FOR 2440:  Matter Under Planetary Interior Conditions - High-Pressure, Planetary and Plasma Physics

• Subject Area: Geosciences ; Physics
• Term: since 2017
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 280637173

In the second funding period, the Research Unit continues to aim at improving the understanding of the composition and structure ofplanetary interiors through an interdisciplinary approach, involving experiments, theory, and modeling activities. We will study thephysical properties of rock-forming minerals and complex molecular mixtures, which are relevant for the most abundant extrasolar planetsdetected so far: super-Earths and Neptune-sized planets. Structural properties and phase stabilities will be investigated experimentallyusing novel methods of high pressure physics that enable us to access the pressure-temperature regime relevant for deep planetaryinteriors. Simultaneously, ab initio simulations will be performed in order to predict the thermophysical properties of these materials for awide range of pressure and temperature. These simulations will be benchmarked by experiments, but will also be important for thepreparation and evaluation of the proposed experiments. The acquired data will be used to constrain new models for the interior andthe evolution of super-Earths and Neptune-like planets and for the evaluation of their tidal response, which is characterized by Lovenumbers. The results will be applied to evaluate observational data for extrasolar planets from space missions such as Kepler, Gaia, TESS,CHEOPS, and PLATO 2.0 and will produce new insight in their formation, evolution, and interior structure.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Ab initio simulations for thermophysical properties of molecular HCNO mixtures (Applicant French, Martin )
• Ab initio simulations of rocky mantle materials and iron under extreme conditions (Applicant Redmer, Ronald )
• Constraining the interiors of exoplanets by measuring the Love number k_2 (Applicant Rauer, Heike )
• Constraining the interiors of exoplanets by measuring the Love numbers k2, h2 (Applicant Csizmadia, Ph.D., Szilárd )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Redmer, Ronald )
• Dynamic compression experiments of rock material at free electron lasers (Applicant Appel, Karen )
• Experimental study of planetary ices at high pressure-high temperature using dynamically-driven diamond-anvil cells (Applicant Sanchez-Valle, Ph.D., Carmen )
• Experimental study of planetary ices at high pressure using dynamically-driven diamond-anvil cells (Applicant Liermann, Ph.D., Hanns-Peter )
• Structural and thermal models of mostly-rocky extrasolar planets (Applicant Tosi, Nicola )
• Structural and thermal models of rocky planets and solid exoplanets (Applicant Sohl, Frank )
• Structure and evolution models for Uranus, Neptune, and extrasolar planets with observed Love number k2 (Applicant Tosi, Nicola )
• Super-Earth's Mantle Forming Materials at Static Pressures over 500 GPa and High Temperatures (Applicant Dubrovinsky, Leonid )
• Thermodynamic properties of solid and liquid silicates and oxides in the TPa range from ab initio calculations (Applicant Steinle-Neumann, Gerd )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Ronald Redmer