Building wet planets through high-pressure magma-hydrogen reactions.

ABSTRACT: Close-in transiting sub-Neptunes are abundant in our Galaxy¹. Planetary interior models based on their observed radius-mass relationship suggest that sub-Neptunes contain a discernible amount of either hydrogen (dry planets) or water (wet planets) blanketing a core composed of rocks and metal². Water-rich sub-Neptunes have been believed to form farther from the star and then migrate inwards to their present orbits³. Here we report experimental evidence of reactions between warm, dense hydrogen fluid and silicate melt that release silicon from the magma to form alloys and hydrides at high pressures. We found that oxygen liberated from the silicate melt reacts with hydrogen, producing an appreciable amount of water up to a few tens of weight per cent, which i

SUBMITTER: Horn HW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12571897 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature