Disequilibrium Carbon, Oxygen, and Nitrogen Chemistry in the Atmospheres of HD 189733b and HD 209458b

TL;DR

This study models disequilibrium chemistry in hot Jupiter atmospheres, revealing how transport and photochemistry alter molecular abundances, impacting spectral signatures and thermal profiles of exoplanets like HD 189733b and HD 209458b.

Contribution

Developed coupled photochemical and thermochemical models to analyze disequilibrium effects on exoplanet atmospheres, highlighting the roles of quenching and photochemistry in molecular distributions.

Findings

Methane and ammonia are enhanced at certain pressures due to quenching.

Photochemistry destroys CH4 and NH3 at high altitudes.

Enhanced HCN, C2H2, and radicals influence spectral signatures.

Abstract

We have developed 1-D photochemical and thermochemical kinetics and diffusion models for the transiting exoplanets HD 189733b and HD 209458b to study the effects of disequilibrium chemistry on the atmospheric composition of "hot Jupiters." Here we investigate the coupled chemistry of neutral carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen species, and we compare the model results with existing transit and eclipse observations. We find that the vertical profiles of molecular constituents are significantly affected by transport-induced quenching and photochemistry, particularly on cooler HD 189733b; however, the warmer stratospheric temperatures on HD 209458b can help maintain thermochemical equilibrium and reduce the effects of disequilibrium chemistry. For both planets, the methane and ammonia mole fractions are found to be enhanced over their equilibrium values at pressures of a few bar to less than a mbar due to transport-induced quenching, but CH4 and NH3 are photochemically removed at higher altitudes. Atomic species, unsaturated hydrocarbons (particularly C2H2), some nitriles (particularly HCN), and radicals like OH, CH3, and NH2 are enhanced overequilibrium predictions because of quenching and photochemistry. In contrast, CO, H2O, N2, and CO2 more closely follow their equilibrium profiles, except at pressures < 1 microbar, where CO, H2O, and N2 are photochemically destroyed and CO2 is produced before its eventual high-altitude destruction. The enhanced abundances of HCN, CH4, and NH3 in particular are expected to affect the spectral signatures and thermal profiles HD 189733b and other, relatively cool, close-in transiting exoplanets. We examine the sensitivity of our results to the assumed temperature structure and eddy diffusion coefficientss and discuss further observational consequences of these models.