Energetics
Gravitational binding energies and the initial post-accretion thermal state of a rocky planet, following White & Li (2025, JGRP). Computes \(U_u = 3GM^2/5R\) for an undifferentiated reference, the differentiated binding energy from the actual \(\rho(r)\), the differentiation energy \(U_d - U_u\), and assembles the initial CMB temperature \(T_{\mathrm{CMB}} = T_{\mathrm{eq}} + \Delta T_G + \Delta T_D + \Delta T_{\mathrm{ad}}\). Used by PROTEUS to seed a self-consistent post-accretion state before the atmosphere module equilibrates the surface.
energetics
Gravitational energy and initial thermal state computation.
Computes the self-consistent initial temperature profile of a rocky planet from its structure, following White & Li (2025, JGRP). The initial CMB temperature is (White & Li Eq. 2):
T_CMB = T_eq + Delta_T_G + Delta_T_D + Delta_T_ad
where Delta_T_G = f_a * U_u / (M * C) is the bulk heating from accretion, Delta_T_D = f_d * (U_d - U_u) / (M * C) is the bulk heating from core-mantle differentiation, and Delta_T_ad is the adiabatic temperature increase from the surface to the CMB depth. U_u = 3 G M^2 / (5 R) is the gravitational binding energy of the undifferentiated planet, U_d is the binding energy of the differentiated planet, and f_a, f_d are heat retention efficiencies.
The gravitational heating terms give the average temperature rise of the whole planet. The adiabatic term corrects from the average to the actual CMB temperature, which is hotter than the average because adiabatic compression raises temperature at depth.
The post-accretion surface temperature T_surf_accr = T_eq + DT_G + DT_D is the temperature at the top of the convecting mantle adiabat, before atmospheric equilibration. PROTEUS uses this as the initial condition; the atmosphere module then equilibrates the surface.
Boujibar et al. (2020) use a related but different framework: their accretional energy is the surface gravitational potential GM/R per unit mass (their Eq. 18), they adopt f = 0.04, and they ignore differentiation (f_d = 0). Their Table 3 polynomial gives the T_CMB at which the core starts crystallizing (a melting-curve intersection), not the initial post-accretion temperature.
References
White, N. I. & Li, J. (2025). JGRP, 130, e2024JE008550. Boujibar, A., Driscoll, P. & Fei, Y. (2020). JGRP, 125, e2019JE006124.
gravitational_binding_energy(radii, mass_enclosed)
Gravitational binding energy of a spherically symmetric body.
Computes U = integral_0^M (G m / r) dm via trapezoidal integration on the Zalmoxis radial grid. The integrand is G * m(r) / r, and the integration variable is the enclosed mass m(r).
Parameters:
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
radii
|
array - like
|
Radial grid from center to surface [m]. Shape (N,). |
required |
mass_enclosed
|
array - like
|
Enclosed mass at each radial point [kg]. Shape (N,). |
required |
Returns:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
float
|
Gravitational binding energy [J], always positive. |
Source code in src/zalmoxis/energetics.py
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gravitational_binding_energy_uniform(total_mass, total_radius)
Gravitational binding energy of a uniform-density sphere.
U = 3 G M^2 / (5 R)
Parameters:
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
total_mass
|
float
|
Total mass [kg]. |
required |
total_radius
|
float
|
Total radius [m]. |
required |
Returns:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
float
|
Gravitational binding energy [J], always positive. |
Source code in src/zalmoxis/energetics.py
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differentiation_energy(U_differentiated, U_undifferentiated)
Energy released by differentiation (core formation).
Delta_E = U_differentiated - U_undifferentiated. Positive when the differentiated body is more gravitationally bound (denser core sinks to center, releasing potential energy).
Parameters:
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
U_differentiated
|
float
|
Binding energy of the differentiated (actual) body [J]. |
required |
U_undifferentiated
|
float
|
Binding energy of the uniform-density body [J]. |
required |
Returns:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
float
|
Differentiation energy [J]. |
Source code in src/zalmoxis/energetics.py
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initial_thermal_state(model_results, core_mass_fraction, T_radiative_eq=255.0, f_accretion=0.04, f_differentiation=0.5, C_iron=450.0, C_silicate=1250.0, iron_melting_func=None, nabla_ad_func=None, nabla_ad_iron_func=None, cp_iron_func=None, cp_silicate_func=None)
Compute the initial thermal state and temperature profile.
Follows White & Li (2025) Eq. 2: T_CMB = T_eq + Delta_T_G + Delta_T_D + Delta_T_ad
where Delta_T_G and Delta_T_D are the average bulk heating from accretion and differentiation, and Delta_T_ad is the adiabatic temperature increase from the surface to the CMB depth.
Also computes the full adiabatic T(r) profile for initializing interior evolution solvers (SPIDER, Aragog). The profile is: - Core (r < R_CMB): adiabat inward from T_CMB using iron nabla_ad (or isothermal if nabla_ad_iron_func is None) - Mantle (r > R_CMB): adiabat outward from T_CMB using silicate nabla_ad (PALEOS or Gruneisen fallback) T_surf_accr = T_profile[-1] is the post-accretion surface temperature (top of the mantle adiabat), used as the initial condition for PROTEUS before atmospheric equilibration.
Parameters:
| Name | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
model_results
|
dict
|
Output from |
required |
core_mass_fraction
|
float
|
Core mass fraction (0 to 1). |
required |
T_radiative_eq
|
float
|
Radiative equilibrium temperature [K] (starting point before gravitational heating). Default 255 K. |
255.0
|
f_accretion
|
float
|
Fraction of accretional gravitational energy retained as heat. Default 0.04 (White & Li 2025). |
0.04
|
f_differentiation
|
float
|
Fraction of differentiation energy retained as heat. Default 0.50 (White & Li 2025). |
0.5
|
C_iron
|
float
|
Specific heat capacity of iron [J kg^-1 K^-1]. Default 450
(Dulong-Petit, White & Li 2025). Used as constant fallback
when |
450.0
|
C_silicate
|
float
|
Specific heat capacity of silicate [J kg^-1 K^-1]. Default 1250
(Dulong-Petit, White & Li 2025). Used as constant fallback
when |
1250.0
|
iron_melting_func
|
callable or None
|
Function f(P [Pa]) -> T_melt [K] for the iron melting curve.
If None, uses |
None
|
nabla_ad_func
|
callable or None
|
Function f(P [Pa], T [K]) -> nabla_ad for the mantle (silicate). If None, uses Gruneisen fallback (gamma=1.3, K0=250 GPa, K'=4). |
None
|
nabla_ad_iron_func
|
callable or None
|
Function f(P [Pa], T [K]) -> nabla_ad for the core (iron). If None, the core is set to isothermal at T_CMB. |
None
|
cp_iron_func
|
callable or None
|
Function f(P [Pa], T [K]) -> C_p [J kg^-1 K^-1] for iron.
If provided, C_p is integrated over the core shells to compute
a mass-weighted average instead of using the constant |
None
|
cp_silicate_func
|
callable or None
|
Function f(P [Pa], T [K]) -> C_p [J kg^-1 K^-1] for silicate. If provided, C_p is integrated over the mantle shells. |
None
|
Returns:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
dict
|
Keys: - 'T_cmb' : float, CMB temperature [K] - 'T_surf_accr' : float, post-accretion surface temperature [K] (= T_eq + DT_G + DT_D = top of mantle adiabat). This is the initial condition for PROTEUS; the atmosphere module then equilibrates the surface with the interior. - 'T_profile' : ndarray, T(r) at each Zalmoxis grid point [K] - 'radii' : ndarray, radial grid [m] (from model_results) - 'pressure' : ndarray, pressure profile [Pa] - 'U_differentiated' : float, binding energy of real planet [J] - 'U_undifferentiated' : float, binding energy of uniform planet [J] - 'Delta_T_accretion' : float, temperature rise from accretion [K] - 'Delta_T_differentiation' : float, temperature rise from differentiation [K] - 'Delta_T_adiabat' : float, adiabatic T increase surface->CMB [K] - 'C_avg' : float, mass-weighted average specific heat [J kg^-1 K^-1] - 'C_iron_avg' : float, average iron C_p [J kg^-1 K^-1] - 'C_silicate_avg' : float, average silicate C_p [J kg^-1 K^-1] - 'core_state' : str, 'liquid', 'solid', 'partial', or 'none' |
Source code in src/zalmoxis/energetics.py
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