Exoplanet atmospheres

Abstract:

The existence of methane in Titan's atmosphere (∼6% level at the surface) presents a unique enigma, as photochemical models predict that the current inventory will be entirely depleted by photochemistry in a timescale of ∼20Myr. In this paper, we examine the clues available from isotopic ratios (12C/13C and D/H) in Titan's methane as to the past atmosphere history of this species. We first analyze recent infrared spectra of CH4 collected by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer, measuring simultaneously for the first time the abundances of all three detected minor isotopologues: 13CH4, 12CH3D, and 13CH3D. From these we compute estimates of 12C/13C= 86.5 ± 8.2 and D/H= (1.59 ± 0.33) × 10-4, in agreement with recent results from the Huygens GCMS and Cassini INMS instruments. We also use the transition state theory to estimate the fractionation that occurs in carbon and hydrogen during a critical reaction that plays a key role in the chemical depletion of Titan's methane: CH4+ C2H→ CH3+ C2H2. Using these new measurements and predictions we proceed to model the time evolution of 12C/13C and D/H in Titan's methane under several prototypical replenishment scenarios. In our Model1 (no resupply of CH4), we find that the present-day 12C/13C implies that the CH4 entered the atmosphere 60-1600Myr ago if methane is depleted by chemistry and photolysis alone, but much more recently - most likely less than 10Myr ago - if hydrodynamic escape is also occurring. On the other hand, if methane has been continuously supplied at the replenishment rate then the isotopic ratios provide no constraints, and likewise for the case where atmospheric methane is increasing. We conclude by discussing how these findings may be combined with other evidence to constrain the overall history of the atmospheric methane. © 2012 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Abstract:

Near-infrared observations of Uranus were made in October/November 2010 with the Gemini-North telescope in Hawaii, using NIFS, an integral field spectrograph, and the NIRI instrument in imaging mode. Observations were acquired using adaptive optics and have a spatial resolution of approximately 0.1-0.2'.The observed spectra along Uranus' central meridian were analysed using a multiple-scattering retrieval algorithm to infer the vertical/latitudinal variation in cloud optical depth, which we compare with previous observations made by Gemini-North/NIFS in 2009 and UKIRT/UIST observations made between 2006 and 2008. Assuming a continuous distribution of small particles (r~ 1μm, and refractive index of 1.4. +. 0. i) with the single scattering albedo set to 0.75 and using a Henyey-Greenstein phase function with asymmetry parameter set to 0.7 at all wavelengths and latitudes, the retrieved cloud density profiles show that the north polar zone at 45°N has continued to steadily brighten while the south polar zone at 45°S has continued to fade. As with our previous analyses we find that, assuming that the methane vertical profile is the same at all latitudes, the clouds forming these polar zones at 45°N and 45°S lie at slightly lower pressures than the clouds at more equatorial latitudes. However, we also find that the Gemini data can be reproduced by assuming that the main cloud remains fixed at ~2. bar at all latitudes and adjusting the relative humidity of methane instead. In this case we find that the deep cloud is still more opaque at the equator and at the zones at 45°N and 45°S and shows the same seasonal trends as when the methane humidity remain fixed. However, with this approach the relative humidity of methane is seen to rise sharply from approximately 20% at polar latitudes to values closer to 80% for latitudes equatorward of 45°S and 45°N, consistent with the analysis of 2002 HST observations by Karkoschka and Tomasko (Karkoschka, E., Tomasko, M. [2009]. Icarus 202, 287-302), with a possible indication of seasonal variability. Overall, Uranus appeared to be less convectively active in 2010 than in the previous 4. years, supporting the conclusion that now the northern spring equinox (which occurred in 2007) has passed, the atmosphere is settling back into the more quiescent state seen by Voyager 2 in 1986. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

Abstract:

We report the discovery by the Gemini NICI Planet-Finding Campaign of two low-mass companions to the young A0V star HD 1160 at projected separations of 81 +/- 5 AU (HD 1160 B) and 533 +/- 25 AU (HD 1160 C). VLT images of the system taken over a decade for the purpose of using HD 1160 A as a photometric calibrator confirm that both companions are physically associated. By comparing the system to members of young moving groups and open clusters with well-established ages, we estimate an age of 50 (+50,-40) Myr for HD 1160 ABC. While the UVW motion of the system does not match any known moving group, the small magnitude of the space velocity is consistent with youth. Near-IR spectroscopy shows HD 1160 C to be an M3.5 +/- 0.5 star with an estimated mass of 0.22 (+0.03,-0.04) M_Sun, while NIR photometry of HD 1160 B suggests a brown dwarf with a mass of 33 (+12,-9) M_Jup. The very small mass ratio (0.014) between the A and B components of the system is rare for A star binaries, and would represent a planetary-mass companion were HD 1160 A to be slightly less massive than the Sun.

Abstract:

Spatially-resolved near-infrared spectra from the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) on Venus Express have been used to derive improved models of the vertical structure and global distribution of cloud properties in the southern hemisphere of Venus. VIRTIS achieved the first systematic, global mapping of Venus at wavelengths within transparency windows in the 1.6-2.6. μm range, which are sensitive on the nightside to absorption by the lower and middle cloud layers of thermally-emitted radiation from the hot lower atmosphere (Taylor, F.W., Crisp, D., Bézard, B. [1997]. Venus II: Geology, Geophysics, Atmosphere, and Solar Wind Environment, pp. 325-351). The cloud model used to interpret the spectra is based on previous work by Pollack et al. (Pollack, J., Dalton, J., Grinspoon, D., Wattson, R., Freedman, R., Crisp, D., Allen, D., Bézard, B., de Bergh, C., Giver, L. [1993]. Icarus 103, 1-42), Grinspoon et al. (Grinspoon, D.H., Pollack, J.B., Sitton, B.R., Carlson, R.W., Kamp, L.W., Baines, K.H., Encrenaz, T., Taylor, F.W. [1993]. Planet. Space Sci. 41, 515-542) and Crisp (Crisp, D. [1986]. Icarus 67, 484-514), and assumes a composition for the cloud particles of sulfuric acid and water, with acid concentration as a free parameter to be determined. Other retrieved parameters are the average size of the particles and the altitude of the cloud base in the model. Latitudinal variation in the atmospheric temperature structure was incorporated using data from the Venus Radio Science experiment (VeRa). Values are estimated initially using wavelength pairs selected for their unique sensitivity to each parameter, and then validated by comparing measured to calculated spectra over the entire wavelength range, the latter generated using the NEMESIS radiative transfer and retrieval code (Irwin, P.G.J., Teanby, N.A., de Kok, R., Fletcher, L.N., Howett, C.J.A., Tsang, C.C.C., Wilson, C.F., Calcutt, S.B., Nixon, C.A., Parrish, P.D. [2008]. J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Trans. 109, 1136-1150). The sulfuric acid concentration in the cloud particles is found to be higher in regions of optically thick cloud. The cloud base altitude shows a dependence on latitude, reaching a maximum height near -50°. The increased average particle size near the pole found by Wilson et al. (Wilson, C.F., Guerlet, S., Irwin, P.G.J., Tsang, C.C.C., Taylor, F.W., Carlson, R.W., Drossart, P., Piccioni, G. [2008]. J. Geophys. Res. (Planets) 113, E12) and the finding of spatially variable water vapor abundance at35-40. km altitude first reported by Tsang et al. (Tsang, C.C.C., Wilson, C.F., Barstow, J.K., Irwin, P.G.J., Taylor, F.W., McGouldrick, K., Piccioni, G., Drossart, P., Svedhem, H. [2010]. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37, L02202) are both confirmed. The implications of these improved descriptions of cloud structure and variability for the chemistry, meteorology, and radiative energy balance on Venus are briefly discussed. © 2011 Elsevier Inc.

Abstract:

Recent spectroscopic observations of transiting hot Jupiters have permitted the derivation of the thermal structure and molecular abundances of H 2O, CO 2, CO and CH 4 in these extreme atmospheres. Here, for the first time, we apply the technique of optimal estimation to determine the thermal structure and composition of an exoplanet by solving the inverse problem. The development of a suite of radiative transfer and retrieval tools for exoplanet atmospheres is described, building upon a retrieval algorithm which is extensively used in the study of our own Solar system. First, we discuss the plausibility of detection of different molecules in the dayside atmosphere of HD189733b and the best-fitting spectrum retrieved from all publicly available sets of secondary eclipse observations between 1.45 and 24μm. Additionally, we use contribution functions to assess the vertical sensitivity of the emission spectrum to temperatures and molecular composition. Over the altitudes probed by the contribution functions, the retrieved thermal structure shows an isothermal upper atmosphere overlying a deeper adiabatic layer (temperature decreasing with altitude), which is consistent with previously reported dynamical and observational results. The formal uncertainties on retrieved parameters are estimated conservatively using an analysis of the cross-correlation functions and the degeneracy between different atmospheric properties. The formal solution of the inverse problem suggests that the uncertainties on retrieved parameters are larger than suggested in previous studies, and that the presence of CO and CH 4 is only marginally supported by the available data. Nevertheless, by including as broad a wavelength range as possible in the retrieval, we demonstrate that available spectra of HD189733b can constrain a family of potential solutions for the atmospheric structure. © 2011 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2011 RAS.