Jupiter’s inhomogeneous envelope

Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 662, pp. A18

Abstract

Context.While Jupiter’s massive gas envelope consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, the key to understanding Jupiter’s formation and evolution lies in the distribution of the remaining (heavy) elements. Before the Juno mission, the lack of high-precision gravity harmonics precluded the use of statistical analyses in a robust determination of the heavy-element distribution in Jupiter’s envelope. Aims.In this paper, we assemble the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Jupiter interior models to date and use it to study the distribution of heavy elements in the planet’s envelope. Methods.We apply a Bayesian statistical approach to our interior model calculations, reproducing the Juno gravitational and atmospheric measurements and constraints from the deep zonal flows. Results.Our results show that the gravity constraints lead to a deep entropy of Jupiter corresponding to a 1 bar temperature that is 515 K higher than traditionally assumed. We also find that uncertainties in the equation of state are crucial when determining the amount of heavy elements in Jupiter’s interior. Our models put an upper limit to the inner compact core of Jupiter of 7MEarth, independently of the structure model (with or without a dilute core) and the equation of state considered. Furthermore, we robustly demonstrate that Jupiter’s envelope is inhomogeneous, with a heavy-element enrichment in the interior relative to the outer envelope. This implies that heavy-element enrichment continued through the gas accretion phase, with important implications for the formation of giant planets in our Solar System and beyond.

Authors 16

1. Yamila Miguel Aachen Leiden Observatory SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory · Space Research Organisation Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Niels Bohrweg 4, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Michael Bazot

   New York University Abu Dhabi · Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies

   Affiliation as printed

   CITIES, NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, UAE

   Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS gGmbH), Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany

3. Tristan Guillot

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Côte d'Azur · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Université Côte d'Azur, OCA, Lagrange CNRS, 06304 Nice, France

4. Saburo Howard

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Université Côte d'Azur · Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

   Affiliation as printed

   Université Côte d'Azur, OCA, Lagrange CNRS, 06304 Nice, France

5. Eli Galanti

   Weizmann Institute of Science

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

6. Yohai Kaspi

   Weizmann Institute of Science

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

7. W. B. Hubbard

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

8. Burkhard Militzer

   University of California, Berkeley

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

9. Ravit Helled

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland

10. S. K. Atreya

    University of Michigan

    Affiliation as printed

    University of Michigan, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

11. J. E. P. Connerney

    Goddard Space Flight Center

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA

    Space Research Corporation, Annapolis, MD 21403, USA

12. Daniele Durante

    Sapienza University of Rome

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

13. Laura Kulowski

    Harvard University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

14. Jonathan I. Lunine

    Cornell University

    Affiliation as printed

    Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

    Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, 122 Sciences Drive, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

15. D. J. Stevenson

    California Institute of Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA

16. S. J. Bolton

    Southwest Research Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA