Hydrodynamic Atmospheric Escape in HD 189733 b: Signatures of Carbon and Hydrogen Measured with the Hubble Space Telescope

Abstract

One of the most well-studied exoplanets to date, HD 189733 b, stands out as an archetypal hot Jupiter with many observations and theoretical models aimed at characterizing its atmosphere, interior, host star, and environment. We report here on the results of an extensive campaign to observe atmospheric escape signatures in HD 189733 b using the Hubble Space Telescope and its unique ultraviolet capabilities. We have found a tentative, but repeatable in-transit absorption of singlyionized carbon (C ii , 5.2% ± 1.4%) in the epoch of June–July/2017, as well as a neutral hydrogen (H i ) absorption consistent with previous observations. We model the hydrodynamic outflow of HD 189733 b using an isothermal Parker wind formulation to interpret the observations of escaping C and O nuclei at the altitudes probed by our observations. Our forward models indicate that the outflow of HD 189733 b is mostly neutral within an altitude of ∼2 R _p and singly ionized beyond that point. The measured in-transit absorption of C ii at 1335.7 Å is consistent with an escape rate of ∼1.1 × 10 ^11 g s ^−1 , assuming solar C abundance and an outflow temperature of 12,100 K. Although we find marginal neutral oxygen (O i ) in-transit absorption, our models predict an in-transit depth that is only comparable to the size of measurement uncertainties. A comparison between the observed Ly α transit depths and hydrodynamics models suggests that the exosphere of this planet interacts with a stellar wind at least 1 order of magnitude stronger than solar.

Keywords

• Exoplanet atmospheres
• Hot Jupiters
• Planet hosting stars
• Ultraviolet astronomy