Exoplanet secondary atmosphere loss and revival.

ABSTRACT: The next step on the path toward another Earth is to find atmospheres similar to those of Earth and Venus-high-molecular-weight (secondary) atmospheres-on rocky exoplanets. Many rocky exoplanets are born with thick (>10 kbar) H₂-dominated atmospheres but subsequently lose their H₂; this process has no known Solar System analog. We study the consequences of early loss of a thick H₂ atmosphere for subsequent occurrence of a high-molecular-weight atmosphere using a simple model of atmosphere evolution (including atmosphere loss to space, magma ocean crystallization, and volcanic outgassing). We also calculate atmosphere survival for rocky worlds that start with no H₂ Our results imply that most rocky exoplanets orbiting closer to their star than the

SUBMITTER: Kite ES 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7414166 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature