| Issue |
EPL
Volume 150, Number 1, April 2025
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 19001 | |
| Number of page(s) | 6 | |
| Section | Gravitation, cosmology and astrophysics | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/adb452 | |
| Published online | 22 April 2025 | |
Revisiting the barometric equation and the extent of a planetary atmosphere
1 Independent Researcher - Port Angeles, WA 98362, USA
2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo - Toledo, OH 43606, USA
Received: 7 September 2024
Accepted: 10 February 2025
The standard barometric equation predicts the molecular concentration 
where 
. Because the mean free path 
increases exponentially, we show that at high altitudes z, the equation is no longer within the domain of applicability of the standard kinetic theory 
. Here, we predict the dependence 
for the case 
in uniform gravity. It corresponds to a non-stationary planetary atmosphere with hydrogen accretion. The predicted accretion is accompanied by a release of gravitational potential energy that leads to heating of the atmosphere. In that context, we suggest that gravitational energy could be the elusive source that drives the formation of stellar coronas. Other consequences of accretion are: slowly decaying tails of planetary atmospheres, the existence of gas giants, and periodical hydrogen explosions of white dwarfs.
© 2025 The author(s)
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