A Precise Metallicity and Carbon-to-Oxygen Ratio for a Warm Giant Exoplanet from its Panchromatic JWST Emission Spectrum
Abstract
WASP-80 b, a warm sub-Jovian (equilibrium temperature ~820 K, 0.5 Jupiter masses), presents an opportunity to characterize a rare gas giant exoplanet around a low-mass star. In addition, its moderate temperature enables its atmosphere to host a range of carbon and oxygen species (H2O, CH4, CO, CO2, NH3). In this paper, we present a panchromatic emission spectrum of WASP-80 b, the first gas giant around a late K/early M-dwarf star and the coolest planet for which the James Webb Space Telescope has obtained a complete emission spectrum spanning 2.4-12 μm, including NIRCam F322W2 (2.4-4 μm) and F444W (4-5 μm), and MIRI LRS (5-12 μm). We report confident detections of H2O, CH4, CO, and CO2, and a tentative detection of NH3. We estimate WASP-80 b's atmospheric metallicity and carbon-to-oxygen ratio and compare them with estimates for other gas giants. Despite the relative rarity of giant planets around low-mass stars, we find that WASP-80 b's composition is consistent with other hot gas giants, suggesting that the formation pathway of WASP-80 b may not be dissimilar from hot gas giants around higher-mass stars.
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