Abstract
Though the global atmospheres of hot Jupiters have been extensively studied using phase curve observations, the level of time variability in these data is not well constrained. To ...investigate possible time variability in a planetary phase curve, we observed two full-orbit phase curves of the hot Jupiter WASP-43b at 4.5
μ
m using the Spitzer Space Telescope, and reanalyzed a previous 4.5
μ
m phase curve from Stevenson et al. We find no significant time variability between these three phase curves, which span timescales of weeks to years. The three observations are best fit by a single phase curve with an eclipse depth of 3907 ± 85 ppm, a dayside-integrated brightness temperature of 1479 ± 13 K, a nightside integrated brightness temperature of 755 ± 46 K, and an eastward-shifted peak of 10.°4 ± 1.°8. To model our observations, we performed 3D general circulation model simulations of WASP-43b with simple cloud models of various vertical extents. In comparing these simulations to our observations, we find that WASP-43b likely has a cloudy nightside that transitions to a relatively cloud-free dayside. We estimate that any change in WASP-43b’s vertical cloud thickness of more than three pressure scale heights is inconsistent with our observed upper limit on variation. These observations, therefore, indicate that WASP-43b’s clouds are stable in their vertical and spatial extent over timescales up to several years. These results strongly suggest that atmospheric properties derived from previous, single Spitzer phase curve observations of hot Jupiters likely show us the equilibrium properties of these atmospheres.
Abstract
The near-infrared transmission spectrum of the warm sub-Neptune exoplanet GJ 1214 b has been observed to be flat and featureless, implying a high metallicity atmosphere with abundant ...aerosols. Recent JWST MIRI Low Resolution Spectrometer observations of a phase curve of GJ 1214 b showed that its transmission spectrum is flat out into the mid-infrared. In this paper, we use the combined near- and mid-infrared transmission spectrum of GJ 1214 b to constrain its atmospheric composition and aerosol properties. We generate a grid of photochemical haze models using an aerosol microphysics code for a number of background atmospheres spanning metallicities from 100 to 1000× solar, as well as a steam atmosphere scenario. The flatness of the combined data set largely rules out atmospheric metallicities ≤300× solar due to their large corresponding molecular feature amplitudes, preferring values ≥1000× solar and column haze production rates ≥10
−10
g cm
−2
s
−1
. The steam atmosphere scenario with similarly high haze production rates also exhibits sufficiently small molecular features to be consistent with the transmission spectrum. These compositions imply that atmospheric mean molecular weights ≥15 g mol
−1
are needed to fit the data. Our results suggest that haze production is highly efficient on GJ 1214 b and could involve non-hydrocarbon, non-nitrogen haze precursors. Further characterization of GJ 1214 b’s atmosphere would likely require multiple transits and eclipses using JWST across the near- and mid-infrared, potentially complemented by ground-based high-resolution transmission spectroscopy.
We present high resolution transmission spectra of giant planet atmospheres from a coupled three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric dynamics and transmission spectrum model that includes Doppler shifts ...which arise from winds and planetary motion. The results of our 3D dynamical models reveal certain aspects of high resolution transmission spectra that are not present in simple one-dimensional (1D) models. We find that the hottest planets experience strong substellar to anti-stellar (SSAS) winds, resulting in transmission spectra with net blueshifts of up to 3 km s super(-1), whereas less irradiated planets show almost no net Doppler shifts. Compared to 1D models, peak line strengths are significantly reduced for the hottest atmospheres owing to Doppler broadening from a combination of rotation (which is faster for close-in planets under the assumption of tidal locking) and atmospheric winds. We caution that interpretation of high resolution transmission spectra based on 1D atmospheric models may be inadequate, as 3D atmospheric motions can produce a noticeable effect on the absorption signatures.
The upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope means that we will soon have the capability to characterize the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets. However, it is still unknown whether such ...planets orbiting close to M dwarf stars can retain their atmospheres, or whether high-energy irradiation from the star will strip the gaseous envelopes from these objects. We present a new method to detect an atmosphere on a synchronously rotating rocky exoplanet around a K/M dwarf, by using thermal emission during secondary eclipse to infer a high dayside albedo that could only be explained by bright clouds. Based on calculations for plausible surface conditions, we conclude that a high albedo could be unambiguously interpreted as a signal of an atmosphere for planets with substellar temperatures of Tsub = 410-1250 K. This range corresponds to equilibrium temperatures of Teq = 300-880 K. We compare the inferred albedos of eight possible planet surface compositions to cloud albedo calculations. We determine that a layer of clouds with optical depths greater than τ = 0.5-7, would have high enough albedos to be distinguishable from a bare rock surface. This method of detecting an atmosphere on a rocky planet is complementary to existing methods for detecting atmospheres, because it provides a way to detect atmospheres with pressures below 1 bar (e.g., Mars), which are too tenuous to transport significant heat but thick enough to host high-albedo clouds.
Abstract
We study the emergent spectral fluxes of transiting hot Jupiters, using secondary eclipses from Spitzer. To achieve a large and uniform sample, we have reanalyzed all secondary eclipses for ...all hot Jupiters observed by Spitzer at 3.6 and/or 4.5
μ
m. Our sample comprises 457 eclipses of 122 planets, including eclipses of 13 planets not previously published. We use these eclipse depths to calculate the spectral fluxes emergent from the exoplanetary atmospheres, and thereby infer the temperatures and spectral properties of hot Jupiters. We find that an abrupt rise in brightness temperature, similar to a phase change, occurs on the dayside atmospheres of the population at an equilibrium temperature between 1714 and 1818 K (99% confidence limits). The amplitude of the rise is 291 ± 49 K, and two viable causes are the onset of magnetic drag that inhibits longitudinal heat redistribution, and/or the rapid dissipation of dayside clouds. We also study hot Jupiter spectral properties with respect to metallicity and temperature inversions. Models exhibiting 4.5
μ
m emission from temperature inversions reproduce our fluxes statistically for the hottest planets, but the transition to emission is gradual, not abrupt. The Spitzer fluxes are sensitive to metallicity for planets cooler than ∼1200 K, and most of the hot Jupiter population falls between model tracks having solar to 30× solar metallicity.
Using a general circulation model (GCM), we investigate trends in simulated hot Jupiter atmospheres for a range of irradiation temperatures (1500-4000 K), surface gravities (10 and 40 m s−2), and ...cloud conditions. Our models include simplified temperature-dependent clouds with radiative feedback and show how different cloud compositions, vertical thicknesses, and opacities shape hot Jupiter atmospheres by potentially increasing planetary albedos, decreasing photospheric pressures and nightside temperatures, and in some cases producing strong dayside thermal inversions. With decreasing irradiation, clouds progressively form on the nightside and cooler western limb, followed by the eastern limb and central dayside. We find that clouds significantly modify the radiative transport and affect the observable properties of planets colder than Tirr 3000 K (Teq 2100 K) depending on the clouds' vertical extent. The precise strength of expected effects depends on the assumed parameters, but trends in predicted phase curves emerge from an ensemble of simulations. Clouds lead to larger phase-curve amplitudes and smaller phase-curve offsets at IR wavelengths, compared to cloud-free models. At optical wavelengths, we predict mostly westward phase-curve offsets at intermediate temperatures (Tirr 2000-3500 K) with clouds confined to the nightside and western limb. If clouds are vertically compact (i.e., on the order of a pressure scale height in thickness), their distributions and effects become more complicated as different condensates form at different heights-some too deep to significantly affect the observable atmosphere. Our results have implications for interpreting the diversity of phase-curve observations of planets with Tirr 3000 K.
Abstract
It remains to be ascertained whether sub-Neptune exoplanets primarily possess hydrogen-rich atmospheres or whether a population of H
2
O-rich water worlds lurks in their midst. Addressing ...this question requires improved modeling of water-rich exoplanetary atmospheres, both to predict and interpret spectroscopic observations and to serve as upper boundary conditions on interior structure calculations. Here, we present new models of hydrogen-helium-water atmospheres with water abundances ranging from solar to 100% water vapor. We improve upon previous models of high-water-content atmospheres by incorporating updated prescriptions for water self-broadening and a nonideal gas equation of state. Our model grid (
https://umd.box.com/v/water-worlds
) includes temperature–pressure profiles in radiative-convective equilibrium, along with their associated transmission and thermal emission spectra. We find that our model updates primarily act at high pressures, significantly impacting bottom-of-atmosphere temperatures, with implications for the accuracy of interior structure calculations. Upper-atmosphere conditions and spectroscopic observables are less impacted by our model updates, and we find that, under most conditions, retrieval codes built for hot Jupiters should also perform well on water-rich planets. We additionally quantify the observational degeneracies among both thermal emission and transmission spectra. We recover standard degeneracies with clouds and mean molecular weight for transmission spectra, and we find thermal emission spectra to be more readily distinguishable from one another in the water-poor (i.e., near-solar) regime.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will make it possible to comprehensively measure the thermal emission spectra of rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarfs and thus characterize their atmospheres. In ...preparation for this opportunity, we present model atmospheres for three M-dwarf planets particularly amenable to secondary eclipse spectroscopy-TRAPPIST-1b, GJ 1132b, and LHS 3844b. Using three limiting cases of candidate atmospheric compositions (pure H2O, pure CO2, and solar abundances) we calculate temperature-pressure profiles and emission spectra in radiative-convective equilibrium, including the effects of a solid surface. We find that the atmospheric radiative transfer is significantly influenced by the cool M-star irradiation; H2O and CO2 absorption bands in the near-infrared are strong enough to absorb a sizeable fraction of the incoming stellar light at low pressures, which leads to temperature inversions in the upper atmosphere. The non-gray band structure of gaseous opacities in the infrared is hereby an important factor. Opacity windows are muted at higher atmospheric temperatures, so we expect temperature inversions to be common only for sufficiently cool planets. We also find that pure CO2 atmospheres exhibit lower overall temperatures and stronger reflection spectra compared to models of the other compositions. We estimate that for GJ 1132b and LHS 3844b we should be able to distinguish between different atmospheric compositions with JWST. The emission lines from the predicted temperature inversions are currently hard to measure, but high-resolution spectroscopy with future extremely large telescopes may be able to detect them.
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