Bridging the Gap: Using Brown Dwarfs to Examine Silicate Clouds in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Calamari, Emily, Faherty, Jacqueline K., Visscher, Channon, Gemma, Marina E., Rothermich, Austin, Martínez, Francisco Ardévol, Merchan, Sherelyn Alejandro, Suárez, Genaro
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Calamari, Emily
Faherty, Jacqueline K.
Visscher, Channon
Gemma, Marina E.
Rothermich, Austin
Martínez, Francisco Ardévol
Merchan, Sherelyn Alejandro
Suárez, Genaro
author_facet Calamari, Emily
Faherty, Jacqueline K.
Visscher, Channon
Gemma, Marina E.
Rothermich, Austin
Martínez, Francisco Ardévol
Merchan, Sherelyn Alejandro
Suárez, Genaro
contents We present results from examining the silicate cloud modeling of four JWST-observed hot Jupiters in the context of brown dwarf theory to further explore signatures of formation in present-day atmospheres. We contextualize our understanding of protoplanetary disk refractory chemistry with empirical evidence from chondritic meteorites to show that giant planets forming and accreting in the outer disk adopt their stellar Mg/Si value. We show that current silicate cloud species determinations of WASP-17 b, WASP-107 b, WASP-39 b and HD 189733 b are in line with predictions laid out in Calamari et al. 2024 based on each system's host star Mg/Si ratio, further supporting this hypothesis. We discuss physical motivations for potential atmospheric scenarios where apparent silicate cloud species is not in agreement with that predicted by its host star chemistry. Additionally, we compare current transit spectroscopy for three of these four exoplanets against brown dwarf spectra to examine molecular absorption trends across the substellar mass temperature regime.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_12479
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bridging the Gap: Using Brown Dwarfs to Examine Silicate Clouds in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres
Calamari, Emily
Faherty, Jacqueline K.
Visscher, Channon
Gemma, Marina E.
Rothermich, Austin
Martínez, Francisco Ardévol
Merchan, Sherelyn Alejandro
Suárez, Genaro
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We present results from examining the silicate cloud modeling of four JWST-observed hot Jupiters in the context of brown dwarf theory to further explore signatures of formation in present-day atmospheres. We contextualize our understanding of protoplanetary disk refractory chemistry with empirical evidence from chondritic meteorites to show that giant planets forming and accreting in the outer disk adopt their stellar Mg/Si value. We show that current silicate cloud species determinations of WASP-17 b, WASP-107 b, WASP-39 b and HD 189733 b are in line with predictions laid out in Calamari et al. 2024 based on each system's host star Mg/Si ratio, further supporting this hypothesis. We discuss physical motivations for potential atmospheric scenarios where apparent silicate cloud species is not in agreement with that predicted by its host star chemistry. Additionally, we compare current transit spectroscopy for three of these four exoplanets against brown dwarf spectra to examine molecular absorption trends across the substellar mass temperature regime.
title Bridging the Gap: Using Brown Dwarfs to Examine Silicate Clouds in Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12479