Low Albedo Surfaces of Lava Worlds

TL;DR

This study investigates whether molten lava and quenched glasses on hot super Earths contribute to high observed albedos, finding that such surfaces likely have low reflectivity and high albedos are due to atmospheric clouds.

Contribution

The paper provides experimental measurements of reflectance from quenched glasses and models planetary albedo, concluding lava surfaces are unlikely to cause high albedos observed in some hot super Earths.

Findings

Lava and quenched glass surfaces have low albedo (~0.1).

High planetary albedos are likely due to reflective clouds in atmospheres.

Lava surface reflectance is insufficient to explain high observed albedos.

Abstract

Hot super Earths are exoplanets with short orbital periods ($<$ 10 days), heated by their host stars to temperatures high enough for their rocky surfaces to become molten. A few hot super Earths exhibit high geometric albedos ($>$ 0.4) in the Kepler band (420-900 nm). We are motivated to determine whether reflection from molten lava and quenched glasses (a product of rapidly cooled lava) on the surfaces of hot super Earths contributes to the observationally inferred high geometric albedos. We experimentally measure reflection from rough and smooth textured quenched glasses of both basalt and feldspar melts. For lava reflectance values, we use specular reflectance values of molten silicates from non-crystalline solids literature. Integrating the empirical glass reflectance function and non-crystalline solids reflectance values over the dayside surface of the exoplanet at secondary eclipse yields an upper limit for the albedo of a lava-quenched glass planet surface of $\sim $0.1. We conclude that lava planets with solid (quenched glass) or liquid (lava) surfaces have low albedos. The high albedos of some hot super Earths are most likely explained by atmospheres with reflective clouds (or, for a narrow range of parameter space, possibly Ca/Al oxide melt surfaces). Lava planet candidates in TESS data can be identified for follow-up observations and future characterization.