CUTE Reveals Escaping Metals in the Upper Atmosphere of the Ultrahot Jupiter WASP-189b

Ultraviolet observations of ultrahot Jupiters, exoplanets with temperatures over 2000 K, provide us with an opportunity to investigate if and how atmospheric escape shapes their upper atmosphere. Near-ultraviolet transit spectroscopy offers a unique tool to study this process owing to the presence of strong metal lines and a bright photospheric continuum as the light source against which the absorbing gas is observed. WASP-189b is one of the hottest planets discovered to date, with a dayside temperature of about 3400 K orbiting a bright A-type star. We present the first near-ultraviolet observations of WASP-189b, acquired with the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE). CUTE is a 6U NASA funded ultraviolet spectroscopy mission, dedicated to monitoring short-period transiting planets. WASP-189b was one of the CUTE early science targets and was observed during three consecutive transits in 2022 March. We present an analysis of the CUTE observations and results demonstrating near-ultraviolet (2500-3300 angstrom) broadband transit depth ( 1.08(-0.08)(+0.08) % ) of about twice the visual transit depth indicating that the planet has an extended, hot upper atmosphere with a temperature of about 15,000 K and a moderate mass-loss rate of about 4x10(8) kg s(-1). We observe absorption by Mg II lines (R-p/R-s of 0.212(-0.061)(+0.038)) beyond the Roche lobe at >4 sigma significance in the transmission spectrum at a resolution of 10A, while at lower resolution (100 angstrom), we observe a quasi-continuous absorption signal consistent with a forest of low-ionization metal absorption dominated by Fe II. The results suggest an upper atmospheric temperature (similar to 15,000K), higher than that predicted by current state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models.

Automated summary

Ultraviolet observations of ultrahot Jupiters provide an opportunity to study atmospheric escape and its impact on their upper atmosphere. The first near-ultraviolet observations of WASP-189b using the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) revealed the presence of strong metal lines and an extended, hot upper atmosphere. The results indicate a higher upper atmospheric temperature than predicted by current models.