(Photo from the Yunnan Observatory Associated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences: Diagram of the escape of the atmosphere from low-mass exoplanets)
KUNMING, May 11 (Xinhua) — A research article from the journal Nature Astronomy revealed Thursday that Chinese researchers have provided insight into the escape process of atmospheres from low-mass exoplanets. In particular, a process called hydrodynamic disappearance. (hydrodynamic escape)
This research deals with several driving methods that affect hydrodynamic escape. and presents a new classification method to understand exoplanet atmosphere escape process. It refers to an exoplanet and is a popular subject in astronomical research.
The atmospheres of these exoplanets can escape from the planet and enter space for several reasons. One of these is hydrodynamic extinction. This is the process by which the upper atmosphere completely disappears from the planet.
Researchers from the Yunnan Observatory Affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences It is said that this process is much more severe than the shedding of particles that occurs on the planets of the solar system. And hydrodynamic escape can occur in the early stages of planets in the solar system.
Guo Jianheng Researcher at the Yun Nan Observatory Explain that if the Earth lost all its atmosphere through a hydrodynamic escape, At that time, the Earth may be a desert like Mars.
Even this violent liberation would not happen on a planet like Earth. But space and ground-based telescopes are still detecting the disappearance of some exoplanets near their host stars. This process not only changes the mass of the planet. But it also affects the climate and accommodation.
Anyway, before this study people rely on complex models to find out which physical mechanisms drive the planet’s hydrodynamic escape. and the conclusions are often unclear.
The researchers found that the hydrodynamic extinction of low-mass exoplanets could be driven by one or a combination of these factors: the planet’s internal energy; The star’s tidal force or the heat from the star’s extreme ultraviolet radiation.
The researchers said that using basic physical characteristics of stars and planets, such as mass, radius and orbital speed, It may be possible to distinguish between the mechanism of hydrodynamic disappearance of the atmosphere from low-mass planets.
The paper says that enough internal energy or high temperatures could escape from the atmosphere of low-mass, large-radius planets. The study found that the ratio of the planet’s internal energy and potential energy could indicate the occurrence of the atmospheric escape mentioned above.
For a planet whose internal energy cannot remove its atmosphere, using tidal forces from the star to change the ratio of internal energy to potential energy, it was the researchers were able to accurately determine the role of tidal forces and extreme ultraviolet radiation.
The results of this study are useful for understanding how planetary atmospheres change over time. It has the potential to be used to study the evolution and origins of low-mass planets.
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