BOWIE-ALIGN: JWST reveals hints of planetesimal accretion and complex sulphur chemistry in the atmosphere of the misaligned hot Jupiter WASP-15b
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Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We present a transmission spectrum of the misaligned hot Jupiter WASP-15b from 2.8–5.2 microns observed with JWST’s
NIRSpec/G395H grating. Our high signal-to-noise data, which has negligible red noise, reveals significant absorption by H2O
(4.2σ) and CO2 (8.9σ). From independent data reduction and atmospheric retrieval approaches, we infer that WASP-15b’s
atmospheric metallicity is supersolar ( 15× solar) and its carbon-to-oxygen ratio is consistent with solar, that together imply
planetesimal accretion. Our general circulation model simulations for WASP-15b suggest that the carbon-to-oxygen ratio we
measure at the limb is likely representative of the entire photosphere due to the mostly uniform spatial distribution of H2O, CO2,
and CO. We additionally see evidence for absorption by SO2 and absorption at 4.9 μm, for which the current leading candidate
is OCS (carbonyl sulphide), albeit with several caveats. If confirmed, this would be the first detection of OCS in an exoplanet
atmosphere and point towards complex photochemistry of sulphur-bearing species in the upper atmosphere. These are the first
observations from the BOWIE-ALIGN survey which is using JWST’s NIRSpec/G395H instrument to compare the atmospheric
compositions of aligned/low-obliquity and misaligned/high-obliquity hot Jupiters around F stars above the Kraft break. The goal
of our survey is to determine whether the atmospheric composition differs across two populations of planets that have likely
undergone different migration histories (disc versus disc-free) as evidenced by their obliquities (aligned versus misaligned).
NIRSpec/G395H grating. Our high signal-to-noise data, which has negligible red noise, reveals significant absorption by H2O
(4.2σ) and CO2 (8.9σ). From independent data reduction and atmospheric retrieval approaches, we infer that WASP-15b’s
atmospheric metallicity is supersolar ( 15× solar) and its carbon-to-oxygen ratio is consistent with solar, that together imply
planetesimal accretion. Our general circulation model simulations for WASP-15b suggest that the carbon-to-oxygen ratio we
measure at the limb is likely representative of the entire photosphere due to the mostly uniform spatial distribution of H2O, CO2,
and CO. We additionally see evidence for absorption by SO2 and absorption at 4.9 μm, for which the current leading candidate
is OCS (carbonyl sulphide), albeit with several caveats. If confirmed, this would be the first detection of OCS in an exoplanet
atmosphere and point towards complex photochemistry of sulphur-bearing species in the upper atmosphere. These are the first
observations from the BOWIE-ALIGN survey which is using JWST’s NIRSpec/G395H instrument to compare the atmospheric
compositions of aligned/low-obliquity and misaligned/high-obliquity hot Jupiters around F stars above the Kraft break. The goal
of our survey is to determine whether the atmospheric composition differs across two populations of planets that have likely
undergone different migration histories (disc versus disc-free) as evidenced by their obliquities (aligned versus misaligned).
Date Issued
2025-03-01
Date Acceptance
2025-01-29
Citation
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2025, 537 (4), pp.3027-3052
ISSN
0035-8711
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
3027
End Page
3052
Journal / Book Title
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume
537
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Subjects
Astronomy & Astrophysics
CONDENSATION
EXOMOL LINE LISTS
exoplanets
GIANT PLANETS
GLOBAL CIRCULATION MODEL
HD 209458B
METALLICITY
methods: observational
Physical Sciences
planets and satellites: atmospheres
RAYLEIGH-SCATTERING
ROTATION-VIBRATION SPECTRUM
Science & Technology
TRANSIT
TRANSMISSION SPECTRUM
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-02-05