MOVES IV. Modelling the influence of stellar XUV-flux, cosmic rays, and stellar energetic particles on the atmospheric composition of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b
Barth, P; Helling, C; Stueken, EE; et al.Bourrier, V; Mayne, N; Rimmer, PB; Jardine, M; Vidotto, AA; Wheatley, PJ; Fares, R
Date: 7 January 2021
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP) / Royal Astronomical Society
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Hot Jupiters provide valuable natural laboratories for studying potential contributions of highenergy radiation to prebiotic synthesis in the atmospheres of exoplanets. In this fourth paper
of the MOVES (Multiwavelength Observations of an eVaporating Exoplanet and its Star)
programme, we study the effect of different types of high-energy ...
Hot Jupiters provide valuable natural laboratories for studying potential contributions of highenergy radiation to prebiotic synthesis in the atmospheres of exoplanets. In this fourth paper
of the MOVES (Multiwavelength Observations of an eVaporating Exoplanet and its Star)
programme, we study the effect of different types of high-energy radiation on the production
of organic and prebiotic molecules in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b. Our
model combines X-ray and UV observations from the MOVES programme and 3D climate
simulations from the 3D Met Office Unified Model to simulate the atmospheric composition
and kinetic chemistry with the STAND2019 network. Also, the effects of galactic cosmic
rays and stellar energetic particles are included. We find that the differences in the radiation
field between the irradiated dayside and the shadowed nightside lead to stronger changes in
the chemical abundances than the variability of the host star’s XUV emission. We identify
ammonium (NH +
4
) and oxonium (H3O
+
) as fingerprint ions for the ionization of the atmosphere
by both galactic cosmic rays and stellar particles. All considered types of high-energy radiation
have an enhancing effect on the abundance of key organic molecules such as hydrogen cyanide
(HCN), formaldehyde (CH2O), and ethylene (C2H4
). The latter two are intermediates in
the production pathway of the amino acid glycine (C2H5NO2
) and abundant enough to be
potentially detectable by JWST.
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
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