On the importance of including devolatilized stellar abundances in determining the composition of rocky exoplanets

<p>Since stars and their planets form from the same molecular clouds, stellar chemical composition can be informative, to first order, of planetary bulk chemistry. An important feature of terrestrial planets compared to their host stars is the depletion of volatiles, the most important being oxygen. Previous studies on planet interiors focus on the mass and radius constraints and/or the host stellar refractory elements (e.g. Fe, Si and Mg), neglecting devolatilisation and its impact on the final picture of planet mineralogy and structure. This work assesses to what extent the devolatilised stellar abundances reflect rocky planetary composition.  </p><p>We firstly test how the uncertainties associated with planetary mass and radius would affect the modelling results of core mass fraction – an important interior parameter. To do so, we choose the Sun-like star Kepler-21 (stellar abundance uncertainties <0.05 dex) as a case study and assume it hosts an Earth-mass-and-radius planet in its habitable zone. We then assign different levels of uncertainties to the mass and radius of the hypothetical planet, ranging from 0.1% to 20%. We find that with increasing uncertainty level, the modelling result of core mass fraction constrained by the devolatilised stellar abundances and mass and radius becomes identical with the core mass fraction constrained purely by the devolatilised stellar abundances. This reveals the increased modelling degeneracy with growing uncertainties in mass and radius measurements, but also the strong constraints placed by using the devolatilised stellar abundances.</p><p>We further investigate a sample of 12 confirmed exoplanets, which are all less than 10 Earth masses and 2 Earth radii – i.e. potentially terrestrial planets or super-Earths – and with the measured uncertainties in mass and radius respectively less than 35% and 10%. By comparing the prior and posterior distributions of mass and radius before and after introducing the devolatilised stellar abundances as another prior, we find that the posterior distributions of all samples, but 55 Cnc e and Kepler-107 c, can be sampled within the 2σ ranges of the prior distributions. For the two exceptional cases, it means that the devolatilised stellar abundances and the measured mass and radius are not compatible within the level of 2σ.</p><p>We also find a diverse distribution of the core mass fractions of the sample from 0% (i.e. coreless) up to 40%, which are consistent at the 2σ level with the core mass fractions purely constrained by mass and radius measurements (except Kepler-107 c and 55 Cnc e),  but are significantly constrained by adding the devolatilized stellar abundances. In contrast, the previous study for the similar sample shows nearly constant core mass fractions of ~ 30% based on the unaltered stellar abundances and by assuming 100% Fe sunk into the core (i.e. free of consideration of the oxidation state of the planets). We emphasise that to break the degeneracies of terrestrial-type exoplanet interior modelling, we must use well the currently available observables including planetary mass and radius and host stellar chemical compositions, but they must be viewed through the lens of planet formation  and the resulting devolatilization.</p>

Predicted bulk compositions and geodynamical properties of terrestrial exoplanets in the Solar neighbourhood

<p>Our knowledge of the physical, chemical, and mechanical (i.e., rheological) properties of terrestrial planets is based almost entirely on our Solar System. Terrestrial exoplanets, however, show a startling diversity compared to our local experience. This observation challenges our understanding of terrestrial planet formation and of the thermal and mechanical behaviour of such worlds, some of which are vastly different from our own. To better understand the range and consequences of exoplanetary diversity, we integrate results from astrophysical models and observations, geodynamical simulations, and petrological experiments. Terrestrial exoplanet modelling requires plausible constraints to be placed on bulk planet compositions; bulk composition modulates interior properties, including core size, mantle mineralogy, and mantle melting behaviour. This may in turn affect the interaction between the planet’s interior and atmosphere, and thereby impact its potential to host a biosphere. Bulk composition may leave a signature on the mass and composition of the atmosphere, which could be detected in the future.</p><p>Here, we constrain exoplanetary diversity in terms of bulk planet composition, based on observations of stellar abundances in the Solar neighbourhood. We apply the devolatilization/fractionation trend between a planet and its host star [Wang+, 2019], to stellar abundances from the Hypatia catalogue [Hinkel+, 2014]. After applying a simplified model of rock-metal differentiation, we predict bulk planet and bulk silicate compositions of hypothetical exoplanets in the habitable zones of nearby stars. We further select 20 end-member compositions that span the full range of hypothetical bulk compositions based on our analysis.</p><p>With the compositions of these 20 end-members and by assuming Earth-like planetary masses and radii, we infer mineralogy and density profiles, as well as physical properties (e.g., viscosity) of the mantle using thermodynamic model Perple_X [Connolly, 2005]. These profiles and physical properties are prescribed in geodynamical models of exoplanet mantle evolution. We use convection code StagYY [Tackley, 2008] to model mantle convection and surface tectonic behaviour in a 2D spherical annulus geometry. We find that mantle viscosity increases with decreasing Mg:Si ratio of mantle rocks, with strong effects on planetary cooling and the likelihood of plate tectonics. In turn, the propensity of plate tectonics regulates the heat and chemical exchange between mantle and crust, affecting surface conditions and, by extension, atmospheric composition. This establishes a link between interior composition and surface conditions, and shows the importance of studying this aspect of planetary diversity. We recommend our 20 suggested end-members of terrestrial exoplanet compositions for subsequent modelling work.</p>

Influence of sub- and super-solar metallicities on the composition of solid planetary building blocks

The composition of the protoplanetary disc is thought to be linked to the composition of the host star, where a higher overall metallicity provides the building blocks for planets. However, most of the planet formation simulations only link the stellar iron abundance [Fe/H] to planet formation and the iron abundance in itself is used as a proxy to scale all elements. On the other hand, large surveys of stellar abundances show that this is not true. Here we use stellar abundances from the GALAH surveys to determine the average detailed abundances of Fe, Si, Mg, O, and C for a broad range of host star metallicities with [Fe/H] spanning from −0.4 to +0.4. Using an equilibrium chemical model that features the most important rock-forming compounds as well as volatile contributions of H2O, CO2, CH4, and CO, we calculate the chemical composition of solid planetary building blocks around stars with different metallicities. Solid building blocks that are formed entirely interior to the water ice line (T > 150 K) only show an increase in Mg2SiO4 and a decrease in MgSiO3 for increasing host star metallicity, which is related to the increase of [Mg/Si] for higher [Fe/H]. Solid planetary building blocks forming exterior to the water ice line (T < 150 K), on the other hand, show dramatic changes in their composition. In particular, the water ice content decreases from around ~50% at [Fe/H] = −0.4 to ~6% at [Fe/H] = 0.4 in our chemical model. This is mainly caused by the increasing C/O ratio with increasing [Fe/H], which binds most of the oxygen in gaseous CO and CO2, resulting in a small water ice fraction. Planet formation simulations coupled with the chemical model confirm these results by showing that the water ice content of super-Earths decreases with increasing host star metallicity due to the increased C/O ratio. This decrease of the water ice fraction has important consequences for planet formation, planetary composition, and the eventual habitability of planetary systems formed around these high-metallicity stars.

Accuracy and Precision of Industrial Stellar Abundances

There has been an incredibly large investment in obtaining high-resolution stellar spectra for determining chemical abundances of stars. This information is crucial to answer fundamental questions in astronomy by constraining the formation and evolution scenarios of the Milky Way as well as the stars and planets residing in it. We have just entered a new era, in which chemical abundances of FGK-type stars are being produced at industrial scales, and in which the observations, reduction, and analysis of the data are automatically performed by machines. Here, we review the latest human efforts to assess the accuracy and precision of such industrial abundances by providing insights into the steps and uncertainties associated with the process of determining stellar abundances. We also provide a description of current and forthcoming spectroscopic surveys, focusing on their reported abundances and uncertainties. This allows us to identify which elements and spectral lines are best and why. Finally, we make a brief selection of main scientific questions the community is aiming to answer with abundances. ▪ Uncertainties in abundances need to be disentangled into random and systematic components. ▪ Precision can be increased by applying differential or data-driven methods based on accurate data. ▪ High-resolution and signal-to-noise spectra provide fundamental data that can be used to calibrate lower-resolution and signal-to-noise spectra of millions of stars. ▪ Different survey calibration strategies must agree on a common set of reference stars to create data products that are consistent. ▪ Data products provided by individual groups must be published using standard formats to ensure straightforward applicability.