{
  "abstract": "Double-diffusive convection in the “fuzzy” cores of giant planets has been widely discussed as a mechanism for redistributing heavy elements, but its efficiency in evolutionary models remains uncertain. Here we implement a prescription for transport across a double-diffusive staircase in the planetary evolution code APPLE and apply it to postformation interior models of Jupiter and Saturn that contain steep compositional gradients. We find that after evolving the models for 4.56 Gyr, the transport associated with double-diffusive convection alone cannot transform steep composition gradients and compact cores into extended, partially mixed fuzzy cores. Our results show that in both Jupiter and Saturn, double-diffusive convection redistributes ≈0.1 M ⊕ of heavy elements over the age of the solar system in our fiducial models, and at most ≈2 M ⊕ even when the effective diffusivities are enhanced by 3 orders of magnitude. We show that this inefficiency arises because the buoyancy work available to drive compositional transport is constrained by the small thermal energy budget of the deep interior, in contrast to idealized Boussinesq simulations that operate in regimes more favorable to layer merging and efficient mixing. Since the present-day interiors of Jupiter and Saturn exhibit substantially more extended heavy-element distributions, those structures must have established during formation through additional transport processes not captured by the formation models considered here.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "California Institute of Technology",
    "University of California"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "J. R. Fuentes",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2124-9764"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ankan Sur",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6635-5080"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "David J. Stevenson",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9432-7159"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Peter Bodenheimer",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6093-3097"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bg0mena21gbx.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeacc1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4bg0mena21gbx",
  "issns": [
    "0004-637X",
    "1538-4357"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacc1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astro and Planetary Science"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7167629596",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacc1/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-16",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bg0mena21gbx.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeacc1",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacc1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Astro and Planetary Science",
      "subfield": "planetary"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Self-consistent Evolution Models Show Weak Double-diffusive Mixing in Jupiter and Saturn",
  "title_text": "Self-consistent Evolution Models Show Weak Double-diffusive Mixing in Jupiter and Saturn",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4bg0mena21gbx",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2607.04629",
      "pid": "d20hmpgey7e23",
      "relation": "preprint",
      "title": "Self-Consistent Evolution Models Show Weak Double-Diffusive Mixing in Jupiter and Saturn",
      "venue": "arXiv"
    }
  ]
}