A diffuse core in Saturn revealed by ring seismology
Christopher Mankovich,Jim Fuller +1 more
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In this paper, the authors compare structural models with gravity and seismic measurements from Cassini to show that the data can only be explained by a diffuse, stably stratified core-envelope transition region in Saturn extending to approximately 60% of the planet's radius and containing approximately 17 Earth masses of ice and rock.Abstract:
The best constraints on the internal structures of giant planets have historically originated from measurements of their gravity fields1–3. These data are inherently mostly sensitive to a planet’s outer regions, stymieing efforts to measure the mass and compactness of the cores of Jupiter2,4,5 and Saturn6,7. However, studies of Saturn’s rings have detected waves driven by pulsation modes within the planet8–11, offering independent seismic probes of Saturn’s interior12–14. The observations reveal gravity-mode pulsations, which indicate that part of Saturn’s deep interior is stable against convection13. Here, we compare structural models with gravity and seismic measurements from Cassini to show that the data can only be explained by a diffuse, stably stratified core–envelope transition region in Saturn extending to approximately 60% of the planet’s radius and containing approximately 17 Earth masses of ice and rock. This gradual distribution of heavy elements constrains mixing processes at work in Saturn, and it may reflect the planet’s primordial structure and accretion history. Like a seismograph, Saturn’s rings are sensitive to oscillations coming from the planet’s interior. State-of-the-art modelling shows that Cassini’s measurements of ring waves point to a convectively stable diffuse core within Saturn, which extends for 60% of its radius and contains 17 Earth masses of ice and rock.read more
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Revelations on Jupiter's formation, evolution and interior: Challenges from Juno results
Ravit Helled,D. J. Stevenson,Jonathan I. Lunine,Scott Bolton,Nadine Nettelmann,Sushil K. Atreya,Tristan Guillot,Burkhard Militzer,Yamila Miguel,William B. Hubbard +9 more
TL;DR: In this article , the authors discuss potential formation and evolution paths that can lead to an internal structure model consistent with Juno data, and the constraints they provide, including the heavy-element enrichment during planetary growth.
Journal ArticleDOI
TOI-3714 b and TOI-3629 b: Two Gas Giants Transiting M Dwarfs Confirmed with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder and NEID
Caleb I. Cañas,Shubham Kanodia,Chad F. Bender,Suvrath Mahadevan,Gudmundur Stefansson,William D. Cochran,Andrea S. J. Lin,Luke Powers,Andrew J. Monson,Elizabeth M. Green,B. Parker,T. Swaby,Henry A. Kobulnicky,John P. Wisniewski,Arvind Gupta,A. Everett,Sinclaire Jones,Benjamin Anjakos,Corey Beard,Cullen H. Blake,Scott A. Diddams,Zehao Dong,Connor Fredrick,Elnaz Hakemiamjad,Leslie Hebb,Jessica E. Libby-Roberts,Sarah E. Logsdon,Michael W. McElwain,Andrew J. Metcalf,Joe Philip Ninan,J. Rajagopal,Lawrence W. Ramsey,Paul Robertson,Ankhi Roy,J.U. Ruhle,Christian Schwab,Ryan Terrien,Jason T. Wright +37 more
TL;DR: In this paper , the planetary nature of two gas giants discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite to transit M dwarfs was confirmed using a combination of ground-based and space-based photometry, speckle imaging, and high-precision velocimetry from the Habitable-zone Planet Finder and the NEID spectrographs.
Journal ArticleDOI
Constraining Saturn's Interior with Ring Seismology: Effects of Differential Rotation and Stable Stratification
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of rapid and differential rotation on Saturn's oscillations were investigated, calculating normal modes for independently constrained interior models, using a nonperturbative treatment of rotation that captures the full effects of the Coriolis and centrifugal forces, and consequently mixing of sectoral f modes with g modes characterized by very different spherical harmonic degrees.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dynamical Tidal Love Numbers of Rapidly Rotating Planets and Stars
TL;DR: In this article , the authors developed a method for computing the dynamical, non-dissipative tidal response of rotating planets and stars, based on summation over contributions from normal modes driven by the tidal potential.
Journal ArticleDOI
Kronoseismology V: A panoply of waves in Saturn’s C ring driven by high-order internal planetary oscillations
Richard G. French,Bill Bridges,Matthew M. Hedman,Philip D. Nicholson,Christopher R. Mankovich,Colleen A. McGhee-French +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used wavelet techniques to extract and co-add phase-corrected waveforms from multiple Cassini VIMS stellar occultations of the C ring of Saturn.
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