Muted Features in the JWST NIRISS Transmission Spectrum of Hot-Neptune LTT 9779 b

TL;DR

This study presents JWST NIRISS transmission spectra of the hot-Neptune LTT 9779 b, revealing muted spectral features and constraining its atmospheric metallicity, cloud properties, and potential cloud condensation processes that influence its atmospheric survival.

Contribution

First transmission spectrum of LTT 9779 b with JWST NIRISS, revealing muted features and constraining atmospheric composition, metallicity, and cloud properties in the hot-Neptune desert.

Findings

Muted spectral features reject a flat line at >5σ

Atmospheric metallicity constrained to 20-850x solar

Clouds likely condense at mbar pressures in the atmosphere

Abstract

The hot-Neptune desert is one of the most sparsely populated regions of the exoplanet parameter space, and atmosphere observations of its few residents can provide insights into how such planets have managed to survive in such an inhospitable environment. Here, we present transmission observations of LTT 9779 b, the only known hot-Neptune to have retained a significant H/He-dominated atmosphere, taken with JWST NIRISS/SOSS. The 0.6-2.85$\mu$m transmission spectrum shows evidence for muted spectral features, rejecting a perfectly flat line at >5$\sigma$. We explore water and methane-dominated atmosphere scenarios for LTT 9779 b's terminator, and retrieval analyses reveal a continuum of potential combinations of metallicity and cloudiness. Through comparisons to previous population synthesis works and our own interior structure modelling, we are able to constrain LTT 9779 b's atmosphere metallicity to 20-850x solar. Within this range of metallicity, our retrieval analyses prefer solutions with clouds at mbar pressures, regardless of whether the atmosphere is water- or methane-dominated -- though cloud-free atmospheres with metallicities >500x solar cannot be entirely ruled out. By comparing self-consistent atmosphere temperature profiles with cloud condensation curves, we find that silicate clouds can readily condense in the terminator region of LTT 9779 b. Advection of these clouds onto the day-side could explain the high day-side albedo previously inferred for this planet and be part of a feedback loop aiding the survival of LTT 9779 b's atmosphere in the hot-Neptune desert.