LavAtmos 2.0

Context. Due to strong irradiation, hot rocky exoplanets are able to sustain lava oceans. Direct interaction between these oceans and overlying atmospheres can provide insight into planetary interiors. In order to fully understand how the composition of the atmosphere of such planets are affected by the properties of the oceans, comprehensive chemical equilibrium models are required. Thus far, most models have only taken non-volatile species into account when calculating lava vaporisation. Aims. We investigate the effect of including C-, H-, N-, S-, and P-bearing species in the equilibrium lava vaporisation calculations on the overall atmospheric composition of hot rocky exoplanets by expanding our LavAtmos code. Methods. We calculated the O 2 partial pressure which satisfies both the laws of mass action and mass conservation in a system that contains both melt species and volatile elements. We integrated the chemical equilibrium code FastChem to expand the number of considered gas phase species to 523. We applied this new approach to calculate the composition of “pure” atmospheres which contain only C, H, N, S, or P and of more complex atmospheres which contain all five aforementioned elements. We also tested two proposed compositions for the atmosphere of 55-Cnc e. Results. We find that the inclusion of volatile elements in vaporisation calculations increases the partial pressures of vaporised species (SiO, SiO 2 , Na, and K) compared to volatile-free vaporisation for all tested atmospheric compositions. Moreover, including volatile species in the vaporisation reactions leads to a significantly greater O abundance in the atmosphere than in the volatile-free vaporisation case, which influences partial pressures of key volatile species such as CO 2 and H 2 O. When testing the compositions proposed for 55-Cnc e, we find that a low C/O ratio could potentially serve as an indication of the presence of a surface lava ocean on an ultra-shortperiod planet with a volatile atmosphere. Conclusions. Volatile elements must be taken into account for comprehensive modelling of vaporisation from a surface lava ocean into a volatile atmosphere.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Published
2025-02-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202450992
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.17

Funders

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article

LavAtmos 2.0

Christiaan van Buchem, Y. Miguel, Mantas Zilinskas, W. van Westrenen
3 citations
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions
1.17
article

LavAtmos 2.0

Christiaan van Buchem, Y. Miguel, Mantas Zilinskas, W. van Westrenen
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Context. Due to strong irradiation, hot rocky exoplanets are able to sustain lava oceans. Direct interaction between these oceans and overlying atmospheres can provide insight into planetary interiors. In order to fully understand how the composition of the atmosphere of such planets are affected by the properties of the oceans, comprehensive chemical equilibrium models are required. Thus far, most models have only taken non-volatile species into account when calculating lava vaporisation. Aims. We investigate the effect of including C-, H-, N-, S-, and P-bearing species in the equilibrium lava vaporisation calculations on the overall atmospheric composition of hot rocky exoplanets by expanding our LavAtmos code. Methods. We calculated the O 2 partial pressure which satisfies both the laws of mass action and mass conservation in a system that contains both melt species and volatile elements. We integrated the chemical equilibrium code FastChem to expand the number of considered gas phase species to 523. We applied this new approach to calculate the composition of “pure” atmospheres which contain only C, H, N, S, or P and of more complex atmospheres which contain all five aforementioned elements. We also tested two proposed compositions for the atmosphere of 55-Cnc e. Results. We find that the inclusion of volatile elements in vaporisation calculations increases the partial pressures of vaporised species (SiO, SiO 2 , Na, and K) compared to volatile-free vaporisation for all tested atmospheric compositions. Moreover, including volatile species in the vaporisation reactions leads to a significantly greater O abundance in the atmosphere than in the volatile-free vaporisation case, which influences partial pressures of key volatile species such as CO 2 and H 2 O. When testing the compositions proposed for 55-Cnc e, we find that a low C/O ratio could potentially serve as an indication of the presence of a surface lava ocean on an ultra-shortperiod planet with a volatile atmosphere. Conclusions. Volatile elements must be taken into account for comprehensive modelling of vaporisation from a surface lava ocean into a volatile atmosphere.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsVol. 695
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions
1.17
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