Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Continuum From Clear To Cloudy Hot-Jupiter Exoplanets Without Primordial Water Depletion, David K. Sing, Jonathan J. Fortney, Nikolay Nikolov, Hannah R. Wakeford, Tiffany Kataria, Thomas M. Evans, Suzanne Aigrain, Gilda E. Ballester, Adam Burrows, Drake Deming, Jean-Michel Désert, Neale P. Gibson, Gregory W. Henry, Catherine M. Huitson, Heather A. Knutson, Alain Lecavelier Des Etangs, Frederic Pont, Adam P. Showman, Alfred Vidal-Madjar, Michael H. Williamson, Paul A. Wilson

Information Systems and Engineering Management Research Publications

Thousands of transiting exoplanets have been discovered, but spectral analysis of their atmospheres has so far been dominated by a small number of exoplanets and data spanning relatively narrow wavelength ranges (such as 1.1–1.7 micrometres). Recent studies show that some hot-Jupiter exoplanets have much weaker water absorption features in their near-infrared spectra than predicted. The low amplitude of water signatures could be explained by very low water abundances, which may be a sign that water was depleted in the protoplanetary disk at the planet’s formation location, but it is unclear whether this level of depletion can actually occur. Alternatively, these …