Exoplanets could be made of diamonds, researchers say: Report

Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of Chicago researchers have determined that certain carbon-rich exoplanets, could be made of diamonds and silica, if the circumstances are right, Science Daily reported.

In a new study published recently in The Planetary Science Journal, the team of researchers stated that stars and planets are formed out of the same cloud of gas, hence their bulk compositions are similar. Stars that have a lower carbon to oxygen ratio will have Earth-like planets comprised of silicates and oxides with a very small diamond content orbiting them. Also, Earth's diamond content is about 0.001 percent.

lead author Harrison Allen-Sutter of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration told Science daily, lead author Harrison Allen-Sutter of ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration.

So, the exoplanets that orbit stars with a higher carbon to oxygen ratio are more likely to be rich in carbon. The hypothesis proposed by Allen-Sutter and co-authors Emily Garhart, Kurt Leinenweber and Dan Shim of ASU, with Vitali Prakapenka and Eran Greenberg of the University of Chicago, says that these exoplanets that have a high carbon content could convert to diamond and silicate in the presence of water, which is found in the universe abundantly in non-liquid forms, creating a diamond-rich composition.

The researcher tested this hypothesis by mimicking the interior of carbide exoplanets using high heat and high pressure. This was done with the help of high-pressure diamond-anvil cells at co-author Shim's Lab for Earth and Planetary Materials.

Even though life on other planets hasn’t been found yet, however, the search continues.

"Regardless of habitability, this is one additional step in helping us understand and characterise our ever-increasing and improving observations of exoplanets. The more we learn, the better we'll be able to interpret new data from upcoming future missions like the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to understand the worlds beyond on our own solar system," Allen-Stutter said.