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Glimpsing the Compositions of Sub-Neptune-Size Exoplanets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2014

Leslie A. Rogers
Leslie A. Rogers*
Affiliation:
Hubble Fellow, California Institute of Technology, 2100 E. California Blvd., MC 249-17, Pasadena, USA, 91125 email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The growing number of transiting planets with mass constraints opens the possibility of applying a statistical approach to learn about the underlying population of planet compositions. We focus on the intriguing transition between rocky exoplanets and planets with voluminous gas layers, and explore how the current census of sub-Neptune-size exoplanets constrains the maximum radii of rocky planets. We outline a hierarchical Bayesian model approach to infer the fraction of planets that are dense enough to be rocky (as a function of planet radius). A preliminary analysis of the current sample of planets with mass and radius constraints reveals that most planets larger than 1.9 R⊕ are too low density to be comprised of Fe and silicates alone.

Keywords

(stars:) planetary systems(stars:) planetary systems: formation
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 8 , Symposium S299: Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems , June 2013 , pp. 247 - 251
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013 

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