Five carbon- and nitrogen-bearing species in a hot giant planet’s atmosphere

Paolo Giacobbe (), Matteo Brogi, Siddharth Gandhi, Patricio E. Cubillos, Aldo S. Bonomo, Alessandro Sozzetti, Luca Fossati, Gloria Guilluy, Ilaria Carleo, Monica Rainer, Avet Harutyunyan, Francesco Borsa, Lorenzo Pino, Valerio Nascimbeni, Serena Benatti, Katia Biazzo, Andrea Bignamini, Katy L. Chubb, Riccardo Claudi, Rosario Cosentino, Elvira Covino, Mario Damasso, Silvano Desidera, Aldo F. M. Fiorenzano, Adriano Ghedina, Antonino F. Lanza, Giuseppe Leto, Antonio Maggio, Luca Malavolta, Jesus Maldonado, Giuseppina Micela, Emilio Molinari, Isabella Pagano, Marco Pedani, Giampaolo Piotto, Ennio Poretti, Gaetano Scandariato, Sergei N. Yurchenko, Daniela Fantinel, Alberto Galli, Marcello Lodi, Nicoletta Sanna and Andrea Tozzi
Additional contact information
Paolo Giacobbe: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Matteo Brogi: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Siddharth Gandhi: University of Warwick
Patricio E. Cubillos: Austrian Academy of Sciences
Aldo S. Bonomo: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Alessandro Sozzetti: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Luca Fossati: Austrian Academy of Sciences
Gloria Guilluy: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Ilaria Carleo: Wesleyan University
Monica Rainer: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
Avet Harutyunyan: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Francesco Borsa: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera
Lorenzo Pino: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
Valerio Nascimbeni: Università di Padova
Serena Benatti: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
Katia Biazzo: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
Andrea Bignamini: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
Katy L. Chubb: Netherlands Institute for Space Research
Riccardo Claudi: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Rosario Cosentino: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Elvira Covino: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte
Mario Damasso: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Silvano Desidera: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Aldo F. M. Fiorenzano: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Adriano Ghedina: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Antonino F. Lanza: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
Giuseppe Leto: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
Antonio Maggio: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
Luca Malavolta: Università di Padova
Jesus Maldonado: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
Giuseppina Micela: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
Emilio Molinari: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari
Isabella Pagano: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
Marco Pedani: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Giampaolo Piotto: Università di Padova
Ennio Poretti: INAF—Fundación Galileo Galilei
Gaetano Scandariato: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
Sergei N. Yurchenko: University College of London
Daniela Fantinel: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
Alberto Galli: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
Marcello Lodi: INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo
Nicoletta Sanna: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri
Andrea Tozzi: INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri

Nature, 2021, vol. 592, issue 7853, 205-208

Abstract: Abstract The atmospheres of gaseous giant exoplanets orbiting close to their parent stars (hot Jupiters) have been probed for nearly two decades1,2. They allow us to investigate the chemical and physical properties of planetary atmospheres under extreme irradiation conditions3. Previous observations of hot Jupiters as they transit in front of their host stars have revealed the frequent presence of water vapour4 and carbon monoxide5 in their atmospheres; this has been studied in terms of scaled solar composition6 under the usual assumption of chemical equilibrium. Both molecules as well as hydrogen cyanide were found in the atmosphere of HD 209458b5,7,8, a well studied hot Jupiter (with equilibrium temperature around 1,500 kelvin), whereas ammonia was tentatively detected there9 and subsequently refuted10. Here we report observations of HD 209458b that indicate the presence of water (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) and acetylene (C2H2), with statistical significance of 5.3 to 9.9 standard deviations per molecule. Atmospheric models in radiative and chemical equilibrium that account for the detected species indicate a carbon-rich chemistry with a carbon-to-oxygen ratio close to or greater than 1, higher than the solar value (0.55). According to existing models relating the atmospheric chemistry to planet formation and migration scenarios3,11,12, this would suggest that HD 209458b formed far from its present location and subsequently migrated inwards11,13. Other hot Jupiters may also show a richer chemistry than has been previously found, which would bring into question the frequently made assumption that they have solar-like and oxygen-rich compositions.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03381-x

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