New models of Jupiter in the context of Juno and Galileo

Observations of Jupiter's gravity field by Juno have revealed surprisingly small values for the high order gravitational moments, considering the abundances of heavy elements measured by Galileo 20 years ago. The derivation of recent equations of state for hydrogen and helium, much denser in the Mbar region, worsen the conflict between these two observations. In order to circumvent this puzzle, current Jupiter model studies either ignore the constraint from Galileo or invoke an ad hoc modification of the equations of state. In this paper, we derive Jupiter models which satisfy both Juno and Galileo constraints. We confirm that Jupiter's structure must encompass at least four different regions: an outer convective envelope, a region of compositional, thus entropy change, an inner convective envelope and an extended diluted core enriched in heavy elements, and potentially a central compact core. We show that, in order to reproduce Juno and Galileo observations, one needs a significant entropy increase between the outer and inner envelopes and a smaller density than for an isentropic profile, associated with some external differential rotation. The best way to fulfill this latter condition is an inward decreasing abundance of heavy elements in this region. We examine in details the three physical mechanisms able to yield such a change of entropy and composition: a first order molecular-metallic hydrogen transition, immiscibility between hydrogen and helium or a region of layered convection. Given our present knowledge of hydrogen pressure ionization, combination of the two latter mechanisms seems to be the most favoured solution

Dust Traps in the Protoplanetary Disk MWC 758: Two Vortices Produced by Two Giant Planets?

Resolved ALMA and VLA observations indicate the existence of two dust traps in the protoplanetary disc MWC 758. By means of two-dimensional gas+dust hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with three-dimensional dust radiative transfer calculations, we show that the spirals in scattered light, the eccentric, asymmetric ring and the crescent-shaped structure in the (sub)millimetre can all be caused by two giant planets: a 1.5-Jupiter mass planet at 35 au (inside the spirals) and a 5-Jupiter mass planet at 140 au (outside the spirals). The outer planet forms a dust-trapping vortex at the inner edge of its gap (at ∼85 au), and the continuum emission of this dust trap reproduces the ALMA and VLA observations well. The outer planet triggers several spiral arms that are similar to those observed in polarized scattered light. The inner planet also forms a vortex at the outer edge of its gap (at ∼50 au), but it decays faster than the vortex induced by the outer planet, as a result of the disc’s turbulent viscosity. The vortex decay can explain the eccentric inner ring seen with ALMA as well as the low signal and larger azimuthal spread of this dust trap in VLA observations. Finding the thermal and kinematic signatures of both giant planets could verify the proposed scenario

Dust traps in the protoplanetary disc MWC 758: two vortices produced by two giant planets?

Resolved ALMA and VLA observations indicate the existence of two dust traps in the protoplanetary disc MWC 758. By means of 2D gas+dust hydrodynamical simulations post-processed with 3D dust radiative transfer calculations, we show that the spirals in scattered light, the eccentric, asymmetric ring and the crescent-shaped structure in the (sub)millimetre can all be caused by two giant planets: a 1.5-Jupiter mass planet at 35 au (inside the spirals) and a 5-Jupiter mass planet at 140 au (outside the spirals). The outer planet forms a dust-trapping vortex at the inner edge of its gap (at ~85 au), and the continuum emission of this dust trap reproduces the ALMA and VLA observations well. The outer planet triggers several spiral arms which are similar to those observed in polarised scattered light. The inner planet also forms a vortex at the outer edge of its gap (at ~50 au), but it decays faster than the vortex induced by the outer planet, as a result of the disc's turbulent viscosity. The vortex decay can explain the eccentric inner ring seen with ALMA as well as the low signal and larger azimuthal spread of this dust trap in VLA observations. Finding the thermal and kinematic signatures of both giant planets could verify the proposed scenario.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

CO or no CO? Narrowing the CO abundance constraint and recovering the H2O detection in the atmosphere of WASP-127 b using SPIRou

Precise measurements of chemical abundances in planetary atmospheres are necessary to constrain the formation histories of exoplanets. A recent study of WASP-127b, a close-in puffy sub-Saturn orbiting its solar-type host star in 4.2 d, using HST and Spitzer revealed a feature-rich transmission spectrum with strong excess absorption at 4.5 um. However, the limited spectral resolution and coverage of these instruments could not distinguish between CO and/or CO2 absorption causing this signal, with both low and high C/O ratio scenarios being possible. Here we present near-infrared (0.9--2.5 um) transit observations of WASP-127 b using the high-resolution SPIRou spectrograph, with the goal to disentangle CO from CO2 through the 2.3 um CO band. With SPIRou, we detect H2O at a t-test significance of 5.3 sigma and observe a tentative (3 sigma) signal consistent with OH absorption. From a joint SPIRou + HST + Spitzer retrieval analysis, we rule out a CO-rich scenario by placing an upper limit on the CO abundance of log10[CO]<-4.0, and estimate a log10[CO2] of -3.7^(+0.8)_(-0.6), which is the level needed to match the excess absorption seen at 4.5um. We also set abundance constraints on other major C-, O-, and N-bearing molecules, with our results favoring low C/O (0.10^(+0.10)_(-0.06)), disequilibrium chemistry scenarios. We further discuss the implications of our results in the context of planet formation. Additional observations at high and low-resolution will be needed to confirm these results and better our understanding of this unusual world.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, Submitted for publication in the Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Structure interne et dynamique atmosphérique des planètes géantes gazeuses

Through this thesis, I have been motivated by the will to improve our knowledge of giant planets, from our neigh- bouring Jupiter to the far away worlds across the galaxy: hot Jupiters.With the latest, extremely precise observations of the satellite Juno, new models of the interior of Jupiter can be derived. A precise enough method is required to take full advantage of these outstanding data, and I therefore studied the concentric Maclaurin spheroid method and its limitations.With contemporary understanding on the equations of state, diffusive properties and phase transition/separation of hydrogen and helium, I could then focus on producing new interior models of Jupiter. Combining the gravitational observations of Juno with the elemental observations of Galileo has proven to be a complicated task, which required to decompose the planet into at least four regions from the outer envelope to the inner, compact core. I have shown that the size of the compact core is degenerated with the entropy variation within the planet.Concerning hot Jupiters, I have reminded of the need to understand their atmospheric dynamics to constrain their interior structure, as the wind circulation can lead to an inflation of their radius. Studying numerically their at- mospheric dynamics was performed with the University of Exeter’s global circulation model as well as with the development of a linear solver that I called ECLIPS3D. An important, robust feature is the presence of a broad equatorial superrotation in the atmosphere of these planets.Finally, I have explored the spin up of this superrotation on theoretical grounds, to assess its physical relevance. I have calculated the linear time dependent solution to show the importance of differential drag and radiative damp- ing, and have used numerical simulations to highlight the importance of vertical momentum acceleration. Globally, a coherent picture of the initial spin up of superrotation was obtained.Through this work, I have improved my theoretical understanding of giant planets and developed various codes that can be used to study and improve our knowledge of the interior structure and atmospheric dynamics of giant planets, from Jupiter and Saturn to hot Jupiters.Lors de cette thèse, je me suis attaché à améliorer notre connaissance des planètes géantes, depuis notre voisine Jupiter jusqu’aux exoplanètes lointaines : les Jupiter chauds. Grâce aux nouvelles observations gravitationnelles extrêmement fines du satellite Juno, entré en orbite autour de Jupiter en juillet 2016, il est possible d’améliorer significativement les modèles de structure interne de la planète. Cependant, cela ne peut se faire qu’à condition d’avoir une méthode suffisamment précise pour exploiter au maximum les données. J’ai donc étudié la méthode des sphéroides de Maclaurin concentriques et ses limitations. A l’aide des connaissances contemporaines sur les équations d’état, les propriétés diffusives et les transition ou séparation de phase entre l’Hydrogène et l’Hélium, il m’a alors été possible de produire de nouveaux modèles de Jupiter. Arriver à combiner les observations gravitationnelles de Juno et les abondances d’éléments observées par Galiléo n’a pu se faire qu’en décomposant Jupiter en au moins 4 zones, de l’enveloppe externe jusqu’au coeur compact. J’ai montré que la taille de ce coeur compact était dégénérée avec la variation d’entropie à l’intérieur de la planète.La structure interne des Jupiter chauds quant à elle est très dépendante de leur dynamique atmosphérique, qui entraîne une inflation de leur rayon. J’ai étudié les atmosphères de ces planètes à l’aide du modèle de circulation globale de l’Université d’Exeter et d’un code linéaire que j’ai développé, appelé ECLIPS3D. La caractéristique la plus importante de la circulation atmosphérique est la présence d’un jet superrotatif, étendu en latitude.J’ai donc étudié la création de ce jet à l’aide d’arguments théoriques pour s’assurer de sa pertinence physique. L’étude de la solution linéaire dépendante du temps, associée à des arguments numériques sur la convergence de quantité de mouvement par les vents verticaux m’ont permis d’établir une compréhension globale, cohérente de l’accélération de la superrotation dans l’atmosphère de ces planètes.Avec ce travail, j’ai amélioré ma compréhension théorique des planètes géantes et développé des codes qui peuvent être utilisés pour améliorer nos connaissances sur la structure interne et la dynamique atmosphérique des planètes géantes, que ce soit Jupiter, Saturne ou les Jupiter chauds

A New Equation of State for Dense Hydrogen-Helium Mixtures. II. Taking into Account Hydrogen-Helium Interactions

International audienceIn a recent paper, we derived a new equation of state (EOS) for dense hydrogen/helium mixtures that covers the temperature-density domain from solar-type stars to brown dwarfs and gaseous planets. This EOS is based on the so-called additive volume law and thus does not take into account the interactions between the hydrogen and helium species. In the present paper, we go beyond these calculations by taking into account H/He interactions, derived from quantum molecular dynamics simulations. These interactions, which eventually lead to H/He phase separation, become important at low temperature and high density, in the domain of brown dwarfs and giant planets. The tables of this new EOS are made publicly available

Revisiting migration in a disc cavity to explain the high eccentricities of warm Jupiters

International audienceABSTRACT The distribution of eccentricities of warm giant exoplanets is commonly explained through planet–planet interactions, although no physically sound argument favours the ubiquity of such interactions. No simple, generic explanation has been put forward to explain the high mean eccentricity of these planets. In this paper, we revisit a simple, plausible explanation to account for the eccentricities of warm Jupiters: migration inside a cavity in the protoplanetary disc. Such a scenario allows to excite the outer eccentric resonances, a working mechanism for higher mass planets, leading to a growth in the eccentricity while preventing other, closer resonances to damp eccentricity. We test this idea with diverse numerical simulations, which show that the eccentricity of a Jupiter-mass planet around a Sun-like star can increase up to ∼0.4, a value never reached before with solely planet–disc interactions. This high eccentricity is comparable to, if not larger than, the median eccentricity of warm Saturn- to Jupiter-mass exoplanets. We also discuss the effects such a mechanism would have on exoplanet observations. This scenario could have strong consequences on the disc lifetime and the physics of inner disc dispersal, which could be constrained by the eccentricity distribution of gas giants

Superadiabaticity in Jupiter and Giant Planet Interiors

International audienceInterior models of giant planets traditionally assume that at a given radius (i.e., pressure) the density should be larger than or equal to the one corresponding to a homogeneous, adiabatic stratification throughout the planet (referred to as the "outer adiabat"). The observations of Jupiter's gravity field by Juno combined with the constraints on its atmospheric composition appear to be incompatible with such a profile. In this Letter, we show that the above assumption stems from an incorrect understanding of the Schwarzschild-Ledoux criterion, which is only valid on a local scale. In order to fulfill the buoyancy stability condition, the density gradient with pressure in a nonadiabatic region must indeed rise more steeply than the local adiabatic density gradient. However, the density gradient can be smaller than the one corresponding to the outer adiabat at the same pressure because of the higher temperature in an inhomogeneously stratified medium. Deep enough, the density can therefore be lower than the one corresponding to the outer adiabat. We show that this is permitted only if the slope of the local adiabat becomes shallower than the slope of the outer adiabat at the same pressure, as found in recent Jupiter models due to the increase of both specific entropy and adiabatic index with depth. We examine the dynamical stability of this structure and show that it is stable against nonadiabatic perturbations. The possibility of such an unconventional density profile in Jupiter further complicates our understanding of the internal structure and evolution of (extrasolar) giant planets

Tidal dissipation modelling in gas giant planets

Gas giant planets are turbulent rotating magnetic objects that have strong and complex interactions with their environment. In such systems, the dissipation of tidal waves excited by tidal forces shape the orbital architecture and the rotational dynamics of the planets. During the last decade, a revolution has occurred for our understanding of tides in these systems and for our knowledge of the interiors of giant planets thanks to the space mission JUNO and the grand finale of the CASSINI mission. Our objective is thus to predict tidal dissipation using internal structure models, which agree with these latest observational constrains. To accomplish that, we build a new ab-initio model of tidal dissipation in giant planets that coherently takes into account the interactions of tidal waves with their complex structure. This model is a semi-global model in the planetary equatorial plane. We study the linear excitation of tidal (magneto-)gravito-inertial progressive waves and standing modes. We present here the general formalism and the potential regimes of parameters that should be explored. This will pave the way for full 3D numerical simulations that will take into account complex internal structure and dynamics of gas giant (exo-)planets