase Separation

TL;DR

This study investigates the internal structures of Jupiter and Saturn, revealing a dichotomy driven by helium phase separation, which explains their different thermal evolutions and atmospheric compositions.

Contribution

The paper presents a unified model of helium differentiation in Jupiter and Saturn, highlighting a stark contrast in their interior helium distributions and evolutionary paths.

Findings

Jupiter's interior helium has differentiated modestly, consistent with atmospheric depletion.

Saturn likely has a helium-rich shell or core due to extensive helium differentiation.

Helium and neon differentiation significantly influence the planets' luminosity and thermal evolution.

Abstract

We examine the comparative thermal evolution of Jupiter and Saturn applying recent theoretical results for helium's immiscibility in fluid metallic hydrogen. The redistribution of helium in their interiors proceeds very differently for the two planets. We confirm that based on Jupiter's atmospheric helium depletion as observed in situ by the Galileo entry probe, Jupiter's interior helium has differentiated modestly, and we present models reconciling Jupiter's helium depletion, radius, and heat flow at the solar age. Jupiter's recently revised Bond albedo implies a lower intrinsic flux for the planet, accommodating more luminosity from helium differentiation such that mildly superadiabatic interiors can satisfy all constraints. The same phase diagram applied to the less massive Saturn predicts dramatic helium differentiation to the degree that Saturn inevitably forms a helium-rich shell or core, an outcome previously proposed by Stevenson & Salpeter and others. The luminosity from Saturn's helium differentiation is sufficient to extend its cooling time to the solar age, even for adiabatic interiors. This model predicts Saturn's atmospheric helium to be depleted to Y=0.07+/-0.01, corresponding to a He/H_2 mixing ratio 0.036+/-0.006. We also show that neon differentiation may have contributed to both planets' luminosity in the past. These results demonstrate that Jupiter and Saturn's thermal evolution can be explained self-consistently with a single physical model, and emphasize that nontrivial helium distributions should be considered in future models for Saturn's internal structure and dynamo.