Next-Generation Improvements in Giant Exoplanet Evolutionary and Structural Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Sur, Ankan, Arevalo, Roberto Tejada, Burrows, Adam, Chen, Yi-Xian
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Sur, Ankan
Arevalo, Roberto Tejada
Burrows, Adam
Chen, Yi-Xian
author_facet Sur, Ankan
Arevalo, Roberto Tejada
Burrows, Adam
Chen, Yi-Xian
contents Many evolutionary models of giant exoplanets still rely on simplifying assumptions that are no longer adequate given detailed constraints from Jupiter, Saturn, and modern exoplanet observations. Here, we identify the key physical improvements required for next-generation planetary evolution models using our code, \texttt{APPLE}, which enables systematic emulation and extension of legacy studies. We quantify the effects of updated equations of state, helium rain, fuzzy cores, non-adiabatic and compositionally inhomogeneous envelopes, and improved atmospheric boundary conditions by first isolating the impact of each physical ingredient and then constructing combined baseline models for planets with masses between 0.3 and 4~$M_{\rm Jup}$ to assess their collective influence on planetary structure and observable properties. We find that the adoption of modern equations of state and realistic heavy-element distributions leads to systematic, but sometimes subtle, differences ($\sim 5$ to 10\%) in radius evolution, while helium rain and the treatment of convection can significantly alter thermal histories and atmospheric compositions (by $\sim$ 5 to 20\%). These updated physical processes must be incorporated into the next-generation exoplanet evolutionary models to achieve physically consistent interpretations of planetary observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_08681
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Next-Generation Improvements in Giant Exoplanet Evolutionary and Structural Models
Sur, Ankan
Arevalo, Roberto Tejada
Burrows, Adam
Chen, Yi-Xian
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Many evolutionary models of giant exoplanets still rely on simplifying assumptions that are no longer adequate given detailed constraints from Jupiter, Saturn, and modern exoplanet observations. Here, we identify the key physical improvements required for next-generation planetary evolution models using our code, \texttt{APPLE}, which enables systematic emulation and extension of legacy studies. We quantify the effects of updated equations of state, helium rain, fuzzy cores, non-adiabatic and compositionally inhomogeneous envelopes, and improved atmospheric boundary conditions by first isolating the impact of each physical ingredient and then constructing combined baseline models for planets with masses between 0.3 and 4~$M_{\rm Jup}$ to assess their collective influence on planetary structure and observable properties. We find that the adoption of modern equations of state and realistic heavy-element distributions leads to systematic, but sometimes subtle, differences ($\sim 5$ to 10\%) in radius evolution, while helium rain and the treatment of convection can significantly alter thermal histories and atmospheric compositions (by $\sim$ 5 to 20\%). These updated physical processes must be incorporated into the next-generation exoplanet evolutionary models to achieve physically consistent interpretations of planetary observations.
title Next-Generation Improvements in Giant Exoplanet Evolutionary and Structural Models
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.08681