Inferring Shallow Surfaces on sub-Neptune Exoplanets with JWST
arXiv:2111.06429 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac399a
Abstract
Planets smaller than Neptune and larger than Earth make up the majority of the discovered exoplanets. Those with H-rich atmospheres are prime targets for atmospheric characterization. The transition between the two main classes, super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, is not clearly understood as the rocky surface is likely not accessible to observations. Tracking several trace gases (specifically the loss of ammonia (NH) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN)) has been proposed as a proxy for the presence of a shallow surface. In this work, we revisit the proposed mechanism of nitrogen conversion in detail and find its timescale on the order of a million years. NH exhibits dual paths converting to N or HCN, depending on the UV radiation of the star and the stage of the system. In addition, methanol (CHOH) is identified as a robust and complementary proxy for a shallow surface. We follow the fiducial example of K2-18b with a 2D photochemical model (VULCAN) on an equatorial plane. We find a fairly uniform composition distribution below 0.1 mbar controlled by the dayside, as a result of slow chemical evolution. NH and CHOH are concluded to be the most unambiguous proxies to infer surfaces on sub-Neptunes in the era of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
arXiv commentAccepted for publication in ApJL
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