The underexplored frontier of ice giant dynamos

Plasma Environment, Radiation, Structure, and Evolution of the Uranian System (PERSEUS): A Dedicated Orbiter Mission Concept to Study Space Physics at Uranus

The Plasma Environment, Radiation, Structure, and Evolution of the Uranian System (PERSEUS) mission concept defines the feasibility and potential scope of a dedicated, standalone Heliophysics orbiter mission to study multiple space physics science objectives at Uranus. Uranus's complex and dynamic magnetosphere presents a unique laboratory to study magnetospheric physics as well as its coupling to the solar wind and the planet's atmosphere, satellites, and rings. From the planet's tilted and offset, rapidly-rotating non-dipolar magnetic field to its seasonally-extreme interactions with the solar wind to its unexpectedly intense electron radiation belts, Uranus hosts a range of outstanding and compelling mysteries relevant to the space physics community. While the exploration of planets other than Earth has largely fallen within the purview of NASA's Planetary Science Division, many targets, like Uranus, also hold immense scientific value and interest to NASA's Heliophysics Division. Exploring and understanding Uranus's magnetosphere is critical to make fundamental gains in magnetospheric physics and the understanding of potential exoplanetary systems and to test the validity of our knowledge of magnetospheric dynamics, moon-magnetosphere interactions, magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and solar wind-planetary coupling. The PERSEUS mission concept study, currently at Concept Maturity Level (CML) 4, comprises a feasible payload that provides closure to a range of space physics science objectives in a reliable and mature spacecraft and mission design architecture. The mission is able to close using only a single Mod-1 Next-Generation Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (NG-RTG) by leveraging a concept of operations that relies of a significant hibernation mode for a large portion of its 22-day orbit.

Diamond formation kinetics in shock-compressed C─H─O samples recorded by small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction

Extreme conditions inside ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune can result in peculiar chemistry and structural transitions, e.g., the precipitation of diamonds or superionic water, as so far experimentally observed only for pure C─H and H2O systems, respectively. Here, we investigate a stoichiometric mixture of C and H2O by shock-compressing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics and performing in situ x-ray probing. We observe diamond formation at pressures between 72 ± 7 and 125 ± 13 GPa at temperatures ranging from ~3500 to ~6000 K. Combining x-ray diffraction and small-angle x-ray scattering, we access the kinetics of this exotic reaction. The observed demixing of C and H2O suggests that diamond precipitation inside the ice giants is enhanced by oxygen, which can lead to isolated water and thus the formation of superionic structures relevant to the planets' magnetic fields. Moreover, our measurements indicate a way of producing nanodiamonds by simple laser-driven shock compression of cheap PET plastics.

Miscibility of rock and ice in the interiors of water worlds

Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes are the most common planet types in our galaxy. A subset of these planets is predicted to be water worlds, bodies that are rich in water and poor in hydrogen gas. The interior structures of water worlds have been assumed to consist of water surrounding a rocky mantle and iron core. In small planets, water and rock form distinct layers with limited incorporation of water into silicate phases, but these materials may interact differently during the growth and evolution of water worlds due to greater interior pressures and temperatures. Here, we use density functional molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) simulations to study the miscibility and interactions of enstatite (MgSiO₃), a major end-member silicate phase, and water (H₂O) at extreme conditions in water world interiors. We explore pressures ranging from 30 to 120 GPa and temperatures from 500 to 8000 K. Our results demonstrate that enstatite and water are miscible in all proportions if the temperature exceeds the melting point of MgSiO₃. Furthermore, we performed smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to demonstrate that the conditions necessary for rock-water miscibility are reached during giant impacts between water-rich bodies of 0.7–4.7 Earth masses. Our simulations lead to water worlds that include a mixed layer of rock and water.

Evidence and Stability Field of fcc Superionic Water Ice Using Static Compression

Structural transformation of hot dense water ice is investigated by combining synchrotron x-ray diffraction and a laser-heating diamond anvil cell above 25 GPa. A transition from the body-centered-cubic (bcc) to face-centered-cubic (fcc) oxygen atoms sublattices is observed from 57 GPa and 1500 K to 166 GPa and 2500 K. That is the structural signature of the transition to fcc superionic (fcc SI) ice. The sign of the density discontinuity at the transition is obtained and a phase diagram is disclosed, showing an extended fcc SI stability field. Present data also constrain the stability field of the bcc superionic (bcc SI) ice up to 100 GPa at least. The current understanding of warm dense water ice based on ab initio simulations is discussed in the light of present data.

Superionic Silica-Water and Silica-Hydrogen Compounds in the Deep Interiors of Uranus and Neptune

Silica, water, and hydrogen are known to be the major components of celestial bodies, and have significant influence on the formation and evolution of giant planets, such as Uranus and Neptune. Thus, it is of fundamental importance to investigate their states and possible reactions under the planetary conditions. Here, using advanced crystal structure searches and first-principles calculations in the Si-O-H system, we find that a silica-water compound (SiO_{2})_{2}(H_{2}O) and a silica-hydrogen compound SiO_{2}H_{2} can exist under high pressures above 450 and 650 GPa, respectively. Further simulations reveal that, at high pressure and high temperature conditions corresponding to the interiors of Uranus and Neptune, these compounds exhibit superionic behavior, in which protons diffuse freely like liquid while the silicon and oxygen framework is fixed as solid. Therefore, these superionic silica-water and silica-hydrogen compounds could be regarded as important components of the deep mantle or core of giants, which also provides an alternative origin for their anomalous magnetic fields. These unexpected physical and chemical properties of the most common natural materials at high pressure offer key clues to understand some abstruse issues including demixing and erosion of the core in giant planets, and shed light on building reliable models for solar giants and exoplanets.

Metallic Aluminum Suboxides with Ultrahigh Electrical Conductivity at High Pressure

Aluminum, as the most abundant metallic elemental content in the Earth's crust, usually exists in the form of alumina (Al₂O₃). However, the oxidation state of aluminum and the crystal structures of aluminum oxides in the pressure range of planetary interiors are not well established. Here, we predicted two aluminum suboxides (Al₂O, AlO) and two superoxides (Al₄O₇, AlO₃) with uncommon stoichiometries at high pressures using first-principle calculations and crystal structure prediction methods. We find that the P4/nmm Al₂O becomes stable above ~765 GPa and may survive in the deep mantles or cores of giant planets such as Neptune. Interestingly, the Al₂O and AlO are metallic and have electride features, in which some electrons are localized in the interstitials between atoms. We find that Al₂O has an electrical conductivity one order of magnitude higher than that of iron under the same pressure-temperature conditions, which may influence the total conductivity of giant planets. Our findings enrich the high-pressure phase diagram of aluminum oxides and improve our understanding of the interior structure of giant planets.

Ice giant magnetospheres

The ice giant planets provide some of the most interesting natural laboratories for studying the influence of large obliquities, rapid rotation, highly asymmetric magnetic fields and wide-ranging Alfvénic and sonic Mach numbers on magnetospheric processes. The geometries of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction at the ice giants vary dramatically on diurnal timescales due to the large tilt of the magnetic axis relative to each planet's rotational axis and the apparent off-centred nature of the magnetic field. There is also a seasonal effect on this interaction geometry due to the large obliquity of each planet (especially Uranus). With in situ observations at Uranus and Neptune limited to a single encounter by the Voyager 2 spacecraft, a growing number of analytical and numerical models have been put forward to characterize these unique magnetospheres and test hypotheses related to the magnetic structures and the distribution of plasma observed. Yet many questions regarding magnetospheric structure and dynamics, magnetospheric coupling to the ionosphere and atmosphere, and potential interactions with orbiting satellites remain unanswered. Continuing to study and explore ice giant magnetospheres is important for comparative planetology as they represent critical benchmarks on a broad spectrum of planetary magnetospheric interactions, and provide insight beyond the scope of our own Solar System with implications for exoplanet magnetospheres and magnetic reversals. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Future exploration of ice giant systems'.

Neptune and Uranus: ice or rock giants?

Existing observations of Uranus and Neptune's fundamental physical properties can be fitted with a wide range of interior models. A key parameter in these models is the bulk rock:ice ratio and models broadly fall into ice-dominated (ice giant) and rock-dominated (rock giant) categories. Here we consider how observations of Neptune's atmospheric temperature and composition (H2, He, D/H, CO, CH4, H2O and CS) can provide further constraints. The tropospheric CO profile in particular is highly diagnostic of interior ice content, but is also controversial, with deep values ranging from zero to 0.5 parts per million. Most existing CO profiles imply extreme O/H enrichments of >250 times solar composition, thus favouring an ice giant. However, such high O/H enrichment is not consistent with D/H observations for a fully mixed and equilibrated Neptune. CO and D/H measurements can be reconciled if there is incomplete interior mixing (ice giant) or if tropospheric CO has a solely external source and only exists in the upper troposphere (rock giant). An interior with more rock than ice is also more compatible with likely outer solar system ice sources. We primarily consider Neptune, but similar arguments apply to Uranus, which has comparable C/H and D/H enrichment, but no observed tropospheric CO. While both ice- and rock-dominated models are viable, we suggest a rock giant provides a more consistent match to available atmospheric observations. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Future exploration of ice giant systems'.

The interiors of Uranus and Neptune: current understanding and open questions

Uranus and Neptune form a distinct class of planets in our Solar System. Given this fact, and ubiquity of similar-mass planets in other planetary systems, it is essential to understand their interior structure and composition. However, there are more open questions regarding these planets than answers. In this review, we concentrate on the things we do not know about the interiors of Uranus and Neptune with a focus on why the planets may be different, rather than the same. We next summarize the knowledge about the planets' internal structure and evolution. Finally, we identify the topics that should be investigated further on the theoretical front as well as required observations from space missions. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Future exploration of ice giant systems'.

Auroral emissions from Uranus and Neptune

Uranus and Neptune possess highly tilted/offset magnetic fields whose interaction with the solar wind shapes unique twin asymmetric, highly dynamical, magnetospheres. These radiate complex auroral emissions, both reminiscent of those observed at the other planets and unique to the ice giants, which have been detected at radio and ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths to date. Our current knowledge of these radiations, which probe fundamental planetary properties (magnetic field, rotation period, magnetospheric processes, etc.), still mostly relies on Voyager 2 radio, UV and in situ measurements, when the spacecraft flew by each planet in the 1980s. These pioneering observations were, however, limited in time and sampled specific solar wind/magnetosphere configurations, which significantly vary at various timescales down to a fraction of a planetary rotation. Since then, despite repeated Earth-based observations at similar and other wavelengths, only the Uranian UV aurorae have been re-observed at scarce occasions by the Hubble Space Telescope. These observations revealed auroral features radically different from those seen by Voyager 2, diagnosing yet another solar wind/magnetosphere configuration. Perspectives for the in-depth study of the Uranian and Neptunian auroral processes, with implications for exoplanets, include follow-up remote Earth-based observations and future orbital exploration of one or both ice giant planetary systems. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Future exploration of ice giant systems'.