arXiv subjects

Vivien Parmentier

Publications and source records attributed to Vivien Parmentier.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Keys of a Mission to Uranus or Neptune, the Closest Ice Giants

Uranus and Neptune are the archetypes of "ice giants", a class of planets that may be among the most common in the Galaxy. They hold the keys to understand the atmospheric dynamics and structure of planets with hydrogen atmospheres inside and outside the solar system; however, they are also the last unexplored planets of the Solar System. Their atmospheres are active and storms are believed to be fueled by methane condensation which is both extremely abundant and occurs at low optical depth. This means that mapping temperature and methane abundance as a function of position and depth will inform us on how convection organizes in an atmosphere with no surface and condensates that are heavier than the surrounding air, a general feature of giant planets. Owing to the spatial and temporal variability of these atmospheres, an orbiter is required. A probe would provide a reference atmospheric profile to lift ambiguities inherent to remote observations. It would also measure the abundances of noble gases which can be used to reconstruct the history of planet formation in the Solar System. Finally, mapping the planets' gravity and magnetic fields will be essential to constrain their global composition, atmospheric dynamics, structure and evolution. An exploration of Uranus or Neptune will be essential to understand these planets and will also be key to constrain and analyze data obtained at Jupiter, Saturn, and for numerous exoplanets with hydrogen atmospheres.

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arXiv2020

The cloudy shape of hot Jupiter thermal phase curves

Hot Jupiters have been predicted to have a strong day/night temperature contrast and a hot spot shifted eastward of the substellar point. This was confirmed by numerous phase curve observations probing the longitudinal brightness variation of the atmosphere. Global circulation models, however, systematically underestimate the phase curve amplitude and overestimate the shift of its maximum. We use a global circulation model including non-grey radiative transfer and realistic gas and cloud opacities to systematically investigate how the atmospheric circulation of hot Jupiters varies with equilibrium temperature from 1000 to 2200K. We show that the heat transport is very efficient for cloudless planets cooler than 1600K and becomes less efficient at higher temperatures. When nightside clouds are present, the day-to-night heat transport becomes extremely inefficient, leading to a good match to the observed low nightside temperatures. The constancy of this low temperature is, however, due to the strong dependence of the radiative timescale with temperature. We further show that nightside clouds increase the phase curve amplitude and decreases the phase curve offset at the same time. This change is very sensitive to the cloud chemical composition and particle size, meaning that the diversity in observed phase curves can be explained by a diversity of nightside cloud properties. Finally, we show that phase curve parameters do not necessarily track the day/night contrast nor the shift of the hot spot on isobars, and propose solutions to to recover the true hot-spot shift and day/night contrast.

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arXiv2020

Atmospheric Dynamics of Hot Giant Planets and Brown Dwarfs

Ground-based and spacecraft telescopic observations, combined with an intensive modeling effort, have greatly enhanced our understanding of hot giant planets and brown dwarfs over the past ten years. Although these objects are all fluid, hydrogen worlds with stratified atmospheres overlying convective interiors, they exhibit an impressive diversity of atmospheric behavior. Hot Jupiters are strongly irradiated, and a wealth of observations constrain the day-night temperature differences, circulation, and cloudiness. The intense stellar irradiation, presumed tidal locking and modest rotation leads to a novel regime of strong day-night radiative forcing. Circulation models predict large day-night temperature differences, global-scale eddies, patchy clouds, and, in most cases, a fast eastward jet at the equator-equatorial superrotation. The warm Jupiters may exhibit a wide range of rotation rates, obliquities, and orbital eccentricities, which, along with the weaker irradiation, leads to circulation patterns and observable signatures predicted to differ substantially from hot Jupiters. Brown dwarfs are typically isolated, rapidly rotating worlds; they radiate enormous energy fluxes into space and convect vigorously in their interiors. Their atmospheres exhibit patchiness in clouds and temperature on regional to global scales-the result of modulation by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Despite the lack of irradiation, such circulations can be driven by interaction of the interior convection with the overlying atmosphere, as well as self-organization of patchiness due to cloud-dynamical-radiative feedbacks. Finally, irradiated brown dwarfs help to bridge the gap between these classes of objects, experiencing intense external irradiation as well as vigorous interior convection. A hierarchy of modeling approaches have yielded major new insights into the dynamics governing these phenomena.

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arXiv2020

A transition between the hot and the ultra-hot Jupiter atmospheres

[Abridged] A key hypothesis in the field of exoplanet atmospheres is the trend of atmospheric thermal structure with planetary equilibrium temperature. We explore this trend and report here the first statistical detection of a transition in the near-infrared (NIR) atmospheric emission between hot and ultra-hot Jupiters. We measure this transition using secondary eclipse observations and interpret this phenomenon as changes in atmospheric properties, and more specifically in terms of transition from non-inverted to inverted thermal profiles. We examine a sample of 78 hot Jupiters with secondary eclipse measurements at 3.6 μm and 4.5 μm measured with Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC). We measure the deviation of the data from the blackbody, which we define as the difference between the observed 4.5 μm eclipse depth and that expected at this wavelength based on the brightness temperature measured at 3.6 μm. We study how the deviation between 3.6 and 4.5 μm changes with theoretical predictions with equilibrium temperature and incoming stellar irradiation. We reveal a clear transition in the observed emission spectra of the hot Jupiter population at 1660 +/- 100 K in the zero albedo, full redistribution equilibrium temperature. We find the hotter exoplanets have even hotter daysides at 4.5 μm compared to 3.6 μm, which manifests as an exponential increase in the emitted power of the planets with stellar insolation. We propose that the measured transition is a result of seeing carbon monoxide in emission due to the formation of temperature inversions in the atmospheres of the hottest planets. These thermal inversions could be caused by the presence of atomic and molecular species with high opacities in the optical and/or the lack of cooling species. We find that the population of hot Jupiters statistically disfavors high C/O planets (C/O>= 0.85).

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arXiv2020

Strong biases in retrieved atmospheric composition caused by strong day-night chemical heterogeneities

Most planets currently amenable to transit spectroscopy are close enough to their host star to exhibit a relatively strong day to night temperature gradient. For hot planets, this leads to cause a chemical composition dichotomy between the two hemispheres. In the extreme case of ultra hot jupiters, some species, such as molecular hydrogen and water, are strongly dissociated on the day-side while others, such as carbon monoxide, are not. However, most current retrieval algorithm rely on 1D forward models that are unable to model this effect. We thus investigate how the 3D structure of the atmosphere biases the abundances retrieved using commonly used algorithms. We study the case of Wasp-121b as a prototypical ultra hot Jupiter. We use the simulations of this planet performed with the SPARC/MIT global climate model (GCM) and generate transmission spectra that fully account for the 3D structure of the atmosphere with Pytmopsh3R. These spectra are then analyzed using the \taurex retrieval code. We find that such ultra hot jupiter's transmission spectra exhibit muted H$_2$O features that originate in the night-side where the temperature, hence the scale-height, is smaller than on the day-side. However, the spectral features of molecules present on the day-side are boosted by both its high temperature and low mean molecular weight. As a result, the retrieved parameters are strongly biased compared to the ground truth. In particular the [CO]/[H$_2$O] is overestimated by one to three orders of magnitude. This must be kept in mind when using such retrieval analysis to infer the C/O ratio of a planet's atmosphere. We also discuss whether indicators can allow us to infer the 3D structure of an observed atmosphere. Finally we show that HST/WFC3 transmission data of Wasp-121b are compatible with the day-night thermal and compositional dichotomy predicted by models.

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arXiv2020

Understanding and Mitigating Biases when Studying Inhomogeneous Emission Spectra with JWST

Exoplanet emission spectra are often modelled assuming that the hemisphere observed is well represented by a horizontally homogenised atmosphere. However this approximation will likely fail for planets with a large temperature contrast in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) era, potentially leading to erroneous interpretations of spectra. We first develop an analytic formulation to quantify the signal-to-noise ratio and wavelength coverage necessary to disentangle temperature inhomogeneities from a hemispherically averaged spectrum. We find that for a given signal-to-noise ratio, observations at shorter wavelengths are better at detecting the presence of inhomogeneities. We then determine why the presence of an inhomogeneous thermal structure can lead to spurious molecular detections when assuming a fully homogenised planet in the retrieval process. Finally, we quantify more precisely the potential biases by modelling a suite of hot Jupiter spectra, varying the spatial contributions of a hot and a cold region, as would be observed by the different instruments of JWST/NIRSpec. We then retrieve the abundances and temperature profiles from the synthetic observations. We find that in most cases, assuming a homogeneous thermal structure when retrieving the atmospheric chemistry leads to biased results, and spurious molecular detection. Explicitly modelling the data using two profiles avoids these biases, and is statistically supported provided the wavelength coverage is wide enough, and crucially also spanning shorter wavelengths. For the high contrast used here, a single profile with a dilution factor performs as well as the two-profile case, with only one additional parameter compared to the 1-D approach.

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arXiv2020

Global Chemistry and Thermal Structure Models for the Hot Jupiter WASP-43b and Predictions for JWST

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to revolutionize the field of exoplanets. The broad wavelength coverage and the high sensitivity of its instruments will allow characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres with unprecedented precision. Following the Call for the Cycle 1 Early Release Science Program, the Transiting Exoplanet Community was awarded time to observe several targets, including WASP-43b. The atmosphere of this hot Jupiter has been intensively observed but still harbors some mysteries, especially concerning the day-night temperature gradient, the efficiency of the atmospheric circulation, and the presence of nightside clouds. We will constrain these properties by observing a full orbit of the planet and extracting its spectroscopic phase curve in the 5--12 $μ$m range with JWST/MIRI. To prepare for these observations, we performed an extensive modeling work with various codes: radiative transfer, chemical kinetics, cloud microphysics, global circulation models, JWST simulators, and spectral retrieval. Our JWST simulations show that we should achieve a precision of 210 ppm per 0.1 $μ$m spectral bin on average, which will allow us to measure the variations of the spectrum in longitude and measure the night-side emission spectrum for the first time. If the atmosphere of WASP-43b is clear, our observations will permit us to determine if its atmosphere has an equilibrium or disequilibrium chemical composition, providing eventually the first conclusive evidence of chemical quenching in a hot Jupiter atmosphere. If the atmosphere is cloudy, a careful retrieval analysis will allow us to identify the cloud composition.

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arXiv2020

Understanding the atmospheric properties and chemical composition of the ultra-hot Jupiter HAT-P-7b II. Mapping the effects of gas kinetics

The atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters are commonly considered to be at thermochemical equilibrium. We aim to provide disequilibrium chemistry maps for a global understanding of the chemistry in HAT-P-7b's atmosphere and assess the importance of disequilibrium chemistry on UHJs. We apply a hierarchical modelling approach utilising 97 1D atmospheric profiles from 3D GCM of HAT-P-7b. For each 1D profile, we evaluate our kinetic cloud formation model consistently with the local gas-phase composition in chemical equilibrium. We then evaluate quenching results from a zeroth-order approximation in comparison to a kinetic gas-phase approach. We find that the zeroth-order approach of estimating quenching points agrees well with the full gas-kinetic modeling results. Chemical disequilibrium has the greatest effect on the nightside and morning abundance of species such as H, H$_2$O, CH$_4$, CO$_2$, HCN, and all C$_n$H$_m$ molecules; heavier C$_n$H$_m$ molecules are more affected by disequilibrium processes. CO abundance, however, is affected only marginally. While dayside abundances also notably change, those around the evening terminator of HAT-P-7b are the least affected by disequilibrium processes. The latter finding may partially explain the consistency of observed transmission spectra of UHJs with atmospheres in thermochemical equilibrium. Photochemistry only negligibly affects molecular abundances and quenching levels. In general, the quenching points of HAT-P-7b's atmosphere are at much lower pressures in comparison to the cooler hot-jupiters. We propose several avenues to look for the effect of disequilibrium processes on UHJs that are, in general, based on abundance and opacity measurements at different local times. It remains a challenge to completely disentangle this from the chemical effects of clouds and that of a primordial non-solar abundance.

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arXiv2020

Evidence for H$_{2}$ Dissociation and Recombination Heat Transport in the Atmosphere of KELT-9b

Phase curve observations provide an opportunity to study the full energy budgets of exoplanets by quantifying the amount of heat redistributed from their daysides to their nightsides. Theories explaining the properties of phase curves for hot Jupiters have focused on the balance between radiation and dynamics as the primary parameter controlling heat redistribution. However, recent phase curves have shown deviations from the trends that emerge from this theory, which has led to work on additional processes that may affect hot Jupiter energy budgets. One such process, molecular hydrogen dissociation and recombination, can enhance energy redistribution on ultra-hot Jupiters with temperatures above $\sim2000$ K. In order to study the impact of H$_{2}$ dissociation on ultra-hot Jupiters, we present a phase curve of KELT-9b observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope at 4.5 $μ$m. KELT-9b is the hottest known transiting planet, with a 4.5-$μ$m dayside brightness temperature of $4566^{+140}_{-136}$ K and a nightside temperature of $2556^{+101}_{-97}$ K. We observe a phase curve amplitude of $0.609 \pm 0.020$ and a hot spot offset of $18.7^{+2.1}_{-2.3}$ degrees. The observed amplitude is too small to be explained by a simple balance between radiation and advection. General circulation models (GCMs) and an energy balance model that include the effects of H$_{2}$ dissociation and recombination provide a better match to the data. The GCMs, however, predict a maximum hot spot offset of $5$ degrees, which disagrees with our observations at $>5σ$ confidence. This discrepancy may be due to magnetic effects in the planet's highly ionized atmosphere.

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arXiv2019

2.5-D retrieval of atmospheric properties from exoplanet phase curves: Application to WASP-43b observations

We present a novel retrieval technique that attempts to model phase curve observations of exoplanets more realistically and reliably, which we call the 2.5-dimension (2.5-D) approach. In our 2.5-D approach we retrieve the vertical temperature profile and mean gaseous abundance of a planet at all longitudes and latitudes \textbf{simultaneously}, assuming that the temperature or composition, $x$, at a particular longitude and latitude $(Λ,Φ)$ is given by $x(Λ,Φ) = \bar{x} + (x(Λ,0) - \bar{x})\cos^nΦ$, where $\bar{x}$ is the mean of the morning and evening terminator values of $x(Λ,0)$, and $n$ is an assumed coefficient. We compare our new 2.5-D scheme with the more traditional 1-D approach, which assumes the same temperature profile and gaseous abundances at all points on the visible disc of a planet for each individual phase observation, using a set of synthetic phase curves generated from a GCM-based simulation. We find that our 2.5-D model fits these data more realistically than the 1-D approach, confining the hotter regions of the planet more closely to the dayside. We then apply both models to WASP-43b phase curve observations of HST/WFC3 and Spitzer/IRAC. We find that the dayside of WASP-43b is apparently much hotter than the nightside and show that this could be explained by the presence of a thick cloud on the nightside with a cloud top at pressure $< 0.2$ bar. We further show that while the mole fraction of water vapour is reasonably well constrained to $(1-10)\times10^{-4}$, the abundance of CO is very difficult to constrain with these data since it is degenerate with temperature and prone to possible systematic radiometric differences between the HST/WFC3 and Spitzer/IRAC observations. Hence, it is difficult to reliably constrain C/O.

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arXiv2019

Transit Signatures of Inhomogeneous Clouds on Hot Jupiters: Insights From Microphysical Cloud Modeling

We determine the observability in transmission of inhomogeneous cloud cover on the limbs of hot Jupiters through post processing a general circulation model to include cloud distributions computed using a cloud microphysics model. We find that both the east and west limb often form clouds, but that the different properties of these clouds enhances the limb to limb differences compared to the clear case. Using JWST it should be possible to detect the presence of cloud inhomogeneities by comparing the shape of the transit lightcurve at multiple wavelengths because inhomogeneous clouds impart a characteristic, wavelength dependent signature. This method is statistically robust even with limited wavelength coverage, uncertainty on limb darkening coefficients, and imprecise transit times. We predict that the short wavelength slope varies strongly with temperature. The hot limb of the hottest planets form higher altitude clouds composed of smaller particles leading to a strong rayleigh slope. The near infrared spectral features of clouds are almost always detectable, even when no spectral slope is visible in the optical. In some of our models a spectral window between 5 and 9 microns can be used to probe through the clouds and detect chemical spectral features. Our cloud particle size distributions are not log-normal and differ from species to species. Using the area or mass weighted particle size significantly alters the relative strength of the cloud spectral features compared to using the predicted size distribution. Finally, the cloud content of a given planet is sensitive to a species' desorption energy and contact angle, two parameters that could be constrained experimentally in the future.

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arXiv2019

Observing exoplanets in the near-infrared from a high altitude balloon platform

Although there exists a large sample of known exoplanets, little spectroscopic data exists that can be used to study their global atmospheric properties. This deficiency can be addressed by performing phase-resolved spectroscopy -- continuous spectroscopic observations of a planet's entire orbit about its host star -- of transiting exoplanets. Planets with characteristics suitable for atmospheric characterization have orbits of several days, thus phase curve observations are highly resource intensive, especially for shared use facilities. In this work, we show that an infrared spectrograph operating from a high altitude balloon platform can perform phase-resolved spectroscopy of hot Jupiter-type exoplanets with performance comparable to a space-based telescope. Using the EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE) experiment as an example, we quantify the impact of the most important systematic effects that we expect to encounter from a balloon platform. We show an instrument like EXCITE will have the stability and sensitivity to significantly advance our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres. Such an instrument will both complement and serve as a critical bridge between current and future space-based near infrared spectroscopic instruments.

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arXiv2019

Constraining Exoplanet Metallicities and Aerosols with ARIEL: An Independent Study by the Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (CASE) Team

Launching in 2028, ESA's Atmospheric Remote-sensing Exoplanet Large-survey (ARIEL) survey of $\sim$1000 transiting exoplanets will build on the legacies of Kepler and TESS and complement JWST by placing its high precision exoplanet observations into a large, statistically-significant planetary population context. With continuous 0.5--7.8~$μ$m coverage from both FGS (0.50--0.55, 0.8--1.0, and 1.0--1.2~$μ$m photometry; 1.25--1.95~$μ$m spectroscopy) and AIRS (1.95--7.80~$μ$m spectroscopy), ARIEL will determine atmospheric compositions and probe planetary formation histories during its 3.5-year mission. NASA's proposed Contribution to ARIEL Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (CASE) would be a subsystem of ARIEL's FGS instrument consisting of two visible-to-infrared detectors, associated readout electronics, and thermal control hardware. FGS, to be built by the Polish Academy of Sciences' Space Research Centre, will provide both fine guiding and visible to near-infrared photometry and spectroscopy, providing powerful diagnostics of atmospheric aerosol contribution and planetary albedo, which play a crucial role in establishing planetary energy balance. The CASE team presents here an independent study of the capabilities of ARIEL to measure exoplanetary metallicities, which probe the conditions of planet formation, and FGS to measure scattering spectral slopes, which indicate if an exoplanet has atmospheric aerosols (clouds and hazes), and geometric albedos, which help establish planetary climate. Our design reference mission simulations show that ARIEL could measure the mass-metallicity relationship of its 1000-planet single-visit sample to $>7.5σ$ and that FGS could distinguish between clear, cloudy, and hazy skies and constrain an exoplanet's atmospheric aerosol composition to $>5σ$ for hundreds of targets, providing statistically-transformative science for exoplanet atmospheres.

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arXiv2019

The Effect of 3D Transport-Induced Disequilibrium Carbon Chemistry on the Atmospheric Structure and Phase Curves and Emission Spectra of Hot Jupiter HD 189733b

On hot Jupiter exoplanets, strong horizontal and vertical winds should homogenize the abundances of the important absorbers CH$_4$ and CO much faster than chemical reactions restore chemical equilibrium. This effect, typically neglected in general circulation models (GCMs), has been suggested as explanation for discrepancies between observed infrared lightcurves and those predicted by GCMs: On the nightsides of several hot Jupiters, GCMs predict outgoing fluxes that are too large, especially in the Spitzer 4.5 $μ$m band. We modified the SPARC/MITgcm to include disequilibrium abundances of CH$_4$, CO and H$_2$O by assuming that the CH$_4$/CO ratio is constant throughout the simulation domain. We ran simulations of hot Jupiter HD 189733b with 8 CH$_4$/CO ratios. In the more likely CO-dominated regime, we find temperature changes $\geq$50-100 K compared to the equilibrium chemistry case across large regions. This effect is large enough to affect predicted emission spectra and should thus be included in GCMs of hot Jupiters with equilibrium temperatures between 600K and 1300K. We find that spectra in regions with strong methane absorption, including the Spitzer 3.6 and 8 $μ$m bands, are strongly impacted by disequilibrium abundances. We expect chemical quenching to result in much larger nightside fluxes in the 3.6 $μ$m band, in stark contrast to observations. Meanwhile, we find almost no effect on predicted observations in the 4.5 $μ$m band, as the opacity changes due to CO and H$_2$O offset each other. We thus conclude that disequilibrium carbon chemistry cannot explain the observed low nightside fluxes in the 4.5 $μ$m band.

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arXiv2019

Climate of an Ultra hot Jupiter: Spectroscopic phase curve of WASP-18b with HST/WFC3

We present the analysis of a full-orbit, spectroscopic phase curve of the ultra hot Jupiter WASP-18b, obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. We measure the planet's normalized day-night contrast as >0.96 in luminosity: the disk-integrated dayside emission from the planet is at 964+-25 ppm, corresponding to 2894+-30 K, and we place an upper limit on the nightside emission of <32ppm or 1430K at the 3-sigma level. We also find that the peak of the phase curve exhibits a small, but significant offset in brightness of 4.5+-0.5 degrees eastward. We compare the extracted phase curve and phase resolved spectra to 3D Global Circulation Models and find that broadly the data can be well reproduced by some of these models. We find from this comparison several constraints on the atmospheric properties of the planet. Firstly we find that we need efficient drag to explain the very inefficient day-night re-circulation observed. We demonstrate that this drag could be due to Lorentz-force drag by a magnetic field as weak as 10 Gauss. Secondly, we show that a high metallicity is not required to match the large day-night temperature contrast. In fact, the effect of metallicity on the phase curve is different from cooler gas-giant counterparts, due to the high-temperature chemistry in WASP-18b's atmosphere. Additionally, we compare the current UHJ spectroscopic phase curves, WASP-18b and WASP-103b, and show that these two planets provide a consistent picture with remarkable similarities in their measured and inferred properties. However, key differences in these properties, such as their brightness offsets and radius anomalies, suggest that UHJ could be used to separate between competing theories for the inflation of gas-giant planets.

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arXiv2018

Exoplanet phase curves: observations and theory

Phase curves are the best technique to probe the three dimensional structure of exoplanets' atmospheres. In this chapter we first review current exoplanets phase curve observations and the particular challenges they face. We then describe the different physical mechanisms shaping the atmospheric phase curves of highly irradiated tidally locked exoplanets. Finally, we discuss the potential for future missions to further advance our understanding of these new worlds.

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arXiv2018

The Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science Program for JWST

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) presents the opportunity to transform our understanding of planets and the origins of life by revealing the atmospheric compositions, structures, and dynamics of transiting exoplanets in unprecedented detail. However, the high-precision, time-series observations required for such investigations have unique technical challenges, and prior experience with other facilities indicates that there will be a steep learning curve when JWST becomes operational. In this paper we describe the science objectives and detailed plans of the Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science (ERS) Program, which is a recently approved program for JWST observations early in Cycle 1. The goal of this project, for which the obtained data will have no exclusive access period, is to accelerate the acquisition and diffusion of technical expertise for transiting exoplanet observations with JWST, while also providing a compelling set of representative datasets that will enable immediate scientific breakthroughs. The Transiting Exoplanet Community ERS Program will exercise the time-series modes of all four JWST instruments that have been identified as the consensus highest priorities, observe the full suite of transiting planet characterization geometries (transits, eclipses, and phase curves), and target planets with host stars that span an illustrative range of brightnesses. The observations in this program were defined through an inclusive and transparent process that had participation from JWST instrument experts and international leaders in transiting exoplanet studies. Community engagement in the project will be centered on a two-phase Data Challenge that culminates with the delivery of planetary spectra, time-series instrument performance reports, and open-source data analysis toolkits in time to inform the agenda for Cycle 2 of the JWST mission.

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arXiv2018

Community targets for JWST's early release science program: evaluation of WASP-63b

We present observations of WASP-63b by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) as part of "A Preparatory Program to Identify the Single Best Transiting Exoplanet for JWST Early Release Science". WASP-63b is one of the community targets under consideration for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Science (ERS) program. We present a spectrum derived from a single observation by HST Wide Field Camera 3 in the near infrared. We engaged groups across the transiting exoplanet community to participate in the analysis of the data and present results from each. There is general agreement amongst all results that we find an H2O absorption feature with 3.5-4.0 sigma significance. However, the feature is muted in comparison to a clear atmosphere at solar composition. Although the detection of the water feature is robust, the reasons for the muting of this feature are ambiguous due to a degeneracy between clouds and composition. The data does not yield robust detections of any molecular species other than H2O. The group was motivated to perform an additional set of retrieval exercises to investigate an apparent bump in the spectrum at ~ 1.55 um. We explore possible disequilibrium chemistry and find this feature is consistent with super-solar HCN abundance but it is questionable if the required mixing ratio of HCN is chemically and physically plausible. The ultimate goal of this study is to vet WASP-63b as a potential community target to best demonstrate the capabilities and systematics of JWST instruments for transiting exoplanet science. In the case of WASP-63b, the presence of a detectable water feature indicates that WASP-63b remains a plausible target for ERS observations.

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