Exoplanets rich in carbon can be made of diamonds

As NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, Tess and Kepler continue to provide insights into the properties of mission exoplanets, scientists are increasingly looking at what these planets look like, what they make, and if they could, Also live.

In a recently published new study Journal of Planetary Science, A team of researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Chicago have determined that some carbon-rich exoplanets are made of diamond and silica, given the right circumstances.

“This exoplanet is the opposite of anything in our solar system,” says Harrison Allen-Sutter, lead author of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration.

Diamond exoplanet formation

When stars and planets form, they do so with the same cloud of gas, so their bulk formations are similar. A low-carbon star with an oxygen ratio will have Earth-like planets, including silicates and oxides with very small diamond content (Earth’s diamond content is about 0.001%).

But carbon is more likely to be enriched around stars with an oxygen ratio than carbon from our sun. Allen-Sutter and co-authors Emily Gargart, Kurt Lennenberger and Dan Shim, with Vitaly Prakapenka and Eran Greenberg of the University of Chicago, envisioned that this carbon-rich exoplanet could be converted into diamonds and silicates, if water (VP) In the universe) were present, creating a composition rich in diamonds.

Diamond-anvils and X-rays

To test this hypothesis, the research team needed to simulate the interior of a carbide exoplanet using high temperatures and high pressures. To do this, they used co-author Shimmy’s Lab for Earth and High Pressure Diamond-Anvil Cell on Planetary Materials.

First, they immersed the silicon carbide in water and pressed the sample between the diamonds at a very high pressure. Then, to monitor the reaction between silicon carbide and water, they conducted laser heating at the Argo National Laboratory in Illinois, X-ray measuring laser laser heated the sample at high pressure.

As they predicted, with more heat and pressure, the silicon carbide reacted with water and turned into diamond and silica.

Habitat and population

So far, we have not found life on other planets, but the search continues. Planetary scientists and astronomers are using space-equipped instruments in space and on Earth to find planets with the right properties and the right locations around their stars where life may exist.

The carbon-rich planets that are the focus of this study, however, do not have the necessary properties for life.

While the Earth is geographically active (indicative habitat), the results of this study show that carbon-rich planets are very difficult to activate geographically and that atmospheric composition cannot be depleted due to lack of geological activity. The atmosphere is crucial for life because it also gives us pressure to breathe air, protect us from the harsh atmosphere of space, and allow liquid water.

“This is an additional step in helping us understand and specialize in enhancing and improving exoplanet observations, regardless of habitat,” says Habit Lawn-Sutter. “The more we learn, the more we will be able to interpret new data from upcoming future missions such as the James Webb Web Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to understand the world beyond our own solar system.”