Thermodynamics, Disequilibrium and Evolution focus group
12-16 Oct 2015 Nice (France)
A Collisional Origin for the Coexistence of Volatile-Poor Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes in the Proximity of Stars
Yasunori Hori  1, 2, *@  , Shang-Fei Liu  3@  , D.n.c. Lin  4@  , Erik Asphaug  5@  
1 : National Astronomical Observatory of Japan  (NAOJ)  -  Website
2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo -  Japan
2 : Astrobiology Center, National Institutes of Natural Sciences  (ABC, NINS)  -  Website
2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo -  Japan
3 : University of California, Santa Cruz  (UCSC)  -  Website
1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA -  United States
4 : University of California Santa Cruz  (UCSC)  -  Website
1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, Ca 95064 -  United States
5 : Arizona State University
* : Corresponding author

The Kepler mission has revealed the prevalence of volatile-poor super-Earths and mini-Neptune in the proximity of host stars. Several post-formation processes have hitherto been proposed for explaining the origin of volatile inventory of those planets: a mass loss via a stellar XUV irradiation and Parker wind, degassing of accreted material, and in-situ accumulation of the disk gas. However, the compositional diversity between neighboring planets on adjacent orbits such as Kepler-36 and Kepler-11 systems is puzzling for the three processes. We consider the possibility of a collisional origin for the coexistence of volatile-poor super-Earths and mini-Neptunes in the proximity of host stars.We present the results of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of giant impacts on a super-Earth with a H/He atmosphere. A high-speed collision can strip off most of the original H/He atmosphere, as we expected. A hot and inflated planet after the giant impact cools and contracts so slowly that a protracted state of the extended post-impact atmosphere enhances mass loss via both a Parker wind and subsequent hydrodynamic escape driven by a stellar XUV irradiation. We also found that a low-speed head-on collision results in the appearance of a positive-compositional gradient deep inside the planet which suppresses the efficiency of heat transport in the planetary interior, whereas a high-speed one can homogenize the refractory material above the core inside the planet.



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