Abstract
More than 80 giant planets are known by mass and radius. Their interior structure in terms of core mass, number of layers, and composition however is still poorly known. An overview is presented about the core mass M core and envelope mass of metals M Z in Jupiter as predicted by various equations of state. It is argued that the uncertainty about the true H/He EOS in a pressure regime where the gravitational moments J 2 and J 4 are most sensitive, i.e. between 0.5 and 4 Mbar, is in part responsible for the broad range \(M_{\mathit{core}}=0{-}18\:M_{\oplus }\), \(M_{Z}=0{-}38\:M_{\oplus }\), and \(M_{\mathit{core}}+M_{Z}=14{-}38\:M_{\oplus }\) currently offered for Jupiter. We then compare the Jupiter models obtained when we only match J 2 with the range of solutions for the exoplanet \(\mathrm{GJ}\:436\mathrm{b}\), when we match an assumed tidal Love number k 2 value.
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Nettelmann, N. Predictions on the core mass of Jupiter and of giant planets in general. Astrophys Space Sci 336, 47–51 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-011-0672-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-011-0672-3