Computational Modeling of Interiors of Sub-Neptunes and Gas Giant Planets

亚海王星和气态巨行星内部的计算模型

• 批准号: 1412646
• 负责人: Burkhard Militzer
• 金额: $ 36.95万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1412646&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Computational; Modeling; Interiors; Sub; Neptunes

The PI and his team will carry out a theoretical effort to improve understanding of the interior, formation and evolution of ice- and gas-giant planets in our solar system and other extrasolar planetary systems. They will apply computer simulations techniques to study planetary interior materials exposed to extreme temperatures and pressures that cannot be reproduced in the laboratory. They will do this by simulating thermodynamic properties of the gases, such as the equation of state (EOS), which gives the mathematical relationship between temperature, pressure and density of a material. The investigators will apply their models to a collection of ice giant planets with masses less than that of Neptune. They also plan to develop a new model for Uranus' and Neptune's interior that includes a diamond layer, in order to explain these planets' peculiar magnetic fields. They will work with collaborators to prepare complementary high-pressure experiments, and to update models of Jupiter and Saturn. Computational results will be provided to the astronomical community for use in planetary and stellar interior models. They will also train graduate and undergraduate students in computational research techniques.The investigators will accomplish this by incorporating the group's new ab initio Hydrogen-Helium EOS into existing code in order to model rotating giant planets. They will also update phase diagrams for liquid and superionic water and simulate the mixtures of water, methane and ammonia in these planets. They will use these results to improve evolutionary models of Jupiter and Saturn, and magnetic field models of Uranus and Neptune. They will also incorporate the EOS tables into the stellar evolution code MESA, and provide results to the community about ab initio Gibbs free energy calculations in solid, liquid, superionic and lower-density molecular systems.

PI和他的团队将进行理论研究，以提高对我们太阳系和其他太阳系外行星系统中冰和气体巨行星的内部，形成和演化的理解。 他们将应用计算机模拟技术来研究暴露在实验室无法复制的极端温度和压力下的行星内部材料。 他们将通过模拟气体的热力学性质来做到这一点，例如状态方程（EOS），它给出了材料的温度，压力和密度之间的数学关系。研究人员将把他们的模型应用于一系列质量小于海王星的冰巨行星。 他们还计划为天王星和海王星的内部开发一个新的模型，其中包括钻石层，以解释这些行星的特殊磁场。 他们将与合作者一起准备补充的高压实验，并更新木星和土星的模型。计算结果将提供给天文学界用于行星和恒星内部模型。 他们还将培训研究生和本科生的计算研究技术。研究人员将通过将该小组新的从头算氢氦状态方程纳入现有代码来实现这一目标，以便模拟旋转的巨行星。 他们还将更新液态水和超离子水的相图，并模拟这些行星中水、甲烷和氨的混合物。 他们将利用这些结果来改进木星和土星的演化模型，以及天王星和海王星的磁场模型。 他们还将把EOS表纳入恒星演化代码梅萨，并向社区提供有关固体，液体，超离子和低密度分子系统中从头计算吉布斯自由能的结果。