LHS 1140 b Is a Potentially Habitable Water World

Abstract

LHS 1140 b is a small planet orbiting in the habitable zone of its M4.5V dwarf host. Recent mass and radius constraints have indicated that it has either a thick H _2 -rich atmosphere or substantial water by mass. Here we present a transmission spectrum of LHS 1140 b between 1.7 and 5.2 μ m, obtained using the NIRSpec instrument on JWST. By combining spectral retrievals and self-consistent atmospheric models, we show that the transmission spectrum is inconsistent with H _2 -rich atmospheres with varied size and metallicity, leaving a water world as the remaining scenario to explain the planet’s low density. Specifically, a H _2 -rich atmosphere would result in prominent spectral features of CH _4 or CO _2 on this planet, but they are not seen in the transmission spectrum. Instead, the data favor a high mean molecular weight atmosphere (possibly N _2 dominated with H _2 O and CO _2 ) with a modest confidence. Forming the planet by accreting C- and N-bearing ices could naturally give rise to a CO _2 - or N _2 -dominated atmosphere, and if the planet evolves to or has the climate-stabilizing mechanism to maintain a moderate-size CO _2 /N _2 -dominated atmosphere, the planet could have liquid-water oceans. Our models suggest CO _2 absorption features with an expected signal of 20 ppm at 4.2 μ m. As the existence of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 planets is uncertain, LHS 1140 b may well present the best current opportunity to detect and characterize a habitable world.

Keywords

• Exoplanets
• Habitable planets
• Transmission spectroscopy
• Astronomy data analysis
• Bayesian statistics
• Atmospheric composition