Hakim, Kaustubh

Invited talk presented at BINA/BIPASS Meeting, Brussels, Belgium on 2023-10-10

Abstract: Sub-Neptunes are one of the most common exoplanets in the galaxy with no analogues in the solar system. Because they are largely rock by mass and gas by volume, unlike rocky planets that are rock by mass and by volume and gas giants that are mostly gas. This distinction puts the interior-atmosphere boundary of sub-Neptunes in a physicochemical regime that is largely unexplored. In this presentation, I will introduce the topic of interior-atmosphere interactions of sub-Neptunes. I will present an avenue to detect geochemical signatures of sub-Neptunes by following a closed chemical network for reactions between the gas and rock at the interior-atmosphere boundary. This has implications for understanding the interior structure and composition of sub-Neptunes.