The Possible Formation of Jupiter from Supersolar Gas

Abstract

More than two decades ago, the Galileo probe performed in situ measurements of the composition of Jupiter’s atmosphere and found that the abundances of C, N, S, P, Ar, Kr, and Xe were all enriched by factors of 1.5–5.4 times their protosolar value. Juno’s measurements recently confirmed the supersolar N abundance and also found that the O abundance was enriched by a factor 1–5 compared with its protosolar value. Here, we aim at determining the radial and temporal evolution of the composition of gases and solids in the protosolar nebula (PSN) to assess the possibility that Jupiter’s current composition was acquired via the direct accretion of supersolar gases. To do so, we model the evolution of a 1D α-viscous accretion disk that includes the radial transport of dust and ice particles and their vapors, with their sublimation and condensation rates, to compute the composition of the PSN. We find that the composition of Jupiter’s envelope can be explained only from its accretion from PSN gas (α ≤ 10−3), or from a mixture of vapors and solids (α > 10−3). The composition of the PSN at 4 au, namely between the locations of the H2O and CO2 icelines, reproduces the one measured in Jupiter between 100 and 300 kyr of disk evolution. Our results are found to be compatible with both the core accretion model, where Jupiter would acquire its metallicity by late accretion of volatile-rich planetesimals, and the gravitational collapse scenario, where the composition of proto-Jupiter would be similar to that of the PSN.