What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate the phase behavior of metallic liquids and silicate melts under extreme pressure and temperature conditions in exoplanet interiors.

August 19, 2026Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Coreless exoplanets induced by metal–silicate miscibility

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Authors

HLHaiyang LuoUniversity of Science and Technology of China DZDongyu ZhengUniversity of Leeds CDCaroline DornETH Zurich

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Implication

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal metal-silicate mixing under extreme planetary conditions, indicating the existence of coreless exoplanets with reduced central pressures.

Key Points

To investigate the phase behavior of metallic liquids and silicate melts under extreme pressure and temperature conditions in exoplanet interiors.
Conducted large-scale molecular dynamics simulations driven by ab initio-quality machine-learning potentials.
Mapped the solvus closure curve for iron and silicate mixtures across extreme planetary pressure-temperature regimes.
Identified that extreme temperatures and pressures permit partially or fully mixed metal–silicate interiors in hot super-Earths and sub-Neptunes.
Demonstrated that coreless exoplanets share nearly identical mass–radius profiles with differentiated planets but experience central pressure reductions of up to a factor of two.
Showed that coreless planets exhibit a larger fluid Love number, offering an observable signature for future astronomical missions.

Cite This Study

Luo et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a85637603308d306e2d69a2 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2615884123

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Implication

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal metal-silicate mixing under extreme planetary conditions, indicating the existence of coreless exoplanets with reduced central pressures.

Coreless exoplanets induced by metal–silicate miscibility

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Coreless exoplanets induced by metal–silicate miscibility

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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