Rimmer, PB;
Majumdar, L;
Priyadarshi, A;
Wright, S;
Yurchenko, SN;
(2021)
Detectable Abundance of Cyanoacetylene (HC3N) Predicted on Reduced Nitrogen-Rich Super-Earth Atmospheres.
Astrophysical Journal Letters
, 921
(2)
, Article L28. 10.3847/2041-8213/ac2f3a.
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Abstract
We predict that cyanoacetylene (HC3N) is produced photochemically in the atmosphere of GJ 1132 b in abundances detectable by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), assuming that the atmosphere is hydrogen dominated and rich in molecular nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN), as described by Swain et al. First, we construct line lists and cross sections for HC3N. Then we apply these cross sections and the model atmosphere of Swain et al. to a radiative transfer model in order to simulate the transmission spectrum of GJ 1132 b as it would be seen by JWST, accounting for the uncertainty in the retrieved abundances. We predict that cyanoacetylene features at various wavelengths, with a clear lone feature at 4.5 μm, observable by JWST after one transit. This feature persists within the 1σ uncertainty of the retrieved abundances of HCN and CH4. The signal is detectable for stratospheric temperatures ≲600 K and moderate stratospheric mixing (106 cm2 s−1 ≲ Kzz ≲ 108 cm2 s−1). Our results also indicate that HC3N is an important source of opacity that future retrieval models should consider.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Detectable Abundance of Cyanoacetylene (HC3N) Predicted on Reduced Nitrogen-Rich Super-Earth Atmospheres |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/2041-8213/ac2f3a |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac2f3a |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. |
| Keywords: | Extrasolar rocky planets; Exoplanet atmospheres |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10136830 |
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