EUV-driven mass-loss of protoplanetary cores with hydrogen-dominated atmospheres: The influences of ionization and orbital distance

Abstract

We investigate the loss rates of the hydrogen atmospheres of terrestrial planets with a range of masses and orbital distances by assuming a stellar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) luminosity that is 100 times stronger than that of the current Sun. We apply a 1D upper atmosphere radiation absorption and hydrodynamic escape model that takes into account ionization, dissociation and recombination to calculate hydrogen mass-loss rates. We study the effects of the ionization, dissociation and recombination on the thermal mass-loss rates of hydrogen-dominated super-Earths and compare the results to those obtained by the energy-limited escape formula which is widely used for mass-loss evolution studies. Our results indicate that the energy-limited formula can to a great extent over- or underestimate the hydrogen mass-loss rates by amounts that depend on the stellar EUV flux and planetary parameters such as mass, size, effective temperature and EUV absorption radius.