Gas dynamics around a Jupiter mass planet: II. Chemical evolution of circumplanetary material

TL;DR

This study uses 3D simulations to analyze how gas chemistry evolves as it flows from a protoplanetary disk into a Jupiter-mass planet, revealing volatile release and formation of unique chemical species.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the chemical processes during gas accretion onto giant planets, especially the release of volatiles and formation of specific molecules near the planet.

Findings

Gas warms up to ~800 K, releasing volatiles from ices.

Formation of unique species like CS, SO, SO2 near the planet.

Column densities match previous observations.

Abstract

In an ongoing effort to understand planet formation the link between the chemistry of the protoplanetary disk and the properties of resulting planets have long been a subject of interest. These connections have generally been made between mature planets and young protoplanetary disks through the carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio. In a rare number of systems, young protoplanets have been found within their natal protoplanetary disks. These systems offer a unique opportunity to directly study the delivery of gas from the protoplanetary disk to the planet. In this work we post-process 3D numerical simulations of an embedded Jupiter-massed planet in its protoplanetary disk to explore the chemical evolution of gas as it flows from the disk to the planet. The relevant dust to this chemical evolution is assumed to be small, co-moving grains with a reduced dust-to-gas ratio indicative of the upper atmosphere of a protoplanetary disk. We find that as the gas enters deep into the planet's gravitational well, it warms significantly (up to $\sim 800$ K), releasing all of the volatile content from the ice phase. This change in phase can influence our understanding of the delivery of volatile species to the atmospheres of giant planets. The primary carbon, oxygen, and sulfur carrying ices: CO$_2$, H$_2$O, and H$_2$S are released into the gas phase and along with the warm gas temperatures near the embedded planets lead to the production of unique species like CS, SO, and SO$_2$ compared to the protoplanetary disk. We compute the column densities of SO, SO$_2$, CS, and H$_2$CS in our model and find that their values are consistent with previous observational studies.