Retrieving interior properties of hot Jupiters with Love numbers and atmospheric measurements

Abstract

Understanding exoplanet interiors is crucial for interpreting atmospheric observations and constraining their evolution and formation. However, due to limited observational constraints, interiors structures remain poorly understood. In this work, we investigate how new observational constraints, such as the Love number and atmospheric metallicity, improve our ability to characterize the interiors of hot Jupiters, planets for which Love number measurements are most feasible. We assess the precision required in Love number measurements to derive interior properties using both a simple two-layer homogeneous model and a more complex dilute core model. To account for observational uncertainties, we implement a retrieval framework. Our results show that accurately constraining core mass and bulk metallicity requires a high-precision Love number measurement, better than 40% for a homogeneous model and 15% for a dilute core model, along with an atmospheric metallicity measurement. We apply our retrieval framework to five planets with observed Love numbers, of which only WASP-19Ab has both an atmospheric metallicity constraint and a highly precise Love number measurement, with a precision of 12%. For this flagship planet, both models confirm the presence of a core, although we cannot yet distinguish between a compact core or diluted core. With the homogeneous model, we find a core mass fraction of $0.21_{-0.04}^{+0.05}$, corresponding to $79_{-18}^{+21}$ $M_{\mathrm{earth}}$. Upcoming JWST observations are expected to provide high-precision Love number measurements and precise atmospheric data, offering new insights into the structure and composition of gas giant interiors.

17 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (23)

• SciPy 1.0--Fundamental Algorithms for Scientific Computing in Python
• Array Programming with NumPy
• Comparing Jupiter interior structure models to Juno gravity measurements and the role of a dilute core
• Inflating Hot Jupiters With Ohmic Dissipation
• A broadband thermal emission spectrum of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-18b
• Jupiter internal structure: the effect of different equations of state
• Jupiter's inhomogeneous envelope
• Evidence of Three Mechanisms Explaining the Radius Anomaly of Hot Jupiters
• Ohmic Dissipation in the Interiors of Hot Jupiters
• Idealised simulations of the deep atmosphere of hot jupiters: Deep, hot, adiabats as a robust solution to the radius inflation problem
• TraMoS V. Updated ephemeris and multi-epoch monitoring of the hot Jupiters WASP-18Ab, WASP-19b, and WASP-77Ab
• Precise photometric transit follow-up observations of five close-in exoplanets : update on their physical properties
• Detection of the tidal deformation of WASP-103b at $3\sigma$ with CHEOPS
• ExoMDN: Rapid characterization of exoplanet interior structures with Mixture Density Networks
• An estimate of the $k_2$ Love number of WASP-18Ab from its radial velocity measurements
• Retrieval of the fluid Love number $k_2$ in exoplanetary transit curves
• Exoplanet Interior Retrievals: core masses and metallicities from atmospheric abundances
• Giant exoplanet composition: Why do the hydrogen-helium equation of state and interior structure matter?
• Why is it So Hot in Here? Exploring Population Trends in $\text{Spitzer}$ Thermal Emission Observations of Hot Jupiters using Planet-Specific Self-Consistent Atmospheric Models
• Tidal Response and Shape of Hot Jupiters
• HST/STIS capability for Love number measurement of WASP-121b
• Evidence of apsidal motion and a possible co-moving companion star detected in the WASP-19 system
• The bulk metallicity of giant planets around M stars

Cited by in corpus (1)

• How Internal Structure Shapes the Metallicity of Giant Exoplanets