Conclusive Evidence for a Population of Water Worlds around M Dwarfs Remains Elusive

The population of small, close-in exoplanets is bifurcated into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. We calculate physically motivated mass–radius relations for sub-Neptunes, with rocky cores and H/He-dominated atmospheres, accounting for their thermal evolution, irradiation, and mass loss. For planets ≲1...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: James G. Rogers, Hilke E. Schlichting, James E. Owen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2023-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc86f