The Astronomical Journal (Jan 2023)
A Nondetection of Iron in the First High-resolution Emission Study of the Lava Planet 55 Cnc e
- Kaitlin C. Rasmussen,
- Miles H. Currie,
- Celeste Hagee,
- Christiaan van Buchem,
- Matej Malik,
- Arjun B Savel,
- Matteo Brogi,
- Emily Rauscher,
- Victoria Meadows,
- Megan Mansfield,
- Eliza M.-R. Kempton,
- Jean-Michel Desert,
- Joost P. Wardenier,
- Lorenzo Pino,
- Michael Line,
- Vivien Parmentier,
- Andreas Seifahrt,
- David Kasper,
- Madison Brady,
- Jacob L. Bean
Affiliations
- Kaitlin C. Rasmussen
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington , Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Box 351580, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Miles H. Currie
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington , Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Box 351580, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Celeste Hagee
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Christiaan van Buchem
- ORCiD
- University of Leiden , The Netherlands; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , The Netherlands
- Matej Malik
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Arjun B Savel
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Matteo Brogi
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick , Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino , Via Osservatorio 20, I-10025, Pino Torinese, Italy; Centre for Exoplanets and Habitability, University of Warwick , Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
- Emily Rauscher
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Victoria Meadows
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington , Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; NASA Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team, Box 351580, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Megan Mansfield
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Eliza M.-R. Kempton
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Jean-Michel Desert
- ORCiD
- Anton Pannekoek Institute of Astronomy, University of Amsterdam , P.O. Box 94249, 1090GE Amsterdam, Noord Holland, The Netherlands
- Joost P. Wardenier
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics (Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics), University of Oxford , Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
- Lorenzo Pino
- ORCiD
- INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Firenze, Italy
- Michael Line
- ORCiD
- Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Vivien Parmentier
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics (Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics), University of Oxford , Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK
- Andreas Seifahrt
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL, USA
- David Kasper
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL, USA
- Madison Brady
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL, USA
- Jacob L. Bean
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Chicago , Chicago, IL, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/acf28e
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 166,
no. 4
p. 155
Abstract
Close-in lava planets represent an extreme example of terrestrial worlds, but their high temperatures may allow us to probe a diversity of crustal compositions. The brightest and most well-studied of these objects is 55 Cancri e, a nearby super-Earth with a remarkably short 17 hr orbit. However, despite numerous studies, debate remains about the existence and composition of its atmosphere. We present upper limits on the atmospheric pressure of 55 Cnc e derived from high-resolution time-series spectra taken with Gemini-N/MAROON-X. Our results are consistent with current crustal evaporation models for this planet which predict a thin ∼100 mbar atmosphere. We conclude that, if a mineral atmosphere is present on 55 Cnc e, the atmospheric pressure is below 100 mbar.
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