External Photoevaporation of the Solar Nebula: Jupiter's Noble Gas Enrichments

Abstract

We present a model explaining elemental enrichments in Jupiter's atmosphere, particularly the noble gases Ar, Kr, and Xe. While He, Ne and O are depleted, seven other elements show similar enrichments ($\sim$3 times solar, relative to H). Being volatile, Ar is difficult to fractionate from ${\mathrm{H}}_2$. We argue that external photoevaporation by far ultraviolet (FUV) radiation from nearby massive stars removed ${\mathrm{H}}_2$, He, and Ne from the solar nebula, but Ar and other species were retained because photoevaporation occurred at large heliocentric distances where temperatures were cold enough ($<30$ K) to trap them in amorphous water ice. As the solar nebula lost H it became relatively and uniformly enriched in other species. Our model improves on the similar model of Guillot \& Hueso (2006). We recognize that cold temperatures alone do not trap volatiles; continuous water vapor production also is necessary. We demonstrate that FUV fluxes that photoevaporated the disk generated sufficient water vapor, in regions $<30$ K, to trap gas-phase species in amorphous water ice, in solar proportions. We find more efficient chemical fractionation in the outer disk: whereas the model of Guillot \& Hueso (2006) predicts a factor of 3 enrichment when only $<2\%$ of the disk mass remains, we find the same enrichments when 30\% of the disk mass remains. Finally, we predict the presence of $\sim 0.1M_{\oplus }$ of water vapor in the outer solar nebula and in protoplanetary disks in H II regions.

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