Circular polarization signals of cloudy (exo)planets

TL;DR

This study calculates the circular polarization of light reflected by exoplanets with clouds, revealing very small signals that could indicate biological molecules, but are challenging to detect with current technology.

Contribution

It provides detailed models of circular polarization signals from cloudy exoplanets, highlighting their dependence on atmospheric and cloud properties, and assesses their potential for detecting life.

Findings

Spatially resolved $P_c$ varies between ±0.20%.

Disk-integrated $P_c$ is typically smaller than ±0.025%.

Signals are very small, making detection challenging with current technology.

Abstract

The circular polarization of light that planets reflect is often neglected because it is very small compared to the linear polarization. It could, however, provide information on a planet's atmosphere and surface, and on the presence of life, because homochiral molecules that are the building blocks of life on Earth are known to reflect circularly polarized light. We compute $P_c$, the degree of circular polarization, for light that is reflected by rocky (exo)planets with liquid water or sulfuric acid solution clouds, both spatially resolved across the planetary disk and, for planets with patchy clouds, integrated across the planetary disk, for various planetary phase angles $\alpha$. The optical thickness and vertical distribution of the atmospheric gas and clouds, the size parameter and refractive index of the cloud particles, and $\alpha$ all influence $P_c$. Spatially resolved, $P_c$ varies between $\pm 0.20\%$ (the sign indicates the polarization direction). Only for small gas optical thicknesses above the clouds do significant sign changes (related to cloud particle properties) across the planets' hemispheres occur. For patchy clouds, the disk--integrated $P_c$ is typically smaller than $\pm 0.025\%$, with maximums for $\alpha$ between $40^\circ$ and $70^\circ$, and $120^\circ$ to $140^\circ$. As expected, the disk--integrated $P_c$ is virtually zero at $\alpha=0^\circ$ and 180$^\circ$. The disk--integrated $P_c$ is also very small at $\alpha \approx 100^\circ$. Measuring circular polarization signals appears to be challenging with current technology. The small atmospheric circular polarization signal could, however, allow the detection of circular polarization due to homochiral molecules. Confirmation of the detectability of such signals requires better knowledge of the strength of circular polarization signals of biological sources.