Interior dynamics of envelopes around disk-embedded planets

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Kuwahara, Ayumu, Lambrechts, Michiel
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Kuwahara, Ayumu
Lambrechts, Michiel
author_facet Kuwahara, Ayumu
Lambrechts, Michiel
contents In the core accretion scenario, forming planets start to acquire gaseous envelopes while accreting solids. Conventional one-dimensional models assume envelopes to be static and isolated. However, recent three-dimensional simulations demonstrate dynamic gas exchange from the envelope to the surrounding disk. This process is controlled by the balance between heating, through the accretion of solids, and cooling, which is regulated by poorly-known opacities. In this work, we systemically investigate a wide range of cooling and heating rates, using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We identify three distinct cooling regimes. Fast-cooling envelopes ($β\lesssim 1$, with $β$ the cooling time in units of orbital time) are nearly isothermal and have inner radiative layers that are shielded from recycling flows. In contrast, slow cooling envelopes ($β\gtrsim10^3$) become fully convective. In the intermediate regime ($1\lesssimβ\lesssim300$), envelopes are characterized by a three-layer structure, comprising an inner convective, a middle radiative, and an outer recycling layer. The development of this radiative layer traps small dust and vapour released from sublimated species. In contrast, fully convective envelopes efficiently exchange material from inner to outer envelope. Such fully convective envelopes are likely to emerge in the inner parts of protoplanetary disks ($\lesssim$ 1 au) where cooling times are long, implying that inner-disk super-Earths may see their growth stalled and be volatile depleted.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_12074
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interior dynamics of envelopes around disk-embedded planets
Kuwahara, Ayumu
Lambrechts, Michiel
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
In the core accretion scenario, forming planets start to acquire gaseous envelopes while accreting solids. Conventional one-dimensional models assume envelopes to be static and isolated. However, recent three-dimensional simulations demonstrate dynamic gas exchange from the envelope to the surrounding disk. This process is controlled by the balance between heating, through the accretion of solids, and cooling, which is regulated by poorly-known opacities. In this work, we systemically investigate a wide range of cooling and heating rates, using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. We identify three distinct cooling regimes. Fast-cooling envelopes ($β\lesssim 1$, with $β$ the cooling time in units of orbital time) are nearly isothermal and have inner radiative layers that are shielded from recycling flows. In contrast, slow cooling envelopes ($β\gtrsim10^3$) become fully convective. In the intermediate regime ($1\lesssimβ\lesssim300$), envelopes are characterized by a three-layer structure, comprising an inner convective, a middle radiative, and an outer recycling layer. The development of this radiative layer traps small dust and vapour released from sublimated species. In contrast, fully convective envelopes efficiently exchange material from inner to outer envelope. Such fully convective envelopes are likely to emerge in the inner parts of protoplanetary disks ($\lesssim$ 1 au) where cooling times are long, implying that inner-disk super-Earths may see their growth stalled and be volatile depleted.
title Interior dynamics of envelopes around disk-embedded planets
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.12074