Cosmic Carving: Birth of a Bloated Neptune from a Jupiter
Original: "Discovery of an Inflated Hot Neptune and Its Formation from Jovian Mass Loss"
TOI-2195 A b, a bloated hot Neptune on a polar orbit, hints at an evolutionary path from cold Jupiters to Neptunes through mass loss and tidal heating.
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A planet that was once a cold Jupiter went through a gravitational meat grinder and lost almost everything except a bloated hydrogen envelope and a rocky heart. Now, like a balloon, it circles its star on a polar orbit. Perhaps half of all hot Neptunes are 'gutted' Jupiters. Peering into their atmospheres means reading the history of violence that shaped worlds.
🎯 TOI-2195 A b's radius is almost equal to Jupiter's, while its mass is only 1.5 times that of Neptune. If placed in water, it would float like a giant balloon.
r_t = R_p \left(\frac{M_\star + m_p}{m_p}\right)^{1/3}
The distance from the planet to the star at which tidal forces tear the planet apart.