Rock vapour is opaque: implications for dynamics and observations of lava planets

TL;DR

This study models the atmospheres of lava planets, revealing that cooler planets with partial vapor atmospheres are more detectable than hotter, fully vaporized ones, impacting future observational strategies.

Contribution

We introduce the SonicVapour model to simulate the complex atmospheres of lava planets, providing new insights into their optical thickness and detectability based on surface temperature.

Findings

Hot lava planets (>2700 K) have optically thick, isothermal atmospheres that hinder detection.

Cooler lava planets (2300-2700 K) have partially opaque atmospheres with detectable spectral features.

Atmospheric detectability is higher in cooler lava planets despite their lower temperatures.

Abstract

Extreme instellation on lava planets causes the rocky surface to melt and vaporize. Because the rock vapour composition is intrinsically tied to the mantle, atmospheric characterization of lava planets can hold valuable insight into the interior processes of rocky planets. To help interpret current data and strategize for future observations, we develop the model SonicVapour to simulate the dynamics of chemically complex secondary atmosphere of lava planets. We find that for planets with surface temperatures exceeding 2700 K, the rock vapour outgassed is optically thick, making the atmosphere vertically isothermal thus suppressing convection and severely limiting atmospheric detection via emission spectroscopy. In contrast, cooler planets with surfaces between 2300 K - 2700 K have an atmospheric opacity close to 50% and produce distinct spectral features. Counter-intuitively, therefore, cooler lava planet atmospheres are easier to detect. Our results ultimately emphasize the importance of considering atmospheric "detectability" in tandem with signal-to-noise for future observation programs.