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A featureless transmission spectrum for the Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b
Open accessAbstract
GJ 436b is a warm—approximately 800 kelvin—exoplanet that periodically eclipses its low-mass (half the mass of the Sun) host star, and is one of the few Neptune-mass planets that is amenable to detailed characterization. Previous observations have indicated that its atmosphere has a ratio of methane to carbon monoxide that is 105 times smaller than predicted by models for hydrogen-dominated atmospheres at these temperatures. A recent study proposed that this unusual chemistry could be explained if the planet’s atmosphere is significantly enhanced in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Here we report observations of GJ 436b’s atmosphere obtained during transit. The data indicate that the planet’s transmission spectrum is featureless, ruling out cloud-free, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere models with an extremely high significance of 48σ. The measured spectrum is consistent with either a layer of high cloud located at a pressure level of approximately one millibar or with a relatively hydrogen-poor (three per cent hydrogen and helium mass fraction) atmospheric composition.
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Cited by
Clouds in the atmosphere of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b
Kreidberg, L., Bean, J. L., Désert, J.-M., Benneke, B., Deming, D., Stevenson, K. B., Seager, S., Berta-Thompson, Z., Seifahrt, A., & Homeier, D. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12888 · Cited by 939
Self-citationA giant comet-like cloud of hydrogen escaping the warm Neptune-mass exoplanet GJ 436b
Ehrenreich, D., Bourrier, V., Wheatley, P. J., des Etangs, A. L., Hébrard, G., Udry, S., Bonfils, X., Delfosse, X., Désert, J.-M., Sing, D. K., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14501 · Cited by 517
A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL
Tinetti, G., Drossart, P., Eccleston, P., Hartogh, P., Heske, A., Leconte, J., Micela, G., Ollivier, M., Pilbratt, G., Puig, L., et al. (2018) · Experimental Astronomy · doi:10.1007/s10686-018-9598-x · Cited by 445
Rackham, B. V., Apai, D., & Giampapa, M. S. (2018) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aaa08c · Cited by 389
The Pale Orange Dot: The Spectrum and Habitability of Hazy Archean Earth
Arney, G., Domagal-Goldman, S. D., Meadows, V. S., Wolf, E. T., Schwieterman, E., Charnay, B., Claire, M., Hébrard, E., & Trainer, M. G. (2016) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2015.1422 · Cited by 327
“Unlike the hazes that may exist around exoplanets with thick hydrogen-dominated atmospheres (Sing et al., 2011; Knutson et al., 2014; Kreidberg et al., 2014), the Archean (3.”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Knutson, H. A., Benneke, B., Deming, D., & Homeier, D.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2014-01-01
- Volume
- 505
- Issue
- 7481
- Pages
- 66-68
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W2032885475
- Cited by
- 343
- References
- 1
- FWCI
- 17.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
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