David Rice, Zachary Grande, Ashkan Salamat, Jason Steffen (all Physics and Astronomy), and Oliver Tschauner (Geoscience), along with former UNLV postdoc Chenliang Huang (Physics and Astronomy) published a study on the properties of the interiors of distant, extrasolar planets in the "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society." This study used new measurements of the properties of water under high-pressure conditions, measured in the Salamat lab, to examine their ramifications on our interpretation of the interior structure and compositions of planets observed orbiting other stars. Key conclusions from their study are that many planets likely have less water and less atmosphere than previous measurements may imply. They also demonstrate the compelling need for improved measurements of the properties of planet-forming materials as the precision of astronomical observations continue to improve. Rice and Grande are graduate students. Salamat, Steffen, and Tschauner are their advisors.
Published: David Rice, Zach Grande, Jason Steffen, Ashkan Salamat, and Oliver Tschauner
March
30
2021
Comments
Share your thoughts about this story. To comment, you'll need to login into your Facebook account. Your comment will post immediately. Comments that are not in keeping with our comment policies may be removed by editors.