On the Possible Properties of Small and Cold Extrasolar Planets: Is OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb Entirely Frozen?

Abstract

Extrasolar planets as light as a few Earths are now being detected. Such planets are likely not gas or ice giants. Here, we present a study on the possible properties of the small and cold extrasolar planets, applied to the case of the recently discovered planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb (Beaulieu et al. 2006). This planet (5.5[+5.5/-2.7] Earth masses) orbits 2.6[+1.5/-0.6]-astronomical units away from an old M-type star of the Galactic Bulge. The planet should be entirely frozen given the low surface temperature (35 to 47 K). However, depending on the rock-to-ice mass ratio in the planet, the radiogenic heating could be sufficient to make the existence of liquid water within an icy crust possible. This possibility is estimated as a function of the planetary mass and the illumination received from the parent star, both being strongly related by the observational constraints. The results are presented for water-poor and water-rich planets. We find that no oceans can be present in any cases at 9-10 Gyr, a typical age for a star of the Bulge. However, we find that, in the past when the planet was < 5-billion-years old, liquid water was likely present below an icy surface. Nevertheless, the planet is now likely to be entirely frozen.