Thermal and Orbital Evolution of Low-mass Exoplanets

Abstract The thermal, orbital, and rotational dynamics of tidally loaded exoplanets are interconnected by intricate feedback. The rheological structure of the planet determines its susceptibility to tidal deformation and, as a consequence, participates in shaping its orbit. The orbital parameters and the spin state, conversely, control the rate of tidal dissipation and may lead to substantial changes in the interior. We investigate the coupled thermal–orbital evolution of differentiated rocky exoplanets governed by the Andrade viscoelastic rheology. The coupled evolution is treated by a semianalytical model, 1D parameterized heat transfer, and self-consistently calculated tidal dissipation. First, we conduct several parametric studies, exploring the effect of the rheological properties, the planet size, and the orbital eccentricity on tidal locking and dissipation. These tests show that the role of tidal locking into high spin–orbit resonances is most prominent on low eccentric orbits, where it results in substantially higher tidal heating than synchronous rotation. Second, we calculate the long-term evolution of three currently known low-mass exoplanets with nonzero orbital eccentricity and absent or yet-unknown eccentricity forcing (namely GJ 625 b, GJ 411 b, and Proxima Centauri b). The tidal model incorporates the formation of a stable magma ocean and a consistently evolving spin rate. We find that the thermal state is strongly affected by the evolution of eccentricity and spin state and proceeds as a sequence of thermal equilibria. Final despinning into synchronous rotation slows down the orbital evolution and helps to maintain long-term stable orbital eccentricity.