United States: A new theory developed by scientists may explain how "super-Earths", a class of exoplanets larger than Earth, came into existence. Most exoplanets in the Milky Way are super-Earths.
The most recent research clarifies why super-Earths often end up with similar sizes in a single planetary system.
Super-Earths, which are unlike any other planets in our solar system, are among the most sought-after class of exoplanets. They can be as large as ten times the mass of Earth or as small as twice its size.
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These extraterrestrial planets are a good candidate in the search for life outside Earth because it is possible that they have atmospheres.
Large rotating disks of gas and dust that coalesce over the course of a few million years are the precursors to planetary systems.
While the solid matter gradually merges into planets, asteroids, comets and moons, most of the gas in this disk accretes to form the star or parent body at the center of the system.
There are two distinct types of planets when it comes to our solar system: the outer, larger, water- and hydrogen-rich gas giants, and the inner, smaller, rocky planets that are closest to the Sun.
According to a study published in 2021, the protoplanetary disk of our solar system had two distinct rings where planet formation took place: the inner ring produced smaller rocky planets, while the outer ring produced more massive icy planets.
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Scientists once proposed a model in which super-Earths formed in the "icy portion" of the protoplanetary disk and drifted toward the main star. This model could explain the masses and orbits of the super-Earths but made the assumption that they were all rich in water.
According to recent observations, most super-Earths have been found to be rocky like our planet, even though they once had hydrogen atmospheres.
This is due to the hydrogen atmosphere, which gives some super-Earths the appearance of gas giants. They are thought to have migrated to their present location from orbits that were further away because they are often seen to orbit closer to their host stars.
The story gets more interesting at this point. Scientists from Caltech, the University of Notre Dame and UCLA spent the last five years studying these exoplanets and made an unusual discovery.
Although there are many different types of super-Earths that are part of the same planetary system, they share many similar characteristics, including size, mass, and orbital spacing.
Scientists used a 2020 study to better understand the process that proposed the formation of Jupiter's four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
According to the theory, for a particular size range of dust particles, the forces pulling them towards Jupiter and the forces pushing them away in the flow of gas balance each other perfectly.
This balance of forces produced a ring of material that served as the foundation for the subsequent formation of the Jovian moons.
The theory also stated that due to gas-driven migration, bodies would spread inside the ring until they became large enough to leave it. After that, the process results in bodies of similar size as growth stops. The most recent research indicates that the mechanism governing the formation of planets around stars is largely the same.
In this instance large amounts of solid rock material are present at the line of silicate sublimation, a sliver region in the protoplanetary disk where silicate vapor condenses to form the solid rock pebbles that lead to the formation of planets of similar size.
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This most recent theory is based on the premise that the solid matter is scattered throughout the protoplanetary disk. If there was too much mass in the ring, a network of similar super-Earths would form as the planets evolved until they drifted away.
Additionally, if the mass of the ring were very small, it would create a system more similar to the terrestrial planets in our Solar System.