EUV-driven mass-loss of protoplanetary cores with hydrogen-dominated atmospheres: the influences of ionization and orbital distance
- Author(s)
- N V Erkaev, Helmut Lammer, P Odert, K. G Kislyakova, Colin Johnstone, Manuel Güdel, Maxim L. Khodachenko
- Abstract
We investigate the loss rates of the hydrogen atmospheres of terrestrial planets with a range of masses and orbital distances by assuming a stellar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) luminosity that is 100 times stronger than that of the current Sun. We apply a 1D upper atmosphere radiation absorption and hydrodynamic escape model that takes into account ionization, dissociation and recombination to calculate hydrogen mass-loss rates. We study the effects of the ionization, dissociation and recombination on the thermal mass-loss rates of hydrogen-dominated super-Earths and compare the results to those obtained by the energy-limited escape formula which is widely used for mass-loss evolution studies. Our results indicate that the energy-limited formula can to a great extent over- or underestimate the hydrogen mass-loss rates by amounts that depend on the stellar EUV flux and planetary parameters such as mass, size, effective temperature and EUV absorption radius.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Astrophysics
- External organisation(s)
- Russian Academy of Sciences, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, University of Texas, Austin
- Journal
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume
- 460
- Pages
- 1300 - 1309
- No. of pages
- 10
- ISSN
- 0035-8711
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw935
- Publication date
- 08-2016
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/83aacdbf-82cd-4c57-8523-94d39291ad5c