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Chemical clues on the formation of planetary systems

Mena, Elisa Delgado ; Israelian, Garik ; Hernández, Jonay I. González ; Bond, Jade C. ; Santos, Nuno C. ; Udry, Stéphane ; Mayor, Michel

In: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2010, vol. 6, no. S276, p. 25-29

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    Title
    • Chemical clues on the formation of planetary systems
    Author
    • Mena, Elisa Delgado. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. email: edm@iac.es
    • Israelian, Garik. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. email: edm@iac.es
    • Hernández, Jonay I. González. Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, E-38200 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain. email: edm@iac.es
    • Bond, Jade C.. Planetary Science Institute, 1700 E. Fort Lowell, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.
    • Santos, Nuno C.. Centro de Astrofísica, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal.
    • Udry, Stéphane. Observatoire de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland.
    • Mayor, Michel. Observatoire de Genève, 51 ch. des Maillettes, CH-1290 Sauverny, Switzerland.
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Language
    • English
    Published in
    • Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2010, vol. 6, no. S276, p. 25-29. Cambridge University Press
    Other Version
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:303214
    Summary
    Theoretical studies suggest that C/O and Mg/Si are the most important elemental ratios in determining the mineralogy of terrestrial planets. The C/O ratio controls the distribution of Si among carbide and oxide species, while Mg/Si gives information about the silicate mineralogy. We find mineralogical ratios quite different from those of the Sun, showing that there is a wide variety of planetary systems which are not similar to Solar System. Many of planetary host stars present a Mg/Si value lower than 1, so their planets will have a high Si content to form species such as MgSiO3. This type of composition can have important implications for planetary processes like plate tectonics, atmospheric composition or volcanism. Moreover, the information given by these ratios can guide us in the search of stars more probable to form terrestrial planets