Detection of neutral atomic species in the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b

Abstract

The class of ultra-hot Jupiters comprises giant exoplanets undergoing intense irradiation from their host stars. They have proved to be a particularly interesting population for their orbital and atmospheric properties. One such planet, WASP-121b, is in a highly misaligned orbit close to its Roche limit, and its atmosphere exhibits a thermal inversion. These properties make WASP-121b an interesting target for additional atmospheric characterization. In this paper, we present analyses of archival high-resolution optical spectra obtained during transits of WASP-121b. We model the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and the Centre-to-Limb Variation and find that they do not significantly affect the transmission spectrum in this case. However, we discuss scenarios where these effects warrant more careful treatment by modelling the WASP-121 system and varying its properties. We report a new detection of atmospheric absorption from H α in the planet with a transit depth of 1.87 ± 0.11 per cent. We further confirm a previous detection of the Na I doublet, and report a new detection of Fe I via cross-correlation with a model template. We attribute the H α absorption to an extended Hydrogen atmosphere, potentially undergoing escape, and the Fe I to equilibrium chemistry at the planetary photosphere. These detections help to constrain the composition and chemical processes in the atmosphere of WASP-121b.