Evolution of steam worlds: energetic aspects
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Sub-Neptunes occupy an intriguing region of planetary mass–radius space, where theoretical models of interior structure predict that they could be water-rich, where water is in steam and supercritical state. Such planets are expected to evolve according to the same principles as canonical H2–He rich planets, but models that assume a water-dominated atmosphere consistent with the interior have not been developed yet. Here, we present a state-of-the-art structure and evolution model for water-rich sub-Neptunes. Our setup combines an existing atmospheric model that controls the heat loss from the planet, and an interior model that acts as the reservoir of energy. We compute evolutionary tracks of planetary radius over time. We find that planets with pure water envelopes have smaller radii than predicted by previous models, and the change in radius is much slower (within ∼10%). We also find that water in the deep interior is colder than previously suggested, and can transition from plasma state to superionic ice, which can have additional implications for their evolution. We provide a grid of evolutionary tracks that can be used to infer the bulk water content of sub-Neptunes. We compare the bulk water content inferred by this model and other models available in the literature, and find statistically significant differences between models when the uncertainties on measured mass and radius are both smaller than 10%. This study shows the importance of pursuing efforts in the modeling of volatile-rich planets, and how to connect them to observations.
Date Issued
2025-08-01
Date Acceptance
2025-05-13
Citation
The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ), 2025, 988 (2)
ISSN
0004-637X
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Start Page
186
End Page
186
Journal / Book Title
The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)
Volume
988
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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Subjects
Astronomy & Astrophysics
EQUATION-OF-STATE
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
JWST COMPASS
MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS
MASS-RADIUS RELATIONSHIPS
NIRSPEC/G395H TRANSMISSION OBSERVATIONS
Physical Sciences
Science & Technology
STRUCTURE MODELS
SUPER-EARTH
THERMAL EVOLUTION
WATER-WORLDS
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
186
Date Publish Online
2025-07-24