Source of atomic hydrogen in the atmosphere of HD 209458b

Atomic hydrogen loss at the top of HD 209458b's atmosphere has been recently suggested (Vidal-Madjar et al.). We have developed a one-dimensional model to study the chemistry in the upper atmosphere of this extrasolar hot Jupiter. The three most abundant elements (other than He) as well as four parent molecules are included in this model, viz., H, C, O, H-2, CO, H2O, and CH4. The higher temperatures (similar to1000 K) and higher stellar irradiance (similar to6 x 10(5) W m(-2)) strongly enhance and modify the chemical reaction rates in this atmosphere. The main result is that the production of atomic hydrogen in the atmosphere is mainly driven by H2O photolysis, and the reaction of OH with H-2, and is insensitive to the exact abundances of CO, H2O, and CH4. For comparison, the bulk H concentration for hot Jupiters is 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of Jupiter.