Broad absorption signatures from alkali metals, such as the sodium (Na I) and potassium (K I) resonance doublets, have long been predicted in the optical atmospheric spectra of cloud-free irradiated ...gas giant exoplanets
. However, observations have revealed only the narrow cores of these features rather than the full pressure-broadened profiles
. Cloud and haze opacity at the day-night planetary terminator are considered to be responsible for obscuring the absorption-line wings, which hinders constraints on absolute atmospheric abundances
. Here we report an optical transmission spectrum for the 'hot Saturn' exoplanet WASP-96b obtained with the Very Large Telescope, which exhibits the complete pressure-broadened profile of the sodium absorption feature. The spectrum is in excellent agreement with cloud-free, solar-abundance models assuming chemical equilibrium. We are able to measure a precise, absolute sodium abundance of logε
= Formula: see text, and use it as a proxy for the planet's atmospheric metallicity relative to the solar value (Z
/Z
= Formula: see text). This result is consistent with the mass-metallicity trend observed for Solar System planets and exoplanets
.
In the solar system, the planets' compositions vary with orbital distance, with rocky planets in close orbits and lower-density gas giants in wider orbits. The detection of close-in giant planets ...around other stars was the first clue that this pattern is not universal and that planets' orbits can change substantially after their formation. Here, we report another violation of the orbit-composition pattern: two planets orbiting the same star with orbital distances differing by only 10% and densities differing by a factor of 8. One planet is likely a rocky "super-Earth," whereas the other is more akin to Neptune. These planets are 20 times more closely spaced and have a larger density contrast than any adjacent pair of planets in the solar system.
Atmospheric characterization through spectroscopic analysis, an essential tool of modern exoplanet science, can benefit significantly from the context provided by the interior structure models. In ...particular, the planet's bulk metallicity, Zp, places an upper limit on the potential atmospheric metallicity. Here we construct interior structure models to derive Zp and atmospheric metallicity upper limits for 403 known transiting giant exoplanets. These limits are low enough that they can usefully inform atmosphere models. Additionally, we argue that comparing Zp to the observed atmospheric metallicity gives a useful measure of how well mixed metals are within the planet. This represents a new avenue for learning about planetary interiors. To aid in the future characterization of new planet discoveries we derive analytic prior predictions of atmosphere metallicity as a function of planet mass, and evaluate the effectiveness of our approach on Jupiter and Saturn. We include log-linear fits for approximating the metallicities of planets not in our catalog.
We highlight the importance of gaseous TiO and VO opacity on the highly irradiated close-in giant planets. The day-side atmospheres of these planets naturally fall into two classes that are somewhat ...analogous to the M- and L- type dwarfs. Those that are warm enough to have appreciable opacity due to TiO and VO gases we term ``pM class'' planets, and those that are cooler we term ``pL class'' planets. We calculate model atmospheres for these planets, including pressure-temperature profiles, spectra, and characteristic radiative time constants. We show that pM class planets have temperature inversions (hot stratospheres), appear ``anomalously'' bright in the mid- infrared secondary eclipse, and feature molecular bands in emission rather than absorption. From simple physical arguments, we show that they will have large day/night temperature contrasts and negligible phase shifts between orbital phase and thermal emission light curves, because radiative timescales are much shorter than possible dynamical timescales. The pL class planets absorb incident flux deeper in the atmosphere where atmospheric dynamics will more readily redistribute absorbed energy. This will lead to cooler day sides, warmer night sides, and larger phase shifts in thermal emission light curves. The boundary between these classes (image0.04-0.05 AU from a Sun- like primary for solar composition) is particularly dependent on the incident flux from the parent star, and less so on other factors. We apply these results to several planets and note that the eccentric transiting planets HD 147506b and HD 17156b alternate between the classes. Thermal emission in the optical from pM class planets is significant redward of 400 nm, making these planets attractive targets for optical detection. The difference in the observed day/night contrast between image And b (pM class) and HD 189733b (pL class) is naturally explained in this scenario.
In giant planet atmosphere modeling, the intrinsic temperature Tint and radiative-convective boundary (RCB) are important lower boundary conditions. Often in one-dimensional radiative-convective ...models and in three-dimensional general circulation models it is assumed that Tint is similar to that of Jupiter itself, around 100 K, which yields an RCB around 1 kbar for hot Jupiters. In this work, we show that the inflated radii, and hence high specific entropy interiors (8-11 kb/baryon), of hot Jupiters suggest much higher Tint. Assuming the effect is primarily due to current heating (rather than delayed cooling), we derive an equilibrium relation between Teq and Tint, showing that the latter can take values as high as 700 K. In response, the RCB moves upward in the atmosphere. Using one-dimensional radiative-convective atmosphere models, we find RCBs of only a few bars, rather than the kilobar typically supposed. This much shallower RCB has important implications for the atmospheric structure, vertical and horizontal circulation, interpretation of atmospheric spectra, and the effect of deep cold traps on cloud formation.
To aid in the physical interpretation of planetary radii constrained through observations of transiting planets, or eventually direct detections, we compute model radii of pure hydrogen-helium, ...water, rock, and iron planets, along with various mixtures. Masses ranging from 0.01 Earth masses to 10 Jupiter masses at orbital distances of 0.02-10 AU are considered. For hydrogen-helium rich planets, our models are the first to couple planetary evolution to stellar irradiation over a wide range of orbital separations 0.02-10 AU) through a nongray radiative-convective equilibrium atmosphere model. Stellar irradiation retards the contraction of giant planets, but its effect is not a simple function of the irradiation level: a planet at 1 AU contracts as slowly as a planet at 0.1 AU. We confirm the assertion of Guillot that very old giant planets under modest stellar irradiation (like that received by Jupiter and Saturn) develop isothermal atmospheric radiative zones once the planet's intrinsic flux drops to a small fraction of the incident flux. For hydrogen-helium planets, we consider cores up to 90% of the total planet mass, comparable to those of Uranus and Neptune. If "hot Neptunes" have maintained their original masses and are not remnants of more massive planets, radii of similar to 0.30-0.45 unk are expected. Water planets are similar to 40%-50% larger than rocky planets, independent of mass. Finally, we provide tables of planetary radii at various ages and compositions, and for ice-rock-iron planets we fit our results to analytic functions, which will allow for quick composition estimates, given masses and radii, or mass estimates, given only planetary radii. These results will assist in the interpretation of observations for both the current transiting planet surveys as well as upcoming space missions, including COROT and Kepler.
Abstract
The detection of Earth-size exoplanets around low-mass stars –in stars such as Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1– provide an exceptional chance to improve our understanding of the formation of ...planets around M stars and brown dwarfs. We explore the formation of such planets with a population synthesis code based on a planetesimal-driven model previously used to study the formation of the Jovian satellites. Because the discs have low mass and the stars are cool, the formation is an inefficient process that happens at short periods, generating compact planetary systems. Planets can be trapped in resonances and we follow the evolution of the planets after the gas has dissipated and they undergo orbit crossings and possible mergers. We find that formation of planets above Mars mass and in the planetesimal accretion scenario, is only possible around stars with masses M⋆ ≥ 0.07Msun and discs of Mdisc ≥ 10−2 Msun. We find that planets above Earth-mass form around stars with masses larger than 0.15 Msun, while planets larger than 5 M⊕ do not form in our model, even not under the most optimal conditions (massive disc), showing that planets such as GJ 3512b form with another, more efficient mechanism. Our results show that the majority of planets form with a significant water fraction; that most of our synthetic planetary systems have 1, 2 or 3 planets, but planets with 4,5,6 and 7 planets are also common, confirming that compact planetary systems with many planets should be a relatively common outcome of planet formation around small stars.
We discuss our current understanding of the interior structure and thermal evolution of giant planets. This includes the gas giants, such as Jupiter and Saturn, that are primarily composed of ...hydrogen and helium, as well as the “ice giants,” such as Uranus and Neptune, which are primarily composed of elements heavier than H/He. The effect of different hydrogen equations of state (including new first-principles computations) on Jupiter’s core mass and heavy element distribution is detailed. This variety of the hydrogen equations of state translate into an uncertainty in Jupiter’s core mass of 18
M
⊕
. For Uranus and Neptune we find deep envelope metallicities up to 0.95, perhaps indicating the existence of an eroded core, as also supported by their low luminosity. We discuss the results of simple cooling models of our solar system’s planets, and show that more complex thermal evolution models may be necessary to understand their cooling history. We review how measurements of the masses and radii of the nearly 50 transiting extrasolar giant planets are changing our understanding of giant planets. In particular a fraction of these planets appear to be larger than can be accommodated by standard models of planetary contraction. We review the proposed explanations for the radii of these planets. We also discuss very young giant planets, which are being directly imaged with ground- and space-based telescopes.
We report Hubble Space Telescope optical to near-infrared transmission spectroscopy of the hot-Jupiter WASP-6b, measured with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and Spitzer's InfraRed Array ...Camera. The resulting spectrum covers the range 0.29–4.5 μm. We find evidence for modest stellar activity of WASP-6 and take it into account in the transmission spectrum. The overall main characteristic of the spectrum is an increasing radius as a function of decreasing wavelength corresponding to a change of Δ (R
p / R
*) = 0.0071 from 0.33 to 4.5 μm. The spectrum suggests an effective extinction cross-section with a power law of index consistent with Rayleigh scattering, with temperatures of 973 ± 144 K at the planetary terminator. We compare the transmission spectrum with hot-Jupiter atmospheric models including condensate-free and aerosol-dominated models incorporating Mie theory. While none of the clear-atmosphere models is found to be in good agreement with the data, we find that the complete spectrum can be described by models that include significant opacity from aerosols including Fe-poor Mg2SiO4, MgSiO3, KCl and Na2S dust condensates. WASP-6b is the second planet after HD 189733b which has equilibrium temperatures near ∼1200 K and shows prominent atmospheric scattering in the optical.
Abstract
We present a new generation of substellar atmosphere and evolution models, appropriate for application to studies of L-, T-, and Y-type brown dwarfs and self-luminous extrasolar planets. The ...models describe the expected temperature-pressure profiles and emergent spectra of atmospheres in radiative-convective equilibrium with effective temperatures and gravities within the ranges 200 ≤
T
eff
≤ 2400 K and
2.5
≤
log
g
≤
5.5
. These ranges encompass masses from about 0.5 to 85 Jupiter masses for a set of metallicities (M/H = − 0.5 to + 0.5), C/O ratios (from 0.5 to 1.5 times that of solar), and ages. These models expand the diversity of model atmospheres currently available, notably to cooler effective temperatures and greater ranges in C/O. Notable improvements from past such models include updated opacities and atmospheric chemistry. Here we describe our modeling approach and present our initial tranche of models for cloudless, chemical equilibrium atmospheres. We compare the modeled spectra, photometry, and evolution to various data sets.
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