[ExI] 55 Cancri e: a diamond planet

[Anders Sandberg]

On 11/10/2012 19:53, Mike Dougherty wrote:
> While reading about 55 Cancri e I kept wondering if this might be a
> chunk of computronium practically in our own backyard.
>

http://arxiv.org/abs/1104.5230
http://arxiv.org/abs/1005.4050

Sounds very much like a standard super-earth that has just had its 
atmosphere and hydrospher boiled off. I like their term "super-Io" for 
the type.

A planet-sized computronium system will want some serious cooling, and 
that suggests the existence of radiators. That would affect the transit 
curve in particular ways, as Arnold showed:
http://www.obs-hp.fr/~larnold/publi_to_download/Arnold_2005_ApJ_v627n1_534-539.pdf


-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University