GJ 367b Is a Dark, Hot, Airless Sub-Earth

Abstract

We present the mid-infrared (5–12 μ m) phase curve of GJ 367b observed by the Mid-Infrared Instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). GJ 367b is a hot ( T _eq = 1370 K), extremely dense (10.2 ± 1.3 g cm ^−3 ) sub-Earth orbiting an M dwarf on a 0.32 day orbit. We measure an eclipse depth of 79 ± 4 ppm, a nightside planet-to-star flux ratio of 4 ± 8 ppm, and a relative phase amplitude of 0.97 ± 0.10, all fully consistent with a zero-albedo planet with no heat recirculation. Such a scenario is also consistent with the phase offset of 11°E ± 5° to within 2.2 σ . The emission spectrum is likewise consistent with a blackbody with no heat redistribution and a low albedo of A _B ≈ 0.1, with the exception of one anomalous wavelength bin that we attribute to unexplained systematics. The emission spectrum puts few constraints on the surface composition but rules out a CO _2 atmosphere ≳1 bar, an outgassed atmosphere ≳10 mbar (under heavily reducing conditions), or an outgassed atmosphere ≳0.01 mbar (under heavily oxidizing conditions). The lack of day–night heat recirculation implies that 1 bar atmospheres are ruled out for a wide range of compositions, while 0.1 bar atmospheres are consistent with the data. Taken together with the fact that most of the dayside should be molten, our JWST observations suggest that the planet must have lost the vast majority of its initial inventory of volatiles.

Keywords

• Exoplanet atmospheres
• Exoplanet surface composition
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Extrasolar rocky planets