= Layered convection in a giant planet
A stabilizing composition gradient can suppress large overturning motions while permitting <double-diffusive convection> in small layers separated by interfaces. If heat loss is less efficient than in a single well-mixed adiabat, the planet retains more entropy and contracts more slowly. This is a proposed delayed-cooling contribution to <hot-Jupiter radius inflation>, with an effectiveness that depends on the gradient and layer structure.
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