Impact of oxygen fugacity on atmospheric structure and emission spectra of ultra hot rocky exoplanets

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Seidler, Fabian L., Sossi, Paolo A., Grimm, Simon L.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Seidler, Fabian L.
Sossi, Paolo A.
Grimm, Simon L.
author_facet Seidler, Fabian L.
Sossi, Paolo A.
Grimm, Simon L.
contents Atmospheres above lava-ocean planets (LOPs) hold clues as to the properties of their interiors, owing to the expectation that the two reservoirs are in chemical equilibrium. Here we consider `mineral' atmospheres produced in equilibrium with silicate liquids. We treat oxygen fugacity ($f$O$_2$) as an independent variable, together with temperature ($T$) and composition ($X$), to compute equilibrium partial pressures ($p$) of stable gas species at the liquid-gas interface. Above this boundary, the atmospheric speciation and the pressure-temperature structure are computed self-consistently to yield emission spectra. We explore a wide array of plausible compositions, oxygen fugacities (between 6 log$_{10}$ units below- and above the iron-wüstite buffer, IW) and irradiation temperatures (2000, 2500, 3000 and 3500 K) relevant to LOPs. We find that SiO(g), Fe(g) and Mg(g) are the major species below $\sim$IW, ceding to O$_2$(g) and O(g) in more oxidised atmospheres. The transition between the two regimes demarcates a minimum in total pressure ($P$). Because $p$ scales linearly with $X$, emission spectra are only modest functions of composition. By contrast, $f$O$_2$ can vary over orders of magnitude, thus causing commensurate changes in $p$. Reducing atmospheres show intense SiO emission, creating a temperature inversion in the upper atmosphere. Conversely, oxidised atmospheres have lower $p$SiO and lack thermal inversions, with resulting emission spectra that mimic that of a black body. Consequently, the intensity of SiO emission relative to the background, generated by MgO(g), can be used to quantify the $f$O$_2$ of the atmosphere. Depending on the emission spectroscopy metric of the target, deriving the $f$O$_2$ of known nearby LOPs is possible with a few secondary occultations observed by JWST.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_16548
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Impact of oxygen fugacity on atmospheric structure and emission spectra of ultra hot rocky exoplanets
Seidler, Fabian L.
Sossi, Paolo A.
Grimm, Simon L.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Atmospheres above lava-ocean planets (LOPs) hold clues as to the properties of their interiors, owing to the expectation that the two reservoirs are in chemical equilibrium. Here we consider `mineral' atmospheres produced in equilibrium with silicate liquids. We treat oxygen fugacity ($f$O$_2$) as an independent variable, together with temperature ($T$) and composition ($X$), to compute equilibrium partial pressures ($p$) of stable gas species at the liquid-gas interface. Above this boundary, the atmospheric speciation and the pressure-temperature structure are computed self-consistently to yield emission spectra. We explore a wide array of plausible compositions, oxygen fugacities (between 6 log$_{10}$ units below- and above the iron-wüstite buffer, IW) and irradiation temperatures (2000, 2500, 3000 and 3500 K) relevant to LOPs. We find that SiO(g), Fe(g) and Mg(g) are the major species below $\sim$IW, ceding to O$_2$(g) and O(g) in more oxidised atmospheres. The transition between the two regimes demarcates a minimum in total pressure ($P$). Because $p$ scales linearly with $X$, emission spectra are only modest functions of composition. By contrast, $f$O$_2$ can vary over orders of magnitude, thus causing commensurate changes in $p$. Reducing atmospheres show intense SiO emission, creating a temperature inversion in the upper atmosphere. Conversely, oxidised atmospheres have lower $p$SiO and lack thermal inversions, with resulting emission spectra that mimic that of a black body. Consequently, the intensity of SiO emission relative to the background, generated by MgO(g), can be used to quantify the $f$O$_2$ of the atmosphere. Depending on the emission spectroscopy metric of the target, deriving the $f$O$_2$ of known nearby LOPs is possible with a few secondary occultations observed by JWST.
title Impact of oxygen fugacity on atmospheric structure and emission spectra of ultra hot rocky exoplanets
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.16548