NEBULAR WATER DEPLETION AS THE CAUSE OF JUPITER'S LOW OXYGEN ABUNDANCE

Journal Article · Sun May 20 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/751/1/L7· OSTI ID:22047826

Mousis, Olivier ^[1]; Lunine, Jonathan I ^[2]; Madhusudhan, Nikku ^[3]

---

1. Universite de Franche-Comte, Institut UTINAM, CNRS/INSU, UMR 6213, Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Besancon (France)
2. Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)
3. Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States)

Motivated by recent spectroscopic observations suggesting that atmospheres of some extrasolar giant planets are carbon-rich, i.e., carbon/oxygen ratio (C/O) {>=} 1, we find that the whole set of compositional data for Jupiter is consistent with the hypothesis that it should be a carbon-rich giant planet. We show that the formation of Jupiter in the cold outer part of an oxygen-depleted disk (C/O {approx} 1) reproduces the measured Jovian elemental abundances at least as well as the hitherto canonical model of Jupiter formed in a disk of solar composition (C/O 0.54). The resulting O abundance in Jupiter's envelope is then moderately enriched by a factor of {approx}2 Multiplication-Sign solar (instead of {approx}7 Multiplication-Sign solar) and is found to be consistent with values predicted by thermochemical models of the atmosphere. That Jupiter formed in a disk with C/O {approx} 1 implies that water ice was heterogeneously distributed over several AU beyond the snow line in the primordial nebula and that the fraction of water contained in icy planetesimals was a strong function of their formation location and time. The Jovian oxygen abundance to be measured by NASA's Juno mission en route to Jupiter will provide a direct and strict test of our predictions.

• OSTI ID: 22047826
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 751; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
CARBON
ELEMENT ABUNDANCE
ICE
JUPITER PLANET
NEBULAE
OXYGEN
PROTOPLANETS
SATELLITE ATMOSPHERES
SATELLITES
WATER