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Register a new userMineral cloud and hydrocarbon haze particles in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter JWST target WASP-43b
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Having a short orbital period and being tidally locked makes WASP-43b an ideal candidate for JWST observations. Phase curve observations of an entire orbit will enable the mapping of the atmospheric structure across the planet, with different wavelengths of observation allowing different atmospheric depths to be seen. We provide insight into the details of the clouds that may form on WASP-43b in order to prepare the forthcoming interpretation of the JWST and follow-up data. We utilize 3D GCM results as input for a kinetic, non-equilibrium model for mineral cloud particles, and for a kinetic model to study a photochemicaly-driven hydrocarbon haze component. Mineral condensation seeds form throughout the atmosphere of WASP-43b. This is in stark contrast to the ultra-hot Jupiters, like WASP-18b and HAT-P-7b. The dayside is loaded with few but large mineral cloud particles in addition to hydrocarbon haze particles of comparable abundance. Photochemically driven hydrocarbon haze appears on the dayside, but does not contribute to the cloud formation on the nightside. The geometrical cloud extension differs across the globe due to the changing thermodynamic conditions. Day and night differ by 6000km in pressure scale height. As reported for other planets, the C/O is not constant throughout the atmosphere. The mean molecular weight is approximately constant in a H2-dominated WASP-43b. WASP-43b is expected to be fully covered in clouds which are not homogeneously distributed throughout the atmosphere. The dayside and the terminator clouds will be a combination of mineral particles of locally varying size and composition, and of hydrocarbon hazes. The optical depth of hydrocarbon hazes is considerably lower than that of mineral cloud particles such that a wavelength-dependent radius measurement of WASP-43b would be determined by the mineral cloud particles but not by hazes.
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We have conducted a re-analysis of publicly available Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (HST WFC3) transmission data for the hot-Jupiter exoplanet WASP-43b, using the Bayesian retrieval package Tau-REx. We report evidence of AlO in transmission to a high level of statistical significance (> 5-sigma in comparison to a flat model, and 3.4-sigma in comparison to a model with H2O only). We find no evidence of the presence of CO, CO2, or CH4 based on the available HST WFC3 data or on Spitzer IRAC data. We demonstrate that AlO is the molecule that fits the data to the highest level of confidence out of all molecules for which high-temperature opacity data currently exists in the infrared region covered by the HST WFC3 instrument, and that the subsequent inclusion of Spitzer IRAC data points in our retrieval further supports the presence of AlO. H2O is the only other molecule we find to be statistically significant in this region. AlO is not expected from the equilibrium chemistry at the temperatures and pressures of the atmospheric layer that is being probed by the observed data. Its presence therefore implies direct evidence of some disequilibrium processes with links to atmospheric dynamics. Implications for future study using instruments such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are discussed, along with future opacity needs. Comparisons are made with previous studies into WASP-43b.
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to revolutionize the field of exoplanets. The broad wavelength coverage and the high sensitivity of its instruments will allow characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres with unprecedented precision. Following the Call for the Cycle 1 Early Release Science Program, the Transiting Exoplanet Community was awarded time to observe several targets, including WASP-43b. The atmosphere of this hot Jupiter has been intensively observed but still harbors some mysteries, especially concerning the day-night temperature gradient, the efficiency of the atmospheric circulation, and the presence of nightside clouds. We will constrain these properties by observing a full orbit of the planet and extracting its spectroscopic phase curve in the 5--12 $mu$m range with JWST/MIRI. To prepare for these observations, we performed an extensive modeling work with various codes: radiative transfer, chemical kinetics, cloud microphysics, global circulation models, JWST simulators, and spectral retrieval. Our JWST simulations show that we should achieve a precision of 210 ppm per 0.1 $mu$m spectral bin on average, which will allow us to measure the variations of the spectrum in longitude and measure the night-side emission spectrum for the first time. If the atmosphere of WASP-43b is clear, our observations will permit us to determine if its atmosphere has an equilibrium or disequilibrium chemical composition, providing eventually the first conclusive evidence of chemical quenching in a hot Jupiter atmosphere. If the atmosphere is cloudy, a careful retrieval analysis will allow us to identify the cloud composition.
Ultra-hot Jupiters are the hottest exoplanets discovered so far. Observations begin to provide insight into the composition of their extended atmospheres and their chemical day/night asymmetries. Both are strongly affected by cloud formation. We explore trends in cloud properties for a sample of five giant gas planets: WASP-43b, WASP-18b, HAT-P-7b, WASP-103b, and WASP-121b. This provides a reference frame for cloud properties for the JWST targets WASP-43b and WASP-121b. We further explore chemically inert tracers to observe geometrical asymmetries, and if the location of inner boundary of a 3D GCM matters for the clouds that form. The large day/night temperature differences of ultra-hot Jupiters cause large chemical asymmetries: cloud-free days but cloudy nights, atomic vs. molecular gases and respectively different mean molecular weights, deep thermal ionospheres vs. low-ionised atmospheres, undepleted vs enhanced C/O. WASP-18b, as the heaviest planet in the sample, has the lowest global C/O. The global climate may be considered as similar amongst ultra-hot Jupiters, but different to that of hot gas giants. The local weather, however, is individual for each planet since the local thermodynamic conditions, and hence the local cloud and gas properties, differ. The morning and the evening terminator of ultra-hot Jupiters will carry signatures of their strong chemical asymmetry such that ingress/egress asymmetries can be expected. An increased C/O ratio is a clear sign of cloud formation, making cloud modelling a necessity when utilizing C/O (or other mineral ratios) as tracer for planet formation. The changing geometrical extension of the atmosphere from the day to the nightside may be probed through chemically inert species like helium. Ultra-hot Jupiters are likely to develop deep atmospheric ionospheres which may impact the atmosphere dynamics through MHD processes.
We report Hubble Space Telescope (HST) optical to near-infrared transmission spectroscopy of the hot Jupiter WASP-6b, measured with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and Spitzers InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC). The resulting spectrum covers the range $0.29-4.5,mu$m. We find evidence for modest stellar activity of WASP-6b 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 $Delta (R_p/R_{ast})=0.0071$ from 0.33 to $4.5,mu$m. The spectrum suggests an effective extinction cross-section with a power law of index consistent with Rayleigh scattering, with temperatures of $973pm144$ 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 Mg$_2$SiO$_4$, MgSiO$_3$, KCl and Na$_2$S dust condensates. WASP-6b is the second planet after HD189733b which has equilibrium temperatures near $sim1200$ K and shows prominent atmospheric scattering in the optical.
We present an atmospheric transmission spectrum of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b by analyzing archival data obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The dataset spans three transits, two with a wavelength coverage between 2900 and 5700 Armstrong, and the third one between 5250 and 10300 Armstrong. From the one-dimensional, time dependent spectra we constructed white and chromatic light curves, the latter with typical integration band widths of ~200 Armstrong. We computed the wavelength dependent planet-to-star radii ratios taking into consideration WASP-76s companion. The resulting transmission spectrum of WASP-76 b is dominated by a spectral slope of increasing opacity towards shorter wavelengths of amplitude of about three scale heights under the assumption of planetary equilibrium temperature. If the slope is caused by Rayleigh scattering, we derive a lower limit to the temperature of ~870 K. Following-up on previous detection of atomic sodium derived from high resolution spectra, we re-analyzed HST data using narrower bands centered around sodium. From an atmospheric retrieval of this transmission spectrum, we report evidence of sodium at 2.9-sigma significance. In this case, the retrieved temperature at the top of the atmosphere (10-5 bar) is 2300 +412-392 K. We also find marginal evidence for titanium hydride. However, additional high resolution ground-based data are required to confirm this discovery.
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