Exploring interfaces in ice giant planets using multi-scale molecular dynamics simulations: xICE

Programme(s): H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility

Topic(s): MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships

Call for proposal: H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

Funding Scheme: MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

Grant agreement ID: 894725

Project description:

Modelling and simulations could shed new light on the interior of ice giant planets

Uranus and Neptune are the two most distant known major planets in our solar system. The increasing number of detected exoplanets with similar masses emphasises the need to better understand the interior structure, magnetic fields and thermal evolution of these icy worlds. The EU-funded xICE project will conduct molecular dynamics simulations on multiple scales to derive more information about the thermal boundary layers from which heat escapes from the deep interior into space. The project will begin by exploring the thermal interfaces between the inner mantle and the core of an ice planet on an atomic level. The results will serve as valuable input for future exploration missions to Uranus and Neptune undertaken by ESA and NASA. 

Objective:

The ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune are believed to play a crucial role in the formation process of our Solar System and are prototypical for hundreds of exoplanets, so-called mini-Neptunes, which are discovered at ever increasing speed thanks to planet-hunting missions like Kepler, TESS, and PLATO. Modeling the interior structure, magnetic dynamo, and thermal evolution of Uranus and Neptune has proven very challenging relying only on the Voyager 2 flyby data from the 1980s and ground-based observations. The key to improve these models is to investigate interfaces and thermal boundaries resulting from the properties of the material in their deep interiors. Hence, we perform molecular dynamics simulations on multiple scales to derive additional modeling constraints, which are experimentally challenging to obtain or even inaccessible.
We use accurate ab initio simulations to calculate a new equation of state to constrain the rock/ice ratio in planetary interior models. Subsequently, we fit potentials to the ab initio data to investigate up to 1 million atoms using classical molecular dynamics. For the first time, we are able to explore interfaces between the inner mantle and the core of an ice giant planet on a atomic level. The resulting thermal and transport properties will be used as essential inputs for novel interior structure and magnetic dynamo models for ice giant planets; particularly those in our Solar System. The project results will enhance the fellow's career prospects, make a significant contribution to the science excellence in Europe, and especially strengthen the science case for future Uranus and Neptune missions by ESA and NASA.