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Scientists say an illustration of an artist of EXoplanet Corot 2B, which has a hot point west west in its atmosphere. | Credit
When a planet is born of spiral pockets of molecular gas and dust that surrounds a young star, it is formed in conditions of extreme gravity and pressure. This process is violent, and the early stages of the planet’s life are chaotic, and the world of newborns is often incendiary.
Scientists have long assumed that under these harsh conditions, raw materials participating in the formation of worlds – gas, ice, rocks and a mixture of minerals – do not interact much with each other. However, it’s time to reconsider this idea. A team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Princeton wondered about this assumption, and instead wonders if the planet is a formation outside our solar system – Exoplanet – It can serve as a natural laboratory in which molecules interact in sudden ways in the heat of the atmosphere and perish.
“The standard models of the planets assume that these basic building blocks do not interact with each other,” Lars Steczrod, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Space.com. “With the discovery of many new planets, especially those who have a thick hydrogen atmosphere that surrounds the inner interior decorations of water or rocks or both – we asked whether this assumption really carries, especially given the harsh conditions within the planets where our understanding of physics is not firmly.”
The development of water -rich planets has been studied widely, although this is usually under this assumption: its hydrogen -rich atmosphere does not interact with the interiors rich in water. But Stixrde and its co -authors, Akash Gupta and Hilke Schlinging, suggest a unique dynamic between water and hydrogen It can have profound effects that we are missing in our planetary development models.
To learn how a system consisting of hydrogen and water interacts if it is present together in another world, the team conducted computer -based simulations designed the dynamics of molecules at the quantum level.
“Think of our calculations as a small digital laboratory as we put hundreds of hydrogen and water molecules in a box,” said Gupta, a PhD at the University of California at the time of the study.
“Then we let quantum mechanics control how these molecules behave under different pressure and temperatures, similar to the conditions inside the planets.” “This process helps us to set the planetary conditions that prefer mixing or separating and to any degree.”
The researchers identified a “critical curve” in the pressure temperature relationship to the hydrogen water mixture-which is the limits of hydrogen and water from mixing completely to one liquid to separation again to two distinct stages.
“When the planets are small or hot, the interior can be on the warmer side of this [pressure–temperature] “The curve, which tells us that hydrogen and water will be completely mixed in it, while the planets are cooled with age, it may eventually decrease to the cooler side of this curve and then begins separation,” said Gupta.
Photography by an artist of a giant young planet revolving around his star. | Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Perhaps the most interesting part of simulation is that the team predicts that with the cooling of the planet and separating the water, the planet will witness “rain” at the planet level because it drowns in the atmosphere. “This can lead to a change in the formation of the planet’s atmosphere: the appearance of an atmosphere rich in water -rich in water and interior, in addition to the presence of effects on the planet’s energy budget,” said Schleshing, a professor at UCLA, told Space.com.
If the planet becomes sufficiently cold and separates hydrogen and water early in its development, Gobta says that a layer of water above embarrassment can be formed under the hydrogen atmosphere – thus throwing a new light on how the planets with liquid oceans are present.
These results can also help solve a long -term puzzle surrounding the magnetic fields outside the kryr Neptune and Uranus. “The magnetic fields are generated in the planets by the flow of materials depth inside them,” said Gupta. “In high pressure and temperatures, as expected inside Uranus and Neptune, hydrogen and water can become atomic and similar to minerals, that is, good conductors for electricity.”
“This mixture itself can […] Explain the mysterious magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune, which does not resemble any other planetary body in our solar system, “In the past, these magnetic fields were not attributed to pure layers of water or ice, because physics behind hydrogen and water reactions were largely unexpected.”
Studies like this provides incredibly valuable platform to explore the limits of physics and chemistry as we know it. Planetary nuclei provides a unique environment to overcome these fields, which challenges our current understanding and may reveal new principles that can be reshaped.
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“We often assume that physics and chemistry are completely understood, but when we dive into the harsh conditions in the depths of the planets – you press thousands to millions of times from Atmosphere “And hot temperatures are enough to melt the rocks – we quickly realize the amount that he has not yet discovered. This is especially true in the field of emerging external planets, where physical visions of astronomical physics, science, geological sciences and chemistry are really necessary if we want to understand incredibly complex systems. [of] Planets and their atmosphere. “
The team says they are planning to expand molecular simulations to include rock and ice molecules to understand how they can coexist and interact with the planet -based atmosphere on hydrogen, interior, and other gases, such as helium, which may be present.
“These new ideas at the intersection of chemistry and physics thus help us explore the unknown areas,” and Shalicing concluded. “Every new result can reshape our understanding of the planets, their ability to live, and our place in this universe.”
