2024MNRAS.528.6619E

Whilst the formation of Solar system planets is constrained by meteoritic evidence, the geophysical history of low-mass exoplanets is much less clear. The bulk composition and climate states of rocky exoplanets may vary significantly based on the composition and properties of the planetesimals they form. An important factor influenced by planetesimal composition is water content, where the desiccation of accreting planetesimals impacts the final water content of the resultant planets. While the inner planets of the Solar system are comparatively water-poor, recent observational evidence from exoplanet bulk densities and planetary formation models suggests that rocky exoplanets engulfed by substantial layers of high-pressure ices or massive steam atmospheres could be widespread. Here, we quantify variations in planetesimal desiccation due to potential fractionation of the two short-lived radioisotopes ²⁶Al and ⁶⁰Fe relevant for internal heating on planetary formation time-scales. We focus on how order of magnitude variations in ⁶⁰Fe can affect the water content of planetesimals, and how this may alter the formation of extrasolar ocean worlds. We find that heating by ²⁶Al is the dominant cause of planetesimal heating in any Solar system analogue scenario, thus validating previous works focussing only on this radioisotope. However, ⁶⁰Fe can become the primary heating source in the case of high levels of supernova enrichment in massive star-forming regions. These diverging scenarios can affect the formation pathways, bulk volatile budget, and climate diversity of low-mass exoplanets.