James Webb Space Telescope Feed Post

Harvard ADS: Multiple Clues for Dayside Aerosols and Temperature Gradients in WASP-69 b from a Panchromatic JWST Emission Spectrum

Paper abstract: WASP-69 b is a hot, inflated, Saturn-mass planet (0.26 M _Jup) with a zero-albedo equilibrium temperature of 963 K. Here, we report the JWST 2–12 µm emission spectrum of the planet consisting of two eclipses observed with NIRCam grism time series and one eclipse observed with the MIRI low-resolution spectrometer (LRS). The emission spectrum shows absorption features of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, but no strong evidence for methane. WASP-69 b's emission spectrum is poorly fit by cloud-free homogeneous models. We find three possible model scenarios for the planet: (1) a scattering model that raises the brightness at short wavelengths with a free geometric albedo parameter; (2) a cloud-layer model that includes high-altitude silicate aerosols to moderate long-wavelength emission; and (3) a two-region model that includes significant dayside inhomogeneity and cloud opacity with two different temperature–pressure profiles. In all cases, aerosols are needed to fit the spectrum of the planet. The scattering model requires an unexpectedly high geometric albedo of 0.64. Our atmospheric retrievals indicate inefficient redistribution of heat and an inhomogeneous dayside distribution, which is tentatively supported by MIRI LRS broadband eclipse maps that show a central concentration of brightness. Our more plausible models (2 and 3) retrieve chemical abundances enriched in heavy elements relative to solar composition by 6× to 14× solar and a C/O ratio of 0.65–0.94, whereas the less plausible highly reflective scenario (1) retrieves a slightly lower metallicity and lower C/O ratio.