2025AJ....170..282B -
Astron. J., 170, 282 (2025/November-0)
A Link between Rocky Planet Density and Host Star Chemistry.
BEHMARD A., BRINKMAN C.L., HATTORI S., RUBENZAHL R.A. and BEDELL M.
Abstract (from CDS):
Planets and their host stars form from the same cloud of gas and dust, so we assume that their chemical compositions are linked. However, a clear correlation between rocky planet interior properties and host star chemistry remains elusive for planets around FGK dwarfs, and nonexistent for planets around M dwarfs because cool stars frequently lack detailed chemical information. Here, we investigate the relationship between small (RP ≤ 1.8 R⊕) planet densities and host star elemental abundances. We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V/Milky Way Mapper and an accompanying data-driven framework to obtain abundances for FGK and M dwarf hosts of 22 rocky planets. We find that planet densities exhibit a strong, inverse relationship to [Mg/Fe] abundances of FGK hosts (p = 0.001). This correlation becomes more significant with the addition of M dwarf hosts (p = 0.0005). If we assume that rocky planets have terrestrial-like compositions, this suggests that low [Mg/Fe] environments form planets with larger Fe-rich cores and thus higher densities. The thick disk planets in our sample help anchor this trend, illustrating the importance of sampling exoplanet properties across a range of host star populations. This finding highlights the connection between Galactic chemical evolution and rocky planet formation, and indicates that Earth-like planet compositions may vary significantly across different regions of the Galaxy.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Stellar abundances - Extrasolar rocky planets
Simbad objects:
45
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