SO$_2$, silicate clouds, but no CH$_4$ detected in a warm Neptune

WASP-107b is a warm ($\sim$740 K) transiting planet with a Neptune-like mass of $\sim$30.5 $M_{\oplus}$ and Jupiter-like radius of $\sim$0.94 $R_{\rm J}$, whose extended atmosphere is eroding. Previous observations showed evidence for water vapour and a thick high-altitude condensate layer in WASP-1...

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Hauptverfasser: Dyrek, Achrène, Min, Michiel, Decin, Leen, Bouwman, Jeroen, Crouzet, Nicolas, Mollière, Paul, Lagage, Pierre-Olivier, Konings, Thomas, Tremblin, Pascal, Güdel, Manuel, Pye, John, Waters, Rens, Henning, Thomas, Vandenbussche, Bart, Martinez, Francisco Ardevol, Argyriou, Ioannis, Ducrot, Elsa, Heinke, Linus, Van Looveren, Gwenael, Absil, Olivier, Barrado, David, Baudoz, Pierre, Boccaletti, Anthony, Cossou, Christophe, Coulais, Alain, Edwards, Billy, Gastaud, René, Glasse, Alistair, Glauser, Adrian, Greene, Thomas P, Kendrew, Sarah, Krause, Oliver, Lahuis, Fred, Mueller, Michael, Olofsson, Goran, Patapis, Polychronis, Rouan, Daniel, Royer, Pierre, Scheithauer, Silvia, Waldmann, Ingo, Whiteford, Niall, Colina, Luis, van Dishoeck, Ewine F, Greve, Thomas, Ostlin, Göran, Ray, Tom P, Wright, Gillian
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:WASP-107b is a warm ($\sim$740 K) transiting planet with a Neptune-like mass of $\sim$30.5 $M_{\oplus}$ and Jupiter-like radius of $\sim$0.94 $R_{\rm J}$, whose extended atmosphere is eroding. Previous observations showed evidence for water vapour and a thick high-altitude condensate layer in WASP-107b's atmosphere. Recently, photochemically produced sulphur dioxide (SO$_2$) was detected in the atmosphere of a hot ($\sim$1,200 K) Saturn-mass planet from transmission spectroscopy near 4.05 $\mu$m, but for temperatures below $\sim$1,000 K sulphur is predicted to preferably form sulphur allotropes instead of SO$_2$. Here we report the 9$\sigma$-detection of two fundamental vibration bands of SO$_2$, at 7.35 $\mu$m and 8.69 $\mu$m, in the transmission spectrum of WASP-107b using the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) of the JWST. This discovery establishes WASP-107b as the second irradiated exoplanet with confirmed photochemistry, extending the temperature range of exoplanets exhibiting detected photochemistry from $\sim$1,200 K down to $\sim$740 K. Additionally, our spectral analysis reveals the presence of silicate clouds, which are strongly favoured ($\sim$7$\sigma$) over simpler cloud setups. Furthermore, water is detected ($\sim$12$\sigma$), but methane is not. These findings provide evidence of disequilibrium chemistry and indicate a dynamically active atmosphere with a super-solar metallicity.
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2311.12515