Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufm.p32a..07v&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #P32A-07
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
[5430] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Interiors, [5475] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Tectonics, [6296] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Extra-Solar Planets
Scientific paper
We investigated mantle convective structures and tectonic settings for synchronously rotating exoplanets on close-in orbits around their parent stars. Our study is motivated by the possibility that extreme variations in surface temperature affect these planets' interior dynamics and related surface expressions. Exoplanets on orbits ≤0.1 astronomical units are expected to be tidally-locked to their parent star and this can induce strong (>1000K) temperature differences between the planet's permanent day and night sides, in the absence of a significant atmosphere. To examine the influence of such extreme conditions on planetary mantle convection and tectonics, we performed a series of numerical simulations of an incompressible fluid at infinite Prandtl number with imposed asymmetric surface temperature conditions. Plate-like behavior is approximated in our models by applying a temperature-dependent viscous/pseudo-plastic rheology. To investigate a diversity of possible exoplanets, we studied a range of surface temperature contrasts, Rayleigh numbers, and internal heating rates. Our preliminary modeling results show that an imposed asymmetric surface temperature distribution promotes mantle-wide asymmetries in convective overturn. On the permanent night-side, a large-scale downwelling develops below an immobile thick crust. Towards the permanent day-side, the crust thins and this allows for greater lithospheric mobility. Such planet-wide variations in tectonic settings could be expressed in the planet's geology, habitability, volcanic activity, atmospheric outgassing, and climate, some of which have the potential to be astronomically discoverable in the future.
Conrad Clinton P.
Gaidos Eric
van Summeren J.
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