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Young Jupiters are faint: new models of the early evolution of giant planets
Author(s) -
Fortney J. J.,
Marley M. S.,
Hubickyj O.,
Bodenheimer P.,
Lissauer J. J.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.200510465
Subject(s) - planet , physics , giant planet , gas giant , accretion (finance) , astrophysics , astrobiology , planetary habitability , terrestrial planet , astronomy , planetary system , exoplanet
Here we show preliminary calculations of the cooling and contraction of a 2 M J planet. These calculations, which are being extended to 1–10 M J , differ from other published “cooling tracks” in that they include a core accretion‐gas capture formation scenario, the leading theory for the formation of gas giant planets.We find that the initial post‐accretionary intrinsic luminosity of the planet is ∼3 times less than previously published models which use arbitrary initial conditions. These differences last a few tens of millions of years. Young giant planets are intrinsically fainter than has been previously appreciated. We also discuss how uncertainties in atmospheric chemistry and the duration of the formation time of giant planets lead to challenges in deriving planetary physical properties from comparison with tabulated model values. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)