A PHOTOCHEMICAL MODEL FOR THE CARBON-RICH PLANET WASP-12b
- Department of Geosciences, Penn State University, 443 Deike Building, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
- NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-3, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States)
The hot-Jupiter WASP-12b is a heavily irradiated exoplanet in a short-period orbit around a G0-star with twice the metallicity of the Sun. A recent thermochemical equilibrium analysis based on Spitzer and ground-based infrared observations suggests that the presence of CH{sub 4} in its atmosphere and the lack of H{sub 2}O features can only be explained if the carbon-to-oxygen ratio in the planet's atmosphere is much greater than the solar ratio ([C]/[O] = 0.54). Here, we use a one-dimensional photochemical model to study the effect of disequilibrium chemistry on the observed abundances of H{sub 2}O, CO, CO{sub 2}, and CH{sub 4} in the WASP-12b atmosphere. We consider two cases: one with solar [C]/[O] and another with [C]/[O] = 1.08. The solar case predicts that H{sub 2}O and CO are more abundant than CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4}, as expected, whereas the high [C]/[O] model shows that CO, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, and HCN are more abundant. This indicates that the extra carbon from the high [C]/[O] model is in hydrocarbon species. H{sub 2}O photolysis is the dominant disequilibrium mechanism that alters the chemistry at higher altitudes in the solar [C]/[O] case, whereas photodissociation of C{sub 2}H{sub 2} and HCN is significant in the super-solar case. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that C{sub 2}H{sub 2} is the major absorber in the atmosphere of WASP-12b and the absorption features detected near 1.6 and 8 {mu}m may be arising from C{sub 2}H{sub 2} rather than CH{sub 4}. The Hubble Space Telescope's WFC3 can resolve this discrepancy, as C{sub 2}H{sub 2} has absorption between 1.51 and 1.54 {mu}m, while CH{sub 4} does not.
- OSTI ID:
- 22011975
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 745, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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