Giant impacts stochastically change the internal pressures of terrestrial planets

Lock, Simon J.; Stewart, Sarah T.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aav3746

Title: Giant impacts stochastically change the internal pressures of terrestrial planets

Journal Article · 04 September 2019 · Science Advances

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav3746 · OSTI ID:1614413

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^[2]

California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

Pressure is a key parameter in the physics and chemistry of planet formation and evolution. Previous studies have erroneously assumed that internal pressures monotonically increase with the mass of a body. Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics and potential field method calculations, we demonstrate that the hot, rapidly rotating bodies produced by giant impacts can have much lower internal pressures than cool, slowly rotating planets of the same mass. Pressures subsequently increase because of thermal and rotational evolution of the body. Using the Moon-forming impact as an example, we show that the internal pressures after the collision could have been less than half that in present-day Earth. The current pressure profile was not established until Earth cooled and the Moon receded, a process that may take up to tens of millions of years. Our work defines a new paradigm for pressure evolution during accretion of terrestrial planets: stochastic changes driven by impacts.

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Research Organization:: Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); NESSF; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0002937; NNX13AO67H; NNX15AH54G

OSTI ID:: 1614413

Journal Information:: Science Advances, Vol. 5, Issue 9; ISSN 2375-2548

Publisher:: AAASCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 10 works

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The energy budgets of giant impacts Carter, Philip J.; Lock, Simon J.; Stewart, Sarah T. arXiv https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.1912.04936	text	January 2019

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