LavAtmos: An open source chemical equilibrium vaporisation code for lava worlds

TL;DR

LavAtmos is an open-source tool that models vapor composition above lava surfaces on hot rocky exoplanets, aiding in understanding their interior compositions through atmospheric observations.

Contribution

It introduces LavAtmos, a novel open-source code for calculating equilibrium vapor compositions above lava surfaces, validated against experimental data and existing models.

Findings

Good agreement with laboratory partial pressure data

Versatile modeling of diverse mantle compositions

Facilitates interior characterization via atmospheric signatures

Abstract

To date, over 500 short-period rocky planets with equilibrium temperatures above 1500 K have been discovered. Such planets are expected to support magma oceans, providing a direct interface between the interior and the atmosphere. This provides a unique opportunity to gain insight into their interior compositions through atmospheric observations. A key process in doing such work is the vapor outgassing from the lava surface. LavAtmos is an open-source code that calculates the equilibrium chemical composition of vapor above a dry melt for a given composition and temperature. Results show that the produced output is in good agreement with the partial pressures obtained from experimental laboratory data as well as with other similar codes from literature. LavAtmos allows for the modeling of vaporization of a wide range of different mantle compositions of hot rocky exoplanets. In combination with atmospheric chemistry codes, this enables the characterization of interior compositions through atmospheric signatures.