The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission
New observational facilities are beginning to enable insights into the three-dimensional (3D) nature of exoplanets. Transmission spectroscopy is the most widely used method for characterizing transiting temperate exoplanet atmospheres, but because it only provides a glimpse of the planet’s limb and...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adcea9 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850142444816957440 |
|---|---|
| author | Nicholas Scarsdale C. E. Harman Thomas J. Fauchez |
| author_facet | Nicholas Scarsdale C. E. Harman Thomas J. Fauchez |
| author_sort | Nicholas Scarsdale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | New observational facilities are beginning to enable insights into the three-dimensional (3D) nature of exoplanets. Transmission spectroscopy is the most widely used method for characterizing transiting temperate exoplanet atmospheres, but because it only provides a glimpse of the planet’s limb and nightside for a typical orbit, its ability to probe 3D characteristics is still an active area of research. Here, we use the ROCKE-3D general circulation model to test the impact of synchronization state, a “low-order” 3D characteristic previously shown to drive differences in planetary phase curves, on the transmission spectrum of a representative super-Earth land planet across temperate-to-warm instellations ( S _p = 0.8, 1, 1.25, 1.66, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 4.56 S _⊕ ). We find that different synchronization states do display differences in their transmission spectra, primarily driven by clouds and humidity, and that the differences shrink or disappear in hotter regimes where water clouds are unable to condense (though our simulations do not consider haze formation). The small size of the feature differences and potential for degeneracy with other properties, like differing water content or atmospheric structure, mean that we do not specifically claim to have identified a single transmission diagnostic for synchronization state, but our results can be used for holistic spectrum interpretation and sample creation and suggest the need for more modeling in this area. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e538c24244f540f5954c4bc653f514a8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e538c24244f540f5954c4bc653f514a82025-08-20T02:29:04ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-016512010.3847/PSJ/adcea9The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in TransmissionNicholas Scarsdale0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3623-7280C. E. Harman1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2281-1990Thomas J. Fauchez2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5967-9631Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USAPlanetary Systems Branch, Space Science and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center , Moffett Field, CA 94035, USANASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Integrated Space Science and Technology Institute, Department of Physics, American University , Washington, DC, USANew observational facilities are beginning to enable insights into the three-dimensional (3D) nature of exoplanets. Transmission spectroscopy is the most widely used method for characterizing transiting temperate exoplanet atmospheres, but because it only provides a glimpse of the planet’s limb and nightside for a typical orbit, its ability to probe 3D characteristics is still an active area of research. Here, we use the ROCKE-3D general circulation model to test the impact of synchronization state, a “low-order” 3D characteristic previously shown to drive differences in planetary phase curves, on the transmission spectrum of a representative super-Earth land planet across temperate-to-warm instellations ( S _p = 0.8, 1, 1.25, 1.66, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 4.56 S _⊕ ). We find that different synchronization states do display differences in their transmission spectra, primarily driven by clouds and humidity, and that the differences shrink or disappear in hotter regimes where water clouds are unable to condense (though our simulations do not consider haze formation). The small size of the feature differences and potential for degeneracy with other properties, like differing water content or atmospheric structure, mean that we do not specifically claim to have identified a single transmission diagnostic for synchronization state, but our results can be used for holistic spectrum interpretation and sample creation and suggest the need for more modeling in this area.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adcea9Exoplanet atmospheric structureExoplanet atmospheresTransmission spectroscopyExoplanet atmospheric variabilityExoplanet atmospheric dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Nicholas Scarsdale C. E. Harman Thomas J. Fauchez The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission The Planetary Science Journal Exoplanet atmospheric structure Exoplanet atmospheres Transmission spectroscopy Exoplanet atmospheric variability Exoplanet atmospheric dynamics |
| title | The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission |
| title_full | The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission |
| title_fullStr | The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission |
| title_short | The Spin Zone: Synchronously and Asynchronously Rotating Land Planets Have Spectral Differences in Transmission |
| title_sort | spin zone synchronously and asynchronously rotating land planets have spectral differences in transmission |
| topic | Exoplanet atmospheric structure Exoplanet atmospheres Transmission spectroscopy Exoplanet atmospheric variability Exoplanet atmospheric dynamics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adcea9 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nicholasscarsdale thespinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission AT ceharman thespinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission AT thomasjfauchez thespinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission AT nicholasscarsdale spinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission AT ceharman spinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission AT thomasjfauchez spinzonesynchronouslyandasynchronouslyrotatinglandplanetshavespectraldifferencesintransmission |