| Issue |
A&A
Volume 704, December 2025
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | A253 | |
| Number of page(s) | 12 | |
| Section | Numerical methods and codes | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556537 | |
| Published online | 17 December 2025 | |
Giant planet evolution with MESA
Department of Astrophysics, University of Zürich,
Winterthurerstrasse 190,
8057
Zürich,
Switzerland
★ Corresponding author: ravit.helled@uzh.ch
Received:
22
July
2025
Accepted:
22
October
2025
The evolution of gaseous planets is a complex process influenced by various physical parameters and mechanisms. In this study, we present critical modifications to the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) code to enhance its applicability to giant planet modeling. We introduce an equation of state specifically tailored for materials at planetary conditions. The equation of state considers the thermodynamic properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures and heavy elements, improving the accuracy of internal structure calculations. We also present modifications to the radiative opacity to allow the modeling of grains, clouds and opacity windows. Furthermore, we refine the treatment of convective mixing processes in MESA to better replicate convective mixing with the presence of composition gradients. Finally, we add a treatment for helium rain and settling. These modifications aim to enhance the predictive capabilities of MESA for giant planet evolution and are publicly available. We hope that these improvements will lead to a deeper understanding of giant planet evolution in the Solar System and beyond.
Key words: planets and satellites: composition / planets and satellites: gaseous planets / planets and satellites: general / planets and satellites: interiors / planets and satellites: physical evolution
© The Authors 2025
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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