PROTEUS (/ˈproʊtiəs, PROH-tee-əs) is a modular Python framework that simulates the coupled evolution of the atmospheres and interiors of rocky planets and exoplanets. Inspired by the Greek god of elusive sea change, who could change his form at will, PROTEUS is designed to be flexible and adaptable to a wide range of planetary environments. It can foretell the future, but answers only to those who are capable of asking the right questions.
See the installation guide and usage guide for initial steps and troubleshooting advice. Only attempt to run PROTEUS after you have followed all of the installation instructions.
| Name | Email address |
|---|---|
| Tim Lichtenberg | tim.lichtenberg[at]rug.nl |
| Harrison Nicholls | harrison.nicholls[at]physics.ox.ac.uk |
| Laurent Soucasse | l.soucasse[at]esciencecenter.nl |
| Mariana Sastre | m.c.villamil.sastre[at]rug.nl |
| Emma Postolec | e.n.postolec[at]rug.nl |
| Dan J. Bower | dbower[at]ethz.ch |
| Mark Hammond | mark.hammond[at]physics.ox.ac.uk |
| Stef Smeets | s.smeets[at]esciencecenter.nl |
| Raymond Pierrehumbert | raymond.pierrehumbert[at]physics.ox.ac.uk |
| Object | Description |
|---|---|
README.md |
Overview file |
pyproject.toml |
Project configuration file |
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md |
Project code of conduct |
LICENSE.txt |
Project license |
src/proteus |
Source code for PROTEUS |
output/ |
Output folder with subfolders for each model run |
input/ |
Example configuration files for running the model |
docs/ |
Documentation source files |
examples/ |
Example cases that the model should be able to reproduce |
tests/ |
Unit tests for the code |
tools/ |
Tools for setting up the environment |
If you make use of PROTEUS, please reference the following papers, and state the code version used. The code version can be found in the pyproject.toml file.
@ARTICLE{Nicholls_2025_MNRAS,
author = {{Nicholls}, Harrison and {Pierrehumbert}, Raymond T. and {Lichtenberg}, Tim and {Soucasse}, Laurent and {Smeets}, Stef},
title = "{Convective shutdown in the atmospheres of lava worlds}",
journal = {\mnras},
keywords = {Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics},
year = 2025,
month = jan,
volume = {536},
number = {3},
pages = {2957-2971},
doi = {10.1093/mnras/stae2772},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
eprint = {2412.11987},
primaryClass = {astro-ph.EP},
adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025MNRAS.536.2957N},
adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}
}
@ARTICLE{Nicholls_2024_JGRP,
author = {{Nicholls}, Harrison and {Lichtenberg}, Tim and {Bower}, Dan J. and {Pierrehumbert}, Raymond},
title = "{Magma Ocean Evolution at Arbitrary Redox State}",
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets)},
keywords = {magma oceans, lava planets, exoplanets, atmospheres, simulation, convection, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics},
year = 2024,
month = dec,
volume = {129},
number = {12},
pages = {2024JE008576},
doi = {10.1029/2024JE008576},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
eprint = {2411.19137},
primaryClass = {astro-ph.EP},
adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024JGRE..12908576N},
adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}
}
@ARTICLE{Lichtenberg_2021_JGRP,
author = {{Lichtenberg}, Tim and {Bower}, Dan J. and {Hammond}, Mark and {Boukrouche}, Ryan and {Sanan}, Patrick and {Tsai}, Shang-Min and {Pierrehumbert}, Raymond T.},
title = "{Vertically Resolved Magma Ocean-Protoatmosphere Evolution: H$_{2}$, H$_{2}$O, CO$_{2}$, CH$_{4}$, CO, O$_{2}$, and N$_{2}$ as Primary Absorbers}",
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets)},
keywords = {Atmosphere origins, exoplanets, magma oceans, planet composition, planet formation and evolution, planetary surface, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Physics - Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics, Physics - Geophysics},
year = 2021,
month = feb,
volume = {126},
number = {2},
eid = {e06711},
pages = {e06711},
doi = {10.1029/2020JE006711},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
eprint = {2101.10991},
primaryClass = {astro-ph.EP},
adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021JGRE..12606711L},
adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}
}