Bibcode
Delgado-Mena, E.; Israelian, G.; González-Hernández, J. I.; Bond, Jade C.; Santos, Nuno C.; Udry, Stéphane; Mayor, Michel
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure, and Dynamical Evolution, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 276, p. 25-29
Advertised on:
11
2011
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Theoretical studies suggest that C/O and Mg/Si are the most important
elemental ratios in determining the mineralogy of terrestrial planets.
The C/O ratio controls the distribution of Si among carbide and oxide
species, while Mg/Si gives information about the silicate mineralogy. We
find mineralogical ratios quite different from those of the Sun, showing
that there is a wide variety of planetary systems which are not similar
to Solar System. Many of planetary host stars present a Mg/Si value
lower than 1, so their planets will have a high Si content to form
species such as MgSiO3. This type of composition can have
important implications for planetary processes like plate tectonics,
atmospheric composition or volcanism. Moreover, the information given by
these ratios can guide us in the search of stars more probable to form
terrestrial planets.