A subsolar oxygen abundance or a radiative region deep in Jupiter revealed by thermochemical modelling

Article Published: 30 March 2023 A subsolar oxygen abundance or a radiative region deep in Jupiter revealed by thermochemical modelling T. Cavalié  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0649-11921,2,

J. Lunine  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2279-41313 & O. Mousis  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5323-64534  Nature Astronomy volume 7, pages 678–683 (2023)Cite this article

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Jupiter’s deep abundances help to constrain the formation history of the planet and the environment of the protoplanetary nebula. Juno recently measured Jupiter’s deep oxygen abundance near

the equator to be \(2.2_{ - 2.1}^{ + 3.9}\) times the protosolar value (2σ uncertainties). Even if the nominal value is supersolar, subsolar abundances cannot be ruled out. Here we use a

state-of-the-art one-dimensional thermochemical and diffusion model with updated chemistry to constrain the deep oxygen abundance with upper tropospheric CO observations. We find a value of

\(0.3_{ - 0.2}^{ + 0.5}\) times the protosolar value. This result suggests that Jupiter could have a carbon-rich envelope that accreted in a region where the protosolar nebula was depleted

in water. However, our model can also reproduce a solar/supersolar water abundance if vertical mixing is reduced in a radiative layer where the deep oxygen abundance is obtained. More

precise measurements of the deep water abundance are needed to discriminate between these two scenarios and understand Jupiter’s internal structure and evolution.

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options: Log in Learn about institutional subscriptions Read our FAQs Contact customer support Fig. 1: Abundances and temperature profiles for Jupiter.Fig. 2: Kzz and oxygen dependence of

Jupiter’s upper tropospheric CO mole fraction.Fig. 3: Carbon and oxygen dependence of Jupiter’s upper tropospheric CO mole fraction. Similar content being viewed by others A supersolar

oxygen abundance supported by hydrodynamic modelling of Jupiter’s atmosphere Article Open access 20 November 2024 A solar C/O and sub-solar metallicity in a hot Jupiter atmosphere Article 27

October 2021 The 13CO-rich atmosphere of a young accreting super-Jupiter Article 14 July 2021 Data availability

Data that support the findings of this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.

Software used in this study is available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

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T.C. acknowledges funding from CNES and the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP) of CNRS/INSU. J.L. acknowledges support from the Juno mission through a subcontract from the Southwest

Research Institute.

Author informationAuthors and Affiliations Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Pessac, France

T. Cavalié

LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Meudon, France

T. Cavalié

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

J. Lunine

Aix Marseille Université, Institut Origines, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France

O. Mousis

AuthorsT. CavaliéView author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

J. LunineView author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

O. MousisView author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

T.C. performed the modelling and data analysis. T.C., J.L. and O.M. discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding author Correspondence to T. Cavalié.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Nature Astronomy thanks Gordon Bjoraker, Tristan Guillot and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

profile in Jupiter computed in the same conditions as in15 with our chemical scheme, that is, that of21 with revised methanol chemistry kinetics.

The profile is obtained for Kzz = 109 cm.2s−1 and seven times solar oxygen. It is in full agreement with those obtained with other chemical schemes and shown in Figure 17 of15, which are

indicated by the grey area.

The black profile is our nominal model (where Kzz = 108 cm.2s,−1 constant with altitude) which results in an oxygen abundance of 0.3 times the protosolar value. The blue profile (Kzz=2.5 × 

106 cm.2s,−1 constant with altitude) results constrains oxygen to 2.2 times the protosolar value, that is, the Juno MWR nominal measurement of7. An intermediate constant value of 2.5 × 107

cm.2s−1 (purple line) will produce the observed CO with nearly solar oxygen. The red profile (variable with altitude) indicates the presence of a stable radiative layer at depth with a

transition region such that Kzz reaches our nominal value at the levels where PH3 and GeH4 are quenched.

Supplementary Figs. 1 and 2 and Table 1.

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About this articleCite this article Cavalié, T., Lunine, J. & Mousis, O. A subsolar oxygen abundance or a radiative region deep in Jupiter revealed by thermochemical modelling. Nat Astron 7,

678–683 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-01928-8

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Received: 20 May 2022

Accepted: 23 February 2023

Published: 30 March 2023

Issue Date: June 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-01928-8

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