image: The extreme pressures related to the interiors of waterworld exoplanets, generated by diamond anvils (top), allow silica (pink) to incorporate a large amount of hydrogen (blue spheres) in the crystal structure. view more
Credit: Image credit: Sang-Heon Shim.
Researchers conducted experiments exploring the solubility of silica and water under high pressures and temperatures, simulating conditions that may exist in the interiors of Neptune-like exoplanets; the results suggest mutual solubility between silica and water that may make the boundary between rock and ice fuzzy in such planets, with implications for understanding the geochemistry of water-rich planets, according to the authors.
Article #19-17448: "Large H2O solubility in dense silica and its implications for the interiors of water-rich planets," by Carole Nisr et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sang-Heon Shim, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; tel: 480-727-2876; e-mail: shdshim@asu.edu
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences