2020/04/03 by Lars Stixrude, Stixrude, Lars, Stefano Baroni +3
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #High-pressure geophysics and materials
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2004.01756
openalex publication_date 2020/04/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The intrinsic luminosity of Uranus is a factor of 10 less than that of Neptune, an observation that standard giant planetary evolution models, which assume negligible viscosity, fail to capture. Here we show that more than half of the interior of Uranus is likely to be in a solid state, and that thermal evolution models that account for this high viscosity region satisfy the observed faintness of Uranus by storing accretional heat deep in the interior. A frozen interior also explains the quality factor of Uranus required by the evolution of the orbits of its satellites.